{"id":1070,"date":"2014-10-23T22:35:05","date_gmt":"2014-10-24T03:35:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.messy-spirituality.com\/wordpress\/?p=1070"},"modified":"2014-11-25T10:11:05","modified_gmt":"2014-11-25T16:11:05","slug":"environmental-stewardship-being-with-with-being","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.messy-spirituality.com\/wordpress\/2014\/10\/23\/environmental-stewardship-being-with-with-being\/","title":{"rendered":"Environmental Stewardship: Being with \/ With being"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>This sermon was preached for a Stewardship Preaching class<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.messy-spirituality.com\/wordpress\/sermons\/?sermon_id=47\"><strong>Audio Version<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"embed-youtube\" style=\"text-align:center; display: block;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"youtube-player\" width=\"700\" height=\"394\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/0A26rrZHJxA?version=3&#038;rel=1&#038;showsearch=0&#038;showinfo=1&#038;iv_load_policy=1&#038;fs=1&#038;hl=en-US&#038;autohide=2&#038;wmode=transparent\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" style=\"border:0;\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-presentation allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox\"><\/iframe><\/span><\/p>\n<p>Setting from Revised Common Lectionary<br \/>\nNew Years Day, ABC<a href=\"#_ftn1\" name=\"_ftnref1\">[1]<\/a><br \/>\nEcclesiastes 3:1\u201313<br \/>\nPsalm 8:1-9<br \/>\nRevelation 21:1\u20136a<br \/>\nMatthew 25:31\u201346<\/p>\n<p>Psalm 8<\/p>\n<p><sup>1<\/sup>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 O Lord, our Sovereign,<\/p>\n<p>how majestic is your name in all the earth!<\/p>\n<p>You have set your glory above the heavens.<\/p>\n<p><sup>2<\/sup>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Out of the mouths of babes and infants<\/p>\n<p>you have founded a bulwark because of your foes,<\/p>\n<p>to silence the enemy and the avenger.<\/p>\n<p><sup>3<\/sup>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers,<\/p>\n<p>the moon and the stars that you have established;<\/p>\n<p><sup>4<\/sup>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 what are human beings that you are mindful of them,<\/p>\n<p>mortals that you care for them?<\/p>\n<p><sup>5<\/sup>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Yet you have made them a little lower than God,<\/p>\n<p>and crowned them with glory and honor.<\/p>\n<p><sup>6<\/sup>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 You have given them dominion over the works of your hands;<\/p>\n<p>you have put all things under their feet,<\/p>\n<p><sup>7<\/sup>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 all sheep and oxen,<\/p>\n<p>and also the beasts of the field,<\/p>\n<p><sup>8<\/sup>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 the birds of the air, and the fish of the sea,<\/p>\n<p>whatever passes along the paths of the seas.<\/p>\n<p><sup>9<\/sup>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 O Lord, our Sovereign,<\/p>\n<p>how majestic is your name in all the earth! <a href=\"#_ftn2\" name=\"_ftnref2\">[2]<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Today is a new day, a new year and we are a called people by God, through Jesus. In Jesus\u2019 death and resurrection, it is a new day, a new year for us in our forgiveness of our sins through God\u2019s grace. If we take this seriously, then we too are to take seriously the call of God for us to care for all of creation in verse 6 today of our Psalm.<\/p>\n<p>Humans are given dominion, control over the works of God\u2019s hands. Dominion however, I believe can be so misunderstood and abused in our context today. Instead of dominion, one possibility for a translation of this would to be, having rule but I want us to consider for our context today the word, charge.<\/p>\n<p>When you hear charge, hopefully you also hear, or at least now you hear, to be put in charge, charge of God\u2019s creation. This is not our creation but God\u2019s who calls us to be in charge of it. If we are to be in charge of God\u2019s creation, then it is really not all about us, is it? Douglas Hall suggests that \u201cbeing\u201d in the Bible is dualistic in nature of \u201cwith-being, being-with\u201d this allows us to step back\u2026\u2026no, compels us to step back and consider how do our actions or inactions effect us in creation and how do these actions or inactions effect creation.<a href=\"#_ftn3\" name=\"_ftnref3\">[3]<\/a><\/p>\n<p>I want to share with you a video today, in this narrated video, for those that know the difference between an Elk or a Deer by site, you may notice that the narrator uses the word deer when elks appear. This is simply because the narrator is British and the British word for elk is red deer or simply deer.<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"embed-youtube\" style=\"text-align:center; display: block;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"youtube-player\" width=\"700\" height=\"394\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/ysa5OBhXz-Q?version=3&#038;rel=1&#038;showsearch=0&#038;showinfo=1&#038;iv_load_policy=1&#038;fs=1&#038;hl=en-US&#038;autohide=2&#038;wmode=transparent\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" style=\"border:0;\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-presentation allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox\"><\/iframe><\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"#_ftn4\" name=\"_ftnref4\">[4]<\/a><\/p>\n<p>There are some that would suggest that the data that supports this video although accurate was looked at through lenses that allowed the authors to see this cause and effect. <a href=\"#_ftn5\" name=\"_ftnref5\">[5]<\/a> They would argue that there are many factors as to what has caused the changes, not just the wolves.<a href=\"#_ftn6\" name=\"_ftnref6\">[6]<\/a><\/p>\n<p>More to the point however is that humans removed the wolf causing the imbalance that existed for years at Yellowstone. Using reason, that God has given us, we take action, inaction; evaluate what we have been charged with. We are called to care for all that God created. This does not mean just sitting around and letting whatever happens, happen. We make decisions based upon our calling. Failure to do so can be catastrophic. We are after at the top of the food chain and our actions or inactions can have a direct impact upon the trophic cascade.<\/p>\n<p>Ellen Davis speaks about food production in her book but the following quote from her book can be applied to the entire eco system.<\/p>\n<p>\u2026judgments and practices \u2026bear directly on the health of the earth and living creatures, on the emotional, economic, and physical well-being of families and communities, and ultimately on their survival.<a href=\"#_ftn7\" name=\"_ftnref7\">[7]<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>From the New Century Version Bible, Psalm 8, verses 4-8<\/p>\n<p><sup>4\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 But why are people even important to you?<\/p>\n<p>Why do you take care of human beings?<\/p>\n<p><sup>5\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 You made them a little lower than the angels<\/p>\n<p>and crowned them with glory and honor.<\/p>\n<p><sup>6\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 You put them in charge of everything you made.<\/p>\n<p>You put all things under their control:<\/p>\n<p><sup>7\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 all the sheep, the cattle,<\/p>\n<p>and the wild animals,<\/p>\n<p><sup>8\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 the birds in the sky,<\/p>\n<p>the fish in the sea,<\/p>\n<p>and everything that lives under water.<\/p>\n<p><sup>9\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Lord our Lord,<\/p>\n<p>your name is the most wonderful name in all the earth!<a href=\"#_ftn8\" name=\"_ftnref8\">[8]<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Freed from the effects of sin, in Jesus, we are left in charge of creation. Called and compelled to respond to God\u2019s call to care for all that God has created. The Word\/Logos\/Son of the Father was and is part of creation. \u00a0Thus the Son takes part in our life, the Son who is incarnate as Jesus Christ.<\/p>\n<p>We received life from the Father and in the Son and the Holy Spirit. \u00a0We are given new life in the Son, through the Father and Son\u2019s actions towards us, taking charge they provided the necessary balance that, we as sinful humans cannot do on our own but need, in order that we would be reconciled. \u00a0This action on the part of God is a continual act through Christ, not one that sits and lets happen what happens.<\/p>\n<p>In the end, Jesus will come back and all creation will be made right. \u00a0God ultimately has the impact upon the trophic cascade, in us for the sake of Jesus.<\/p>\n<p>So, if we are compelled brothers and sisters, let us be compelled. \u00a0Compelled to take charge of creation for what has been, what is and what will be done for us, all of creation, and for the sake of the one who died, who was buried but was raised, so that we may have enteral life.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"#_ftnref1\" name=\"_ftn1\">[1]<\/a> <em>Revised Common Lectionary<\/em> (Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software, 2009).<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"#_ftnref2\" name=\"_ftn2\">[2]<\/a> <em>The Holy Bible: New Revised Standard Version<\/em> (Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1989), Ps 8:1\u20139.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"#_ftnref3\" name=\"_ftn3\">[3]<\/a> Richard Bauckham, <em>Bible and Ecology: Rediscovering the Community of Creation<\/em>, Sarum Theological Lectures (Waco, Tex: Baylor University Press, 2010), 127\u2013128.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"#_ftnref4\" name=\"_ftn4\">[4]<\/a> Sustainable Human, \u201cHow Wolves Change Rivers &#8211; YouTube,\u201d February 13, 2014, https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=ysa5OBhXz-Q&amp;list=FLym9RQdUiPq5haO-3XY2nPQ.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"#_ftnref5\" name=\"_ftn5\">[5]<\/a> Richard Conniff, \u201cMaybe Wolves Don\u2019t Change Rivers, After All \u00ab\u202fStrange Behaviors,\u201d March 10, 2014, http:\/\/strangebehaviors.wordpress.com\/2014\/03\/10\/maybe-wolves-dont-change-rivers-after-all\/.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"#_ftnref6\" name=\"_ftn6\">[6]<\/a> Arthur D. Middleton et al., \u201cLinking Anti-Predator Behaviour to Prey Demography Reveals Limited Risk Effects of an Actively Hunting Large Carnivore.,\u201d <em>Ecology Letters<\/em> 16, no. 8 (August 2013): 1\u20139.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"#_ftnref7\" name=\"_ftn7\">[7]<\/a> Davis, <em>Scripture, Culture, and Agriculture<\/em>, sec. 33.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"#_ftnref8\" name=\"_ftn8\">[8]<\/a> <em>The Everyday Bible: New Century Version<\/em> (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, Inc., 2005), Ps 8:4\u20139.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>This sermon was preached for a Stewardship Preaching class Audio Version Setting from Revised Common Lectionary New Years Day, ABC[1] Ecclesiastes 3:1\u201313 Psalm 8:1-9 Revelation 21:1\u20136a Matthew 25:31\u201346 Psalm 8 1\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 O Lord, our Sovereign, how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory above the heavens. 2\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Out of &#8230; <span class=\"more\"><a class=\"more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.messy-spirituality.com\/wordpress\/2014\/10\/23\/environmental-stewardship-being-with-with-being\/\">[Read more&#8230;]<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_crdt_document":"","_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[29,81,21,10,5,70,58,83,44],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"entry","1":"post","2":"publish","3":"author-admin","4":"post-1070","6":"format-standard","7":"category-community","8":"category-enviroment","9":"category-faith","10":"category-jesus","11":"category-law","12":"category-life","13":"category-response","14":"category-sermon","15":"category-stewardship"},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p2m6h5-hg","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":2164,"url":"https:\/\/www.messy-spirituality.com\/wordpress\/2019\/02\/04\/baptism-and-stewardship\/","url_meta":{"origin":1070,"position":0},"title":"Baptism and Stewardship","author":"Douglas Dill","date":"February 4, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"1-13-2019 Baptism of the LordIsaiah 43:1\u20137Acts 8:14\u201317Luke 3:15\u201317, 21\u201322 https:\/\/youtu.be\/M-tucR2y2JI","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Baptism&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Baptism","link":"https:\/\/www.messy-spirituality.com\/wordpress\/category\/baptism\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/img.youtube.com\/vi\/M-tucR2y2JI\/0.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2154,"url":"https:\/\/www.messy-spirituality.com\/wordpress\/2019\/01\/14\/this-is-the-time\/","url_meta":{"origin":1070,"position":1},"title":"This is the Time","author":"Douglas Dill","date":"January 14, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"This is a great sermon that ties in our baptism with our responsibilities in stewardship. aa","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Baptism&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Baptism","link":"https:\/\/www.messy-spirituality.com\/wordpress\/category\/baptism\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":2451,"url":"https:\/\/www.messy-spirituality.com\/wordpress\/2020\/07\/27\/predestined-stewardship-response\/","url_meta":{"origin":1070,"position":2},"title":"Predestined, Stewardship Response","author":"Douglas Dill","date":"July 27, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"July 26th 2020 1 Kings 3:5-12Romans 8:26-39Matthew 13:31-33, 44-52 https:\/\/vimeo.com\/442086750","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Giving&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Giving","link":"https:\/\/www.messy-spirituality.com\/wordpress\/category\/giving\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":3633,"url":"https:\/\/www.messy-spirituality.com\/wordpress\/2025\/12\/28\/evangelism-the-holy-spirit\/","url_meta":{"origin":1070,"position":3},"title":"Evangelism &amp; 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