3. This Saturday is Annual Patuxent River Cleanup Day in Laurel. Local folks have a chance to do something real for the community where we live (and love), and if you're a student, you can get some community service hours.
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4. This morning, I went to More Than Java Cafe on Main Street in Laurel and parked on a nearby side street. As I got out of the car, I noticed what I often notice if I do my afternoon walks: litter.Lots of litter. (Picture of litter accessed from Google images.) Later, someone reminded me that litter is usually trash deliberately thrown in the street or gutter. Rain or wind has blown trash out of receptacles waiting for pickup, or from public trashcans.That was a helpful reminder, because as I saw the mess, I thought, "Well, this isn't a pretty sight if folks come to Main Street to shop or go to a coffee shop."5. Last Sunday, a parishioner asked me why we are using Styrofoam plates and bowls for coffee hour refreshments. I told him I didn't know, but perhaps we should prevail on folks NOT to buy Styrofoam plates, bowls or cups any more. If our planet lasts a thousand more years, these will still be around, because Styrofoam does not disintegrate.Back to Care for Creation. We've been asking this lately at St. Philip's:
What does God have to do with care for creation? A lot. This book makes it clear that with the above comments, I am not just some "tree-hugger" (although I am okay that title.) The creation around us is God's creation. St. Francis recognized this more than just about any other human being has. In a real sense, creation--earth, sky, seas, animals and plants--speaks to us of God, and God speaks through these created things or beings. "Creation. . .means relationships between the human and non-human created order, the place of the human person within that order, and the response of the person to the created order in its relationship to God."
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An "environmental crisis" is a "religious crisis." Why? Because we are intricately involved with earth for which God has called us to care. Rather than the traditional interpretation of human beings having "dominion" over all other created life forms, the original Hebrew should be translated as "to serve and preserve" these life forms. Simply put, you and I are stewards. We don't own the earth. We have no business trashing her. In fact, because we are blessed with higher cognitive function (or I hope so), we have greater responsibility than the ants, or earthworms, or polar bears, or fields of crops.Last week, I read in the newspaper that North Korea has carved out tunnels. It is believed that they are, or might be soon, testing nuclear missiles in such tunnels. I was horrified. What would be the consequences of such testing? Do people really believe that there are none, or do they not care? To put those toxins into soil, to dislodge earth. . .I shudder to think of earthquakes, or tsunamis, or other environmental disturbances that are possible--and we might never connect one with the other.As we think about how we follow Jesus during this Lenten season, we watch trees and other plants flower and bloom. As we enjoy greening grass, spring sun and warmer temperatures, gets green, think about how you can deepen your relationship with the Creator by taking better care of resources. Recycle. Compost. Take your own thermal coffee mug to your favorite coffee shop. Pack your own lunch--in a re-usable container. Turn off power strips and use less electricity at home. Adjust your thermostat a few degrees to save energy. Whatever you do, remember that the earth in which we live is not ours. It's just ours to tend for a very short while.Nature is "a sacramental expression of God's generous love." Enjoy that love--and return it to the earth from which we came, the earth to which we will all return. "Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return."
