Chapter Four: The Gospel of Creation

Here is the link to the Vatican Document; Laudato Si
http://www.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/encyclicals/documents/papa-francesco_20150524_enciclica-laudato-si.html

The title of Chapter Two is: “The Gospel of Creation” (#62-100)
Let go back to the ‘beginning’ where “we can ask what the great biblical narratives say about the relationship of human beings with the world.  In the first creation account in the book of Genesis, God’s plan includes creating humanity.  After the creation of humankind, “God saw everything that he had made, and behold it was very good” (Gen 1:31). (#65.)  Everything - and it was Good!!!! With this as our foundation Francis is able to say: “What is more, although this Encyclical welcomes dialogue with everyone so that, together, we can seek paths of liberation, I would like from the outset to show how faith convictions can offer Christians and some other believers as well, ample motivation to care for nature and for the most vulnerable of their brothers and sisters.  (#64)

In each of the previous reflections I started with an image or a video. In entering this video (about six minutes), we will experience the gift of music from the Cleveland Chamber Choir and the Blue Water Chamber Orchestra. Simple be and allow our minds to expand to the horizon. Again, it is not about analyzing which is before us. Rather it is to simply take in what is presented and allow the seeds of change to germinate.

https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=video%2c+the+great+flaring+forth&docid=608054308051879073&mid=FD0D9654F7421478858EFD0D9654F7421478858E&view=detail&FORM=VIRE

Each Culture ask similar questions; where did we come from, where are we going, why is there suffering? And it is from their experience and story that they are able to understand life with all its uncertainties. The Jewish People came from the Middle East, and were influenced by the ancient Mesopotamian Cultures, the Liberation experience from Egypt and the Babylonian Culture during their exile (586-516). Later, the Christian community took this Jewish story/narrative and infused it with Greek, Roman and later on North European experiences and stories. Each culture has done this; so, it is not about right or wrong, it is simply a way of seeking understanding and making sense of reality with in our culture and society.
An import part of all stories is the beginning for it points to the end. For many Christians in the West (not necessarily those in the East or Indigenous peoples), we see creation as some sort of paradise that we lost and have to rediscover! “According to the Bible, these three vital relationships (God, Neighbor & Earth) have been broken, both outwardly and within us.  This rupture is sin.  The harmony between the Creator, humanity and creation as a whole was disrupted by our presuming to take the place of God and refusing to acknowledge our creaturely limitations.” (#66). This is a prevalent Christian understanding. 
We know the story, it is a part of us as other stories are part of other peoples.

Hindu Creation Story: Aitareya Upanishad; https://www.consciouslivingfoundation.org/ebooks/13/CLF-aitareya_upanishad.pdf
Aztec Creation Story: http://www.aztec-history.com/aztec-creation-story.html
Philippine Creation Story: https://pitt.edu/~dash/creation-phil.html

I said earlier “the beginning points to the end”, yet if we (western Christians) misinterpret the beginning, our vision may bring about a distorted understanding of creation and reality. Here is the entire paragraph (#67) from Laudato Si for it essential if we are going to experience an Ecological Conversion!
 
We are not God.  The earth was here before us and it has been given to us. (even the phrase “given to us” seems very western) This allows us to respond to the charge that Judaeo-Christian thinking, on the basis of the Genesis account which grants man “dominion” over the earth (cf. Gen 1:28), has encouraged the unbridled exploitation of nature by painting man as domineering and destructive by nature.  This is not a correct interpretation of the Bible as understood by the Church.   Although it is true that we Christians have at times incorrectly interpreted the Scriptures, nowadays we must forcefully reject the notion that our being created in God’s image and given dominion over the earth justifies absolute domination over other creatures.  The biblical texts are to be read in their context, with an appropriate hermeneutic (the branch of knowledge that deals with interpretation, especially the bible), recognizing that they tell us to “till and keep” the garden of the world (cf. Gen 2:15).  “Tilling” refers to cultivating, ploughing, or working, while “keeping” means caring, protecting, overseeing and preserving.  This implies a relationship of mutual responsibility between human beings and nature.  Each community can take from the bounty of the earth whatever it needs for subsistence, but it also has the duty to protect the earth and to ensure its fruitfulness for coming generations.  “The earth is the Lord’s” (Ps 24:1); to him belongs “the earth with all that is within it” (Dt 10:14).  Thus, God rejects every claim to absolute ownership: “The land shall not be sold in perpetuity, for the land is mine; for you are strangers and sojourners with me” (Lev 25:23).

The moment creation is seen as an “it” rather than a respectful “thou”, we seem to lose site of the deep Inter-being of all creation or as St. Francis would say “The Great Chain of Being”. Brother Sun and Sister Moon, Brother Wind and Sister Water, Brother Fire and Sister Death. “We are called to recognize that other living beings have a value of their own in God’s eyes: “by their mere existence they bless him and give him glory”,^[1] and indeed, “the Lord rejoices in all his works” (Ps 104:31) (#69)

This quote from paragraph 69, calls us into a stance of contemplation (to be next to or beside the temple). To look with awe, wonder and reverence. It is clear that for the most part, we in the west have lost our ability to contemplate. We look, (now days take a digital photo), but to we really see and appreciate? It is the realm of spirituality in the broadest context that calls us to contemplate (standing in the temple of the Heart) and see the wonders of Creation.
The American Mystic and Monk Thomas Merton wrote; “We are living in a world that is absolutely transparent and God is shining through it all the time. God manifests Himself everywhere, in everything - in people and in things and in nature and in events ... The only thing is we don't see it ... I have no program for this seeing. It is only given. But the gate of heaven is everywhere.”

How about taking a break now! Take a walk, look out the window, look into the palm of your hand and as you do, simple breath in and out. Feel the breath and the wonder that begins to blossom with in the lotus petals of the heart.

As we contemplate creation, the wonder of all that is, we come to see the deep truth that “These ancient stories, full of symbolism, bear witness to a conviction which we today share, that everything is interconnected, and that genuine care for our own lives and our relationships with nature is inseparable from fraternity, justice and faithfulness to others. (#70)

This call of radical relationship is seen in the recent article by Satish Kumar, a teacher, sage. It is not often that one gets to me a prophet, but I meet him almost twenty years ago and I still sense the presence of a holy and wise man.
“Human desire to conquer Nature comes from the belief that humans are separate from Nature. This dualistic thinking is at the root of our problem. Humans are as much a part of Nature as any other form of life. Therefore, living in a harmonious dialogue with the Earth is the urgent imperative of our time and is the very first lesson we humans need to learn at the moment of the coronavirus crisis.” https://www.resurgence.org/magazine/article5549-voice-of-the-earth.html

This song / poem by teacher, guide and Buddhist monks Thich Naht Hahn has been put to music and speaks of the Oneness of all creation. Simple sit back and take it in: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gGCwyQWsFd8

In this three-minute video, John Philip Newell, Canadian Theologian brings together what inter-being, the woven tapestry of creation is calling us to:
https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=video%2c+that+all+things+are+connected%2c+interbeing&&view=detail&mid=9F419F257CD92F69D2D19F419F257CD92F69D2D1&rvsmid=008057B082B20A39170D008057B082B20A39170D&FORM=VDQVAP

In the Psalms we see the images of creation coming forth in praise. “The Psalms frequently exhort us to praise God the Creator, “who spread out the earth on the waters, for his steadfast love endures forever” (Ps 136:6).  They also invite other creatures to join us in this praise: “Praise him, sun and moon, praise him, all you shining stars!  Praise him, you highest heavens, and you waters above the heavens!  Let them praise the name of the Lord, for he commanded, and they were created” (Ps 148:3-5).  We do not only exist by God’s mighty power; we also live with him and beside him.  This is why we adore him.” (#72) 
Image how we would live (I would live) if I “really believed that God lives with me and beside me and in me????? I sense things would be very different.

Look at this from # 67 and 68. “In the Judaeo-Christian tradition, the word “creation” has a broader meaning than “nature”, for it has to do with God’s loving plan in which every creature has its own value and significance….Creation is of the order of love. God’s love is the fundamental moving force in all created things: “For you love all things that exist and detest none of the things that you have made; for you would not have made anything if you had hated it” (Wis 11:24).  Every creature is thus the object of the Father’s tenderness, who gives it its place in the world.  Even the fleeting life of the least of beings is the object of his love, and in its few seconds of existence, God enfolds it with his affection.  Saint Basil the Great described the Creator as “goodness without measure”, while Dante Alighieri spoke of “the love which moves the sun and stars”.^[2]  Consequently, we can ascend from created things “to the greatness of God and to his loving mercy”.

Again, simple sit with this and bask in God’s rays of light and love.
 
As I rest in this deep truth, I come to see that it can not “fear” that drives me/us to care for the environment/planet/one another, but it is love that draws me/us into to this holy embrace. As the mythic sage Yoda tells us: “Fear is the path to the dark side. Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering.” There is enough suffering and Jesus showed us a way by his presence with those on the fringes of society and through the cross; by embracing suffering/what is with love he thereby transforms it and bring forth freedom/resurrection/liberation. 

From paragraph 96 to 100 Pope Francis reflects upon Jesus as both human and Word (Logos) as he “entered into the created cosmos, throwing in his lot with it, even to the cross. (#96) That means, into the fullness of our lives (from birth to death). “Jesus lived in full harmony with creation, and others were amazed: “What sort of man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey him?” (Mt 8:27)….. He was far removed from those philosophies which despised the body, matter, and the things of the world.  Such unhealthy dualisms, nonetheless, left a mark on certain Christian thinkers in the course of history and disfigured the Gospel. (#98)

Again, there is so much in the text. Please take your time, do part of it, drop the rest. And trust that each seed of wisdom can grow into that tree of life which we gather under to rest. If there is a way to come together on-line/zoom or how ever let me know.

So, these are the key phrases of this Chapter called “The Gospel of Creation”

#70 These ancient stories, full of symbolism, bear witness to a conviction which we today share, that everything is interconnected, and that genuine care for our own lives and our relationships with nature is inseparable from fraternity, justice and faithfulness to others.
83 The ultimate destiny of the universe is in the fullness of God,
86“God wills the interdependence of creatures.  The sun and the moon, the cedar and the little flower, the eagle and the sparrow: the spectacle of their countless diversities and inequalities tells us that no creature is self-sufficient.
88 The bishops of Brazil have pointed out that nature as a whole not only manifests God but is also a locus of his presence.  The Spirit of life dwells in every living creature and calls us to enter into relationship with him.^[3] 
92 Moreover, when our hearts are authentically open to universal communion, this sense of fraternity excludes nothing and no one.  It follows that our indifference or cruelty towards fellow creatures of this world sooner or later affects the treatment we mete out to other human beings.  We only have one heart, and the same wretchedness which leads us to mistreat an animal will not be long in showing itself in our relationships with other people.  Every act of cruelty towards any creature is “contrary to human dignity”.^[4] ….. “Peace, justice and the preservation of creation are three absolutely interconnected themes, which cannot be separated and treated individually without once again falling into reductionism”. Everything is related, and we human beings are united as brothers and sisters on a wonderful pilgrimage, woven together by the love God has for each of his creatures and which also unites us in fond affection with brother sun, sister moon, brother river and mother earth.

I will end this reflection with a song by Girish, whose Hindu Spirituality/Path bring forth awe and wonder. This hymn a combination of Sanskrit and English. While in Canada a participated in a gathering with him for a weekend and his music continues to inspire me and brings me back to India and the Cave of My Heart.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jag7Syif0DU