D.H. Laurence was correct when he wrote, “Water is hydrogen two parts, oxygen one, but there is also a third thing, that makes water and nobody knows what that is.”
The third thing is mystery. Whatever the science may be, there is another component and one way to think of it is as mystery.
Barbara Brown Taylor noted, all the water that has ever existed on the earth still exists, in this very moment. The water that nourished your African violet may contain water from the woman at the well which quenched Jesus’ thirst. All the earth that has ever existed is still here in this very moment. The dirt the dog dragged in that you sucked up in the vacuum cleaner may contain the soil that Jesus washed from the disciples’ feet. You can never quite look at the stuff in the vacuum cleaner bag the same way. (An Altar in the World)
Genesis one and two are the creation stories, according to the experience of the Israelite people. (Click here to listen to Rob Lalcy’s rendition of Genesis 1. You won’t be disappointed. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-b_7YEOfoyw&t=17s ) Walter Brueggemann wrote, “Genesis one and two are particularly and peculiarly theological. They make a break from other ancient near eastern writings in that creation, all of the world, is in the very heart of God, is deeply loved and valued by God and must be valued by the creatures to whom it is entrusted.” (pp 11-12). That would be you and me.
There are a couple things to be teased out here. First, because God made it (however that happened) it is holy. Genesis one and two are statements of faith made by a people who believed in and experienced God in a way profoundly different from their neighbors who had a God for every day of the week.
Second, God is in all of this creation, from a blade of grass to a sequoia. God is in it all and all of it is in God. The five dollar word is panentheism. It’s not to be confused with pantheism. Everything is God in pantheism. Everything is IN god, and God is IN everything is panentheism. That’s what Genesis one and two proclaim. God is in everything and everything is in God.
Bruggemann wrote, “The text is a proclamation of covenanting as the shape of reality.” The Creator creates creation. The creator entrusts it to us but the purpose is already defined, and the purpose is unity. We are to be one with what God has made. We are placed in the garden as creatures, special creatures albeit, but creatures nonetheless.
We are to be stewards. To be a steward is to take care of something that does not belong to us.
It is a posture of reverence. It is an invitation to see with new eyes and consider our lives in a context larger than ourselves. An earthquake half a world away in Turkey and Syria is very much our business. The disappearance of the Polar Ice Cap is very much our concern. We are to hold on to the holiness of all creation and reverence it. There is a power in that which is so far beyond what we can imagine.
Being stewards of the mystery is our invitation to think theologically about something we usually think about socially and politically. Jim Antal’s book, Climate Church, Climate World: How People of Faith Must Work for Change, https://www.amazon.com/s?k=climate+change+climate+world&crid=27YNRH45O65Z9&sprefix=climate+change+climat%2Caps%2C338&ref=nb_sb_noss_2 explores the political, social and theological implications of living on this planet in these times.
Being green is very popular these days–debates about global climate change, degradation of the earth, over use of limited natural resources. Make no mistake these are incredibly important conversations. Our first call, however, is not to be crunchy granola tree huggers. It is the faithful acknowledgement that all things are in God, bearing divine fingerprint. This truth asks us to live the most faithful action we can offer, for no other reason than we are awed and we are grateful.
When we begin with awareness of who we are and whose we are our, behaviors toward creation take on new importance and new significance. It is that awareness and faith that led one of the Talmud writers to comment, “every blade of grass has its angel that bends over it and says grow grow.”
Being stewards of the mysteries can begin by pondering the mystery. Ponder is one of those words that has fallen on hard times, but it’s such a great word. It means to weigh in the mind with thoughtfulness and care. I would add to it, to weigh in the spirit with gratitude and awe. When is the last time you sat down and pondered a rock or a blade of grass or a cloud or the sound of the surf?
It’s an invitation to get new eyes and have a new vision. How might our lives be different if this tender sense of holiness informed how we live in our house; on our street; and in our neighborhood, church, town, country and in our world?
Whatever changes we make in behavior grow out of a changed attitude, a posture of reverence. It’s a place to begin. And rather than give something up for Lent, I am suggesting that we ponder the mystery of creation and what it means be good stewards. Instead of doing battle with demon chocolate, or my personal favorite–all things salt and grease– I am suggesting a Lenten discipline that can raise our awareness of what it means to till the earth and keep it, to be stewards of the mysteries.
However it happens, what matters is this: new eyes and new vision for this fragile, gracious place we call home. Wendell Berry said, “What I stand for is what I stand on.”
It’s a place to start.
The Irreverent Reverend 