Ashes to Ashes

Pat Liberty

Countless times in my 45 years of ministry I have said the words, “earth to earth, ashes to ashes, dust to dust…” at committal services. It is a reminder that we come from dust and we return to dust. The focus is on the person who died.  Of course it is a funeral so that’s appropriate.

There is, however, another focus and this is on the earth. It struck me when a Facebook friend posted, “We do not own the earth, we are of the earth.” Something about this hit me in a whole new way.

We come from the stuff of the earth, just as we return to the stuff of the earth. It is a profound theological statement. Stay with me while I do a little theology. Those of us who claim the Judeo-Christian tradition hold a theology of incarnation. It means that God is with us and in us. We are made in the image of God. In Genesis 1 we are told that God created male and female in God’s own image. We bear the mark of the divine. In Genesis 2, the other creation narrative, we are told that God formed man <sic> from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life. The man <sic> became a human being.

Back to Genesis 1 where God creates every living thing and calls it good. The creation is fundamentally good and also made in Divine image. It only stands to reason that when we mess with the earth, we are messing with the essence and substance of not only the planet we call home but the essence and substance of life itself.

This makes the degradation of our planet a theological issue and a faith issue. Our passion for the earth needs to be kindled in the same way we have passion for our own lives and every person we love.

Hildegaard of Bingen wrote, ‘If we fall in love with creation deeper and deeper, we will respond to its endangerment with passion.” Passion is what seems to be missing from people of faith in regard to environmental concerns.

It’s easy to think that our small amount of plastic waste doesn’t make that much difference in the grand scheme of things. Similarly it is easy to believe the cleaners we use don’t really contribute to ground water pollution or sewage issues. We don’t think the amount of water we use has anything to do with the global water shortage. 

Well, it does. It is all related. It is all connected. The earth needs all of us to tread lightly and consider what we do that impacts the whole. The average American consumer produces approximately five pounds of trash each day, while a family creates about 18 pounds. Multiplying these numbers by 365 means that the average person generates 1,642 pounds of trash per year and a family of four generates 6,570 pounds of trash per year. Of that 220 pounds per individual is plastic and 880 pounds per family of four is plastic.

Only 9% of plastic in the United States is actually recycled. Most of it ends up in landfills or the ocean. It is cheap to produce and has revolutionized the food industry, the auto industry and much more. The problem is that plastic takes years to break down and when it does it releases toxic chemicals into the soil and water. At least 8 million tons of plastic end up in our oceans every year. It is the number one killer of marine life. 

Here’s what you can do:

  • Kindle your passion. Caring for the earth isn’t just a nice thing to do; it is a radical act of faith.
  • Check earth911.com to see who is recycling plastics in your area.
  • Avoid single use plastics (bags, laundry bottles, dish and dishwasher detergents, shampoo etc.).
  • Buy naked food. Bring your own recyclable produce bags to the grocery stores.
  • Compost.
  • Organize a beach or river clean up in your area.
  • Use a refillable water bottle, coffee cup, etc.
  • Cut down or eliminate your soda intake. It’s not good for you anyway.
  • Buy items that are made of post-consumer recycled plastics.
  • Buy items made of sustainable bamboo.
  • Look for earth friendly products online. Cleancult.com packages and ships all their products in recyclable cardboard. Laundry detergent sheets are readily available in the grocery stores.

Will it be a little inconvenient? Sure. Will it cost a little more? Maybe. Will it make a difference? Absolutely