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Readings: Isaiah 55:12−end, Psalm 96, Colossians 1:15−20 and Matthew 8:23–27
Introduction
May the words of my mouth, and the meditations of all our hearts be acceptable to you, O Lord, our rock and our redeemer. Amen.
This is the first time that we are preaching on the Feast of Creation in Christ in the Anglican Church. This follows a proposal from the Orthodox Churches and has been embraced across many denominations. Quoting from the TV series Father Ted: “That would be an ecumenical matter.” It is exciting to partake in this ecumenical venture, where we reflect on creation, today with Christ as our focal point.
The readings for this Sunday are complex, but it is good to grapple with them – not just because of the ecological crisis we find ourselves in, but especially because these texts speak of Christ, his role in creation and why this is relevant to us today. Creation in Christ is a message of joy and hope for us and an invitation to roll up our metaphorical and physical sleeves.
So. for this sermon, I will concentrate on Christ and how Christ and creation are related, using the reading from Colossians to direct our thoughts:
“He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation, for in him all things in heaven and on earth were created, things visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or powers—all things have been created through him and for him. He himself is before all things, and in him all things hold together. He is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that he might come to have first place in everything. For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him God was pleased to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, by making peace through the blood of his cross.”
(Colossians 1:15—20:15.)
Christ was present at creation.
The Colossians reading is known as the Christological Hymn and is believed to have been an existing hymn from the early Church that Paul was quoting and editing. Christ is called the proto-tokos, the firstborn of all creation, who existed before all things, was the medium for creation and the one in whom all things hold together.
This hymn emphasises that you cannot see creation without seeing Christ. He is the sustainer and source of all being.
Saint John states the same in the Prologue to his Gospel – Christ who is the Word was in the beginning, was with God, and was God:
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overtake it.”
(John 1:1-5.)
Christ has not disappeared since then; he is still in creation, bringing unity and solidarity. Creation is no longer chaos but has become a cosmos, Christ holding that beautiful universe of ours together.
It is a source of joy and awe to see these patterns and this interconnectedness. The trees in the forest communicate through a network of fungi called mycelium. Humpback whales sing to each other across up to 10,000 miles of ocean. A butterfly is said to be able to cause a hurricane.
In our ecosystem there is an intricate, delicate interdependence which humans are a part of. When one part thrives, all thrive. Understanding this is key, and it is our challenge. And when we do understand, perhaps by seeing Christ in Creation and Creation in Christ, we see that when we tend creation, act out our role in creation, it is a way giving thanks and praise to God.
Our reading from Colossians says all things were created “for Him” (Colossians 1:16). Maybe creation is this beautiful, because God delights in it and chooses to be involved with it. God did say creation was very good in the first creation story in Genesis (1:31). And perhaps creation in its turn mirrors God’s delight and shares the goal of glorifying, as our readings from Isaiah and the Psalm say. Having an ecologically sound lifestyle is giving thanks and praise to God.
So, what is our part in the intricate balance of our ecosystem, whom do we relate to and how do we rejoice? If mountains shall burst into song and trees clap their hands (Isaiah 55:12), seas roar and trees sing for joy (Psalm 96:11,12), how should we praise and give thanks?
Well, simply rejoice. Do you sing for joy as creation is said to do? Sometimes when we come together and sing in Church there is real joy. Singing in the shower works too. Sometimes you feel the Spirit move as we sing – as we join creation in praise. Sometimes it may be a simple muttered ‘thank you’ aimed at heaven when you reach the top of a hill and see the awesome beauty of Switzerland all around.
But that is not all. We are also called to work in, with and for creation. In Genesis 2 and 3 we are told our job is to till and keep the earth from which we were made (Genesis 2:15, 3:23). We may not all be farmers, but we can all play our part in taking care of creation and joining in giving thanks and praise to God.
Christ is the sustainer and end of creation.
Colossians states Christ was the firstborn of all creation, but Christ is also called the firstborn from the dead (Colossians 1:15 and 1:18). We are part of creation now and in the world to come. Through Christ, all things – creation in general and humanity specifically – are reconciled in this world and the next (Colossians 1:20). And if Christ reconciles creation, and we want to be his followers, then we as humans should work for reconciliation as well.
Since the “reign of God” embraces all, as Fordham University theologian Elizabeth A. Johnson says, then this reign includes the planet itself, its many different ecosystems and the creatures that inhabit them.
Reconciliation means bringing unity, understanding, empathy or tolerance of differences – to each other and to creation. So, I see two main tasks for us: first, to work for reconciliation with God by obeying the commandments Jesus said were most important – loving God and our neighbour. And secondly, to enable creation in general and ourselves as well as future generations to flourish and thrive as part of the interconnectedness and the delicate balance that God called very good.
We should want to do this because we are called to be like Christ and to work towards reconciliation, and not towards the abuse and even destruction of creation. Reconciling creation may mean switching to solar energy, recycling better, planting trees, eating less meat, picking up rubbish and simply sharing our love for creation by talking about these things.
This past summer has been quite the wake-up call. We have seen heat waves, fires, floods, droughts, earthquakes, mudslides and death and destruction, grief and devastation because of our lack of reconciliation with creation. And we know that these disasters are not a one-off. They are a consequence of, among other things, our actions. But we still have a chance to repent and change our ways and honour God’s creation and our place in it.
There is hope: With every disaster, we have also witnessed the efforts to rescue and restore that were put into place by concerned people and courageous professionals like firefighters and mountain rescue workers.
And there is also hope because Christ’s role is not limited to creation in the past and sustaining creation in the present. There is an eschatological aspect to all of this as well. Jesus preached the coming of the Kingdom of God – which is manifesting itself already. More specifically, this Kingdom is centred on the possibility of a new relationship, not just between God and humankind, but with all created reality. Creation – not just us, but all of creation – will be redeemed in the world to come.
The work of the Kingdom did not stop when Jesus died, rose again and ascended into heaven. With the coming of the Spirit on the disciples at Pentecost, it was affirmed that the Kingdom work continues – with us. The time of transformation and reconciliation, for creation to be made whole was, is and will be now.
There is a goal to be achieved in and for creation by all of us.
We are at this moment not called to be a passive audience, but active participants: Love God, love and take care of our neighbour specifically and all of creation in general. That is our calling.
And so, for the rest of September, we will be dwelling on what this care for creation, this call to reconciliation, this working for and with creation in order to glorify God could and maybe should look like, for each one of us individually and for our Church community corporately. It sounds grand, but it basically means living ecologically conscious lives. Be good to each other and to Mother Nature.
When we celebrate Holy Communion together in a few moments, we remember the Paschal Mystery. We do not fully understand how the death and resurrection and the bread and the wine work, other than that it signifies that all of us are on a journey to God in and through the redemptive love of Jesus Christ – and we give thanks and celebrate reconciliation. Communion may remind us of our interconnectedness with Christ, each other and all of creation – and of our role in it.
Conclusion
The themes of Christ in creation and of this Feast of Creation in Christ show us that caring for creation is not something we do as an afterthought. It is and has been part of our calling here on earth from the very beginning. It is part of our discipleship. And it is a thing of joy, to become more Christ-like, to love more and better, to enable nature and each other to thrive and flourish more, to work for reconciliation.
The root of joy is gratitude – we give thanks because our earth, its creatures and we ourselves are awesome creations by a loving Creator who has given us agency and a calling to work with and in his creation. And when we do act as agents of reconciliation, we ourselves are transformed and we can live life in more of its fulness, peace and joy.
In the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, Amen.
(All Bible quotes are taken from the NRSV UE translation.)