God s Word God s Word John 1:1-14. Everything came into being through the Word, and without the Word, not one thing came into being.

of 6 God s Word God s Word John 1:1-14 Everything came into being through the Word, and without the Word, not one thing came into being. Let us pray: Living Word, speak to us today as a light that shines in the darkness which cannot be extinguished. May we find light and life through your creative Word. Amen. The scripture that we just read is the prologue to John s Gospel. It sets the tone for the rest of the book that follows. The author never questions who Jesus is, and does not let us forget, either. And the opening verses should cause us to perk up our ears as we hear echoes from an earlier passage of scripture. It goes something like this: At the beginning of God s creating of the heavens and the earth, darkness over the face of Ocean, rushing-spirit of God hovering over the face of the waters God said: Let there be light! And there was light. God saw the light: that it was good. God separated the light from the darkness. God called the light: Day! and the darkness he called: Night! There was setting, there was dawning: one day.

of 6 That, of course, is Genesis 1:1-5, from a translation by Everett Fox. The beginning of the beginning of creating. And yet, John s gospel talks about the Word was there even before the beginning! God speaks the world into being. God says, and it happens. God spoke day and night, heaven and earth, land and sea, plants and animals, and humanity into being. And it was good and beautiful and perfect. What s more, Jesus is God s eternal speech, which existed before anything else and called everything into being. Even more, Jesus is the Word of God as it has been read and preached in Israel ever since the time of Moses, and it continues to be read and proclaimed in worship in all Christian churches. As the law was given through Moses as the Word of God, John says, so grace and truth are given to us in Jesus Christ. We must keep in mind that both law and grace are God s life-giving, world-changing speech. So what is God saying to us? First, God says, This is who I am! God speaks in Jesus as in no other way. Not in the Bible, not in nature, not by human reason or accomplishment, not by listening to inner voices. Jesus tells us who God is and what God does heals, forgives, embraces outcasts, and prays for those who hurt God s very self. In Jesus, we see a God who understands betrayal, denial, suffering and pain, humiliation and death. Jesus tells us that God knows that as individuals and as part of the world, we need a Savior, and Jesus is that Savior.

of 6 You might be wondering, What s it got to do with creation care? and what am I to do about it? For sure, it doesn t do any good to talk about all this if we leave this place and don t do anything any different. I was serving a church a few years ago, and there was a group of folks there who, like our Creation Care Ministry Team, were interested in learning things they could do to be better stewards or care-takers of the planet we all inhabit. And yet, there were some folks there who were convinced that Jesus was going to return any day, so it wouldn t matter. Nothing we said, nothing we did could convince them otherwise. It is curious to think that they were so eager for Christ s return, yet they weren t at all concerned about explaining how they were or were not caring for God s gift of the world to the world. As United Methodists, we do have something to say, that should lead to how we change how we do things. In our Book of Discipline, we have a section called the Social Principles. The Social Principles are not binding in the same way that other parts of the Discipline are, but they are carefully considered statements covering a wide range of topics. Within the Social Principles, there is a subsection on the Natural World.

of 6 Here is the preamble to that section: All creation is the Lord s, and we are responsible for the ways in which we use and abuse it. Water, air, soil, minerals, energy resources, plants, animal life, and space are to be valued and conserved because they are God s creation and not solely because they are useful to human beings. God has granted us stewardship of creation. We should meet these stewardship duties through acts of loving care and respect. Economic, political, social, and technological developments have increased our human numbers, and lengthened and enriched our lives. However, these developments have led to regional defoliation, dramatic extinction of species, massive human suffering, overpopulation, and misuse and overconsumption of natural and nonrenewable resources, particularly by industrialized societies. This continued course of action jeopardizes the natural heritage that God has entrusted to all generations. Therefore, let us recognize the responsibility of the church and its members to place a high priority on changes in economic, political, social, and technological lifestyles to support a more ecologically equitable and sustainable world leading to a higher quality of life for all of God s creation. Following this, there are 8 sections explaining our position from a theological and sociological perspective. These sections are: 1. Water, Air, Soil, Minerals, Plants 2. Energy Resources Utilization 3. Animal Life 4. Global Climate Stewardship

of 6 5. Space 6. Science and Technology 7. Food Safety 8. Food Justice We care about what we do to this planet and beyond, and we care about the fact that some of the things we do damage the earth, and harm people. God speaks creating, healing, nurturing words. When we speak or act in ways that destroy, harm and debase others or the planet, we speak against the very God who made us, and created us in that divine image. And that divine spark is in everyone. I want us to think about things that we as individuals and as a congregation can do. We are recycling here at the church. That is a good thing. Are we doing it at home? If not, what s holding us back? We are dependent of fossil fuels for transportation and heating. How can we use less? My car will tell me what mileage I m getting as I drive. If I drive just a hair slower, the miles I get per gallon of gas goes up. If we all did that, together it adds up. You ve heard about just a few of the things we can do. There are others. Get creative! Indifference is not an option. What will you commit to doing to care for creation and to honor God?

of 6 Let us pray: God, our creator, as we reflect on the mystery of our fragile planet, we celebrate the wonders of Earth as our home. Help us to discern how we have polluted our planet and to empathize with the groaning of creation beneath us. Teach us to sense your Presence pulsing through Earth as a living sanctuary. Teach us to love and care for Earth, our home. In the name of Christ, the living Word of God we pray. Amen.