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Text Version of Earth Sunday Zoom Reflection

I’d like to share with you a quote from John Wesley, the founder of the Methodist Church, who lived in the 1700’s:

“I believe in my heart that faith in Jesus Christ can and will lead us beyond an exclusive concern for the well-being of other human beings to the broader concern for the well-being of the birds in our backyards, the fish in our rivers, and every living creature on the face of the earth.”

I would love to believe what Wesley says. I would love for the millions of Christians the world
over to have compassion not only for other people but also for the natural world which supports the life of our species. But sadly, Wesley’s hopes have not been realized.

It seems we are still stuck on the first part of Wesley’s statement – that faith in Jesus Christ
would lead us to have concern for each other and for our species.

While there seems to be concern for a person who has fallen on hard times, there seems to be less concern for humanity as a whole and for the economic systems and social arrangements and biased thinking that cause much of the suffering experienced by individual people in our world today. As Dom Helder Camara, a bishop in Brazil, put it, “When I give food to the poor, they call me a saint. When I ask why they are poor, they call me a communist.”

Christianity seems to have fostered concern for individual people on a case by case basis but not so much for humanity as a species.

The climate crisis is a case in point. Humanity as a species needs nature to support our lives; to make it possible for us to flourish and thrive, to breathe, and to eat. Harming the ecosystem of the planet means harming our species. Hurting Earth hurts people. So, if we had true concern for humanity as a whole, we would have more concern for the planet. We don’t even seem to have that “exclusive concern for the well-being of other human beings” that Wesley mentions.

So, Wesley’s aspirations don’t seem to be coming true. Faith in Jesus Christ does not seem to be leading us from concern for humanity to concern for nature.

St. Francis of Assisi had a different approach than Wesley. He lived well before Wesley from
1181-1226. He said, “If you have men who will exclude any of God’s creatures from the shelter of compassion and pity, you will have men who will deal likewise with their fellow men.”

That seems to be closer to our actual experience. Little concern for the environment
accompanied by little concern for humanity.

I saw this post on NextDoor recently: “This past March we had zero school shootings. The first time since 2002, I hear. Stay safe everyone.” No school shootings. Well, the schools were closed. How sad is that? We have to close the schools to stop the shootings? Clearly, there is not enough regard for the value of life, human or otherwise, in our culture, despite all the churches.

So here is my hope for this Earth Day Week. It’s a twist on Wesley with an eye to St. Francis. My hope is that our growing reverence for the natural world will help us increase our sense of reverence for human life. That our love for the Earth and for nature will increase our love for our very own species. That’s my aspiration this 50th anniversary of Earth Day. Amen.

Joyful, Joyful We Adore Thee

joyful joyfulWhen we were much, much, much younger my sister and I would slap-dash our way through the 4-hands transcriptions of Beethoven’s symphonies, collapsing in giggles whenever one or the other of us would beat the other to the end of a movement!

So, out of that memory springs the approach for this final Earth Day hymn-a-day marathon: Joyful, Joyful We Adore Thee. #4 in the New Century Hymnal. Here’s a representative text: https://hymnary.org/text/joyful_joyful_we_adore_thee.

But — back to the symphonies, 4-hands — before the hymn itself, there’s two fragments from the final movement of Beethoven’s 9th symphony from which this famous hymn is drawn: first, the little Turkish march theme in which you can hear the famous hymn melody lurking but not entirely exposed, then the main theme as it first appears with the melody in augmentation in the upper voices with a rumbling stream of eighth notes in the lower voices. Both those fragments are from a 4-hands edition of the 9th symphony, with me playing both parts since Lucy, my sister, is in Hawaii and I’m in Florida.

After those two fragments, then comes the hymn as we know it but with me improvising a 4-hands version as if Lucy and I were doing it. “4-hands” means literally, four hands, or two people with two hands each, playing on the same piano. The literature for piano, 4-hands is very, very extensive and is considered much more important that literature for 2 pianos! It’s a medium I love. It’s VERY social and a lot of fun. I often require composition students to write in it when learning to write for orchestra because it teaches them to not mask the counterpoint of the different voices.

The picture above is Lucy and I playing some 4-hands music at Lakewood UCC way back in 2013.

This Is My Father’s World

hkj at pianoAt Lakewood UCC we’re very concerned that the words to our prayers, hymns, and anthems all use inclusive language for humanity and expansive language for God. That’s a deep statement, and if you ponder it for a bit — inclusive language for humanity…expansive language for God — you might glimpse how our language for humanity in the past may have been exclusionary and our language for God, restricting. I asked Rev. Wells for suggestions for hymns during this week when we’re celebrating Earth Day. This Is My Father’s World was one of her suggestions! When I queried her about the patriarchal language of the title, her response was, as always, enlightened and compassionate. Here’s what she said, “Many of us grew up singing This Is My Father’s World and know it. Yes, it uses masculine language for God, but we do our best. Don’t want to throw out the baby with the bathwater. Or become legalistic.” It’s great working for someone who really thinks things through.

Here’s words to the hymn so you can sing along: https://hymnary.org/text/this_is_my_fathers_world_and_to_my.

This is a simple rendition, just piano and a string pad. It’s what I would have heard at night as a child as almost every night my mother (violin) and father (piano) would play together in the front room while I feel asleep on the couch. I assume they treated my sister to the same pleasure, but I don’t remember as she’s about 10 years older than me. They favored a romantic style of rubato, improvisational playing of the Fritz Kreisler sort. Guess that accounts for my eclectic tastes.

Corona Sabbath 6 Earth Day

unnamedThese weeks when we cannot gather in person for Sunday worship, Lakewood United Church of Christ is providing brief weekly sabbath programs for you to listen to on your own or with those you live with. They will be posted on Friday so that you can schedule your sabbath time to suit your schedule and your spiritual inclinations. We hope these programs are of spiritual support to you in these difficult times.

There is a poem, a scripture reading and a brief meditation by Pastor Kim Wells followed by music offered by Music Director Hilton Kean Jones. Following the video and music, there is a photo montage of pictures of nature taken by the LUCC church family.

Find a quiet place, inside or outside. Light a candle. Perhaps have something present that represents nature for you. Breathe. Be present.

You may begin by offering these words:

The creation is quite like a spacious and splendid house, provided and filled with the most abundant furnishings. Everything in it tells us of God.
–John Calvin, 1509-1564

When you are ready, start the video below.

(For text for above video click HERE.)

As you listen to the music video from Hilton which follows, you are invited to pay attention to the thoughts and feelings and reflections that arise for you. The music video features photos of nature taken by members of the Lakewood Church family offered in honor of Earth Day.

(opening titles begin in silence – for best audio, headphones or external computer speakers are recommended)

After viewing the videos, you are invited to offer the following closing –

The best remedy for those who are afraid, lonely or unhappy is to go outside somewhere where they can be quiet, alone with the heavens, nature, and God. Because only then does one feel that all is as it should be and that God wishes to see people happy, amidst the simple beauty of nature. . . I firmly believe that nature brings solace in all troubles.
–Ann Frank, 1929-1945

Breathe. Extinguish your candle and engage whatever may come with a sense of peace and a desire to serve.

LAKEWOOD UNITED CHURCH OF CHRIST

The mission of Lakewood United Church of Christ, as part of the Church Universal, is to:

  • Celebrate the presence and power of God in our lives and in our world;
  • Offer the hospitality and inclusive love of Christ to all people;
  • Work for God’s peace and justice throughout creation.

Corona Sabbath 6 Earth Day Reflection Text

unnamedGreetings and welcome to Corona Sabbath. This is one of the ways the church is endeavoring to offer spiritual support during these challenging days of COVID-19. We will continue to post these weekly until we are able to meet again in person for worship. We appreciate your feedback and suggestions. This week we are remembering the 50th anniversary of Earth Day.

We’ll start by listening to the poem The Creation by James Weldon Johnson.

In the book of Genesis, there is a bit more to the story. We listen to Genesis 1:31-2: 3

God looked at all of this creation, and proclaimed that this was good – very good. Evening came, and morning followed – the sixth day.

Thus the heavens and the earth and all their array were completed. On the seventh day God had finished all the work of creation, and so, on the seventh day, God rested. God blessed the seventh day and called it sacred because on it God rested from all the work of creation.

Pause.

REFLECTION

It is from this last day of the story of creation that we are given the concept of Sabbath. A day of rest. A day of renewal. A day of appreciation and wonder.

Some of us may remember when things were different on Sundays. Yes, you couldn’t buy alcohol. But you also couldn’t buy much of anything. Stores were closed. Yes, closed. No going to the grocery store on Sunday. Or the clothes store. Or the hardware store. There were no ATMs and banks were closed. Gas stations were closed except on the interstate.

What did people do on Sundays? Some rested. There were family meals and gatherings. People went to the lake and went swimming. Or they went to the beach. They went on hikes. They went to an art museum. They took Sunday drives out into the country. They had a cookout. They went on bike rides. And they went to church. Sometimes for most of the day.

Sunday was not just another Saturday as it is now. Saturday was for shopping and errands. Saturday was for getting supplies and materials and food. Saturday was market day. That was the day for commerce but not Sunday.

As society has developed, we were told to think that having stores open on Sunday would help people. It would make things more convenient for people, especially people who worked on Saturday. And people who were working in sectors like healthcare which involved working on Saturday and Sunday. We were told that shopping on Sunday would make life easier especially for those for whom life was hard. So things started to be open on Sunday afternoons. And then Sunday all day. And sports events and school events and other events began to be scheduled on Sunday mornings. And now Sunday is just another Saturday. And who benefits most from this? Not the people at the bottom. But the people at the top. There is another day of the week for people to be out spending their money and making someone else rich.

And where is our day of rest? Where is the day to recover and reflect? Where is the time to be out in nature because you can’t be in the mall or the market? Where is the day to devote to leisure and family and friends? Where is the time to soothe the soul? Where is the respect for the rhythms of life?

We may have gained something with our seven day a week open market economy, but we have lost something, too. Something that is embedded into the health and well-being of creation. Sabbath. Rest. Time spent not working. For job. Or home. Time invested in renewal, relationships, and refreshment. Re-creation.

The creation story tells of God resting; spending time glorying in all that was made. Taking delight in the flourishing of life. Not working on a project. Not dreaming up another universe. Not planning for the next eon. In the Genesis story, God sets an example for humanity. Surely if God can take a day off, so can we. Our strivings cannot be more important than God’s. The intent of Sabbath is to convey the need for building down time into our weekly routine for our well-being and the wellbeing of creation. In the Bible, the obligation to observe the Sabbath is reinforced again and again. To be in right relationship with God, with the Earth, with ourselves, and with others, we need Sabbath.

The need for this kind of time set aside for renewal and refreshment is built into nature – darkness and light, circadian rhythms, the seasons – the long cold months of dormancy, fields fallow to rest and rejuvenate before replanting. It seems that only humans have abandoned attention to our need for these rhythms which keep us healthy, our relationships healthy, and the earth healthy.

Interestingly, this corona time of safer-at-home and shelter-in-place, has helped us to become aware of what we were lacking and how needed and renewing it is for us as human beings and for the planet. People are getting needed rest. They are spending more time outside. We see more people walking on our street than we have seen in the past 30 years. And who knew there were so many dogs! We are told that the earth itself is renewing due to diminished human activity. We have a son who lives in Los Angeles and he says he can’t believe how clean the air is. Earth is getting healthier and animals are thriving with humans on lockdown.

This Corona time is helping us to see what a better balance could look like in our lives and for the life of the planet. We are seeing that what we need is not to go back to business as usual, not to reopen for business. But to create new arrangements based on different values and expectations. Yup, that means, that, well, things might not be open all the time for our supposed convenience. It means that people will be expected to take time off. Rest is needed as is vacation and relaxation. We can learn to place value upon spending time in nature and encouraging each other to do that. We can reclaim a sense of awe and wonder in the face of the spectacular manifestations of the natural world. Did you see the Venus this week? It was so bright. It made me think of the star over the stable in the story of Jesus’ birth!

With more reverence for ourselves, each other, our world, and our God, however we may conceive of God, may we find a new re-set in this corona time. May we cherish Sabbath time. May this experience continue to be healing for us and for the earth. Amen.

[Pause]

As you listen to the music video from Hilton which follows, you are invited to pay attention to the thoughts and feelings and reflections that arise for you. The music video features photos of nature taken by members of the Lakewood Church family offered in honor of Earth Day.

(Click HERE if you wish to see the post containing the video of this text.)