Page 4 - Moravian Messenger July 2020

Br David Newman writes:
In a letter to the Moravian Messenger (May 2020), Br Alan Holdsworth asks us to focus our minds and thoughts on to our Christian responsibilities for the stewardship of God's created order.
It is important to do this in the context of theological study and reflection, in order to begin to understand what God is asking of us. We are all capable of 'doing theology' - don't let the idea put you off. With this in mind I have offered for your use a short series of easy
to follow studies, which you can undertake either as individuals or in a group (making use of Zoom or whatever you are using as we cope with church life in these Covid days).
The material used has been gleaned from various sources, primarily the work of the now defunct Sage Oxford Environmental Group of the 1980s and the Church of England Lent 2020 study booklet, 'Live Lent - Care for God's Creation'.
STEWARDSHIP OF CREATION
1
A Study for personal or group use
....88
The aim of this first study is to explore our role as stewards of the world that God has placed us in. There are three 'read' sections: the Genesis passages look at the mandate God gives to the people, and the other two look at how that mandate can be put into practice.
Read 1: Genesis 1:26-31 and Genesis 2:4-20
Here we look at the two, quite different stories of the creation of the human race, and what the similarities and differences of these stories can teach us about how we should relate to creation.
Genesis 1 seems to be dominant, using words like rule and subdue, whereas Genesis 2 seems to be gentler, as God commands Adam to take care of the garden.
Two key verses are 1:28 and 2:15. What is the significance of these differences? The first humans did not face the same environmental problems as we do today - perhaps some of what God says is specifically geared to their circumstances.
(1) Why do you think there are two stories of the creation of humanity? What differences can you find between them?
(2) Look again at 1:28 and 2:15. Pick out the words which describe ways in which people should relate to creation. What are the meanings of these words and why you think God uses them?
(3) Have we interpreted these instructions correctly, or achieved the right balance between them?
Read 2: Leviticus 25:1-24
Among the laws that God gave to Moses there are many which relate to environmental issues. In this passage we look at two: the Sabbatical Year and the Year of Jubilee.
The rationale behind these Years is primarily practical. If these laws are followed, enough crops will be produced for everybody, including those at the bottom of the social scale (verse 6 - justice is a necessary part of our stewardship).
These laws were radical for the society of the day - and it is doubtful that they were ever carried out in full. However, we look at them to draw out principles which we might apply today.
(4) Verses 1-7 might almost come from an edition of Radio 4's Gardener's Question Time. Why do you
think God is interested in such practical matters?
(5) What do you think is the primary purpose of the Sabbatical Year? Was it physical or spiritual; for the people or for the land?
(6) Looking at verses 8-24, how might you have reacted to the concept of the Jubilee year if you were living then? Might your attitude depend on your position in society?
(7) Can you draw out principles behind the Jubilee Year? (See especially verses 23-24.)
(8) How might these principles be implemented in today's society?
(e.g. allotment sharing, organic farming, tree planting, Third World debt)
Read 3: Matthew 25:14-29
This parable is usually applied to our stewardship of money or spiritual gifts, but what does it say about our stewardship of the earth? At first sight it appears to reward greed - invest so as to get the highest return.
This attitude has been used to justify all kinds of environmental destruction, such as log as much rainforest timber as you can while it is still there. This is a very short- term view. If we do this, future generations will suffer.
In the parable, a time frame is provided by the master's return - a reference to the Second Coming. There are those who think that Jesus' return means that it doesn't matter what we do to the earth now, but the parable suggests we will be held responsible for the way we use our resources.
(9) Jesus tells this parable to illustrate the Kingdom of God. Does it tell us anything about the way our earthly life affects our eternal life in the Kingdom?
(10) What aspects of life might this parable be applied to? What are our 'talents'?
(11) How might you apply this parable to our stewardship of the earth? Is the parable telling us to exploit all we can as fast as we can?
(12) Does the return of the master (verse 19) point to Jesus' Second Coming? If so, how might this affect our behaviour towards creation?