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Semper Reformanda |
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Creation and justice |
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Subsection 2.2
Though humanity's capacity to shape the world has brought immense benefits, it has also brought untold suffering and tragedy. The earth does not have an unlimited capacity to replenish itself. Species of animals and plants that are extinct cannot be recalled. Yet the sounds of chain-saws and crashing trees are heard in rain forests. "How long, O Lord?" As we seek to respond to contemporary challenges, we find no easy answers. We face the plea of our time as people of faith. We turn to Scripture and the Reformed tradition, seeking the word that gives life and the Spirit that inspires us with hope and with the language to reach out for the new creation.
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Sing to God in whom creation found its shape and origin: Spirit moving on the waters troubled by the God within; Source of breath to all things breathing, Life in whom all lives begin. Michael Hewlett |
In Jesus Christ, God, who has created and constantly re-creates all life, entered humanity and spoke to us. Jesus came in the power of the Spirit to re-establish communion with God. Through his suffering, death, and resurrection, he became the source of renewed life. God creating the universe, God reconciling us in Christ, and God's life-giving Spirit are one and the same God. The purpose of creation is revealed in Jesus Christ. But without the Spirit nothing comes to life. The Spirit, who has been active in creation and in the life of Jesus Christ, touches and transforms our hearts. The power of the word we are called to preach lies in the Spirit.
Reformed theology has always emphasized the role of the word and Spirit. We know that God implants faith in our hearts through word and Spirit. The church comes into being through both word and Spirit. The sacraments speak their particular language through the power of the Spirit. But have we always maintained a proper balance between word and Spirit? The Reformed tradition places strong emphasis on the word. Preaching and the use of human words are of central importance in the life of the church. Have we overemphasized the role of human words in the church? Have we neglected other ways of expressing the power of God's word? Have we overemphasized the role of the word to the detriment of the role of the Spirit? Have we spoken too much of God's sovereignty over creation and neglected God's participation in and with creation? Have we stressed God's transcendence and not paid enough attention to God's immanence?
What would it mean for us to seek God's presence in the created world as well as in the revealed word? Would a closer and caring relationship with our fellow creatures open us to a new appreciation of the Spirit's presence in creation? Can we learn to meditate on creation and not only seek mastery over it?
Sabbath
The relationship between Word and Spirit, action and imagination, is in many ways exemplified in the creation story. The Spirit, like a mother, broods over that which is to become creation. The Word brings creation into being. For six days God acts. On the seventh day, God refuses to speak the words that create and instead listens to the voices, the melody, of creation. The God who creates, sustains, judges, reconciles and redeems is also the God who rests. In the sabbath, creation becomes God's companion. God is present with creation as the Spirit of joy.
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And suddenly God's eyes changed - gone was the seriousness of the worker. They were the eyes of a child - sheer delight before the beauty of Paradise. And there was a change in God's body - gone were the tense muscles of the worker. It was the body of a child - a winged body - butterfly - playful. The universe was at play with God - and it was sabbath. Rubem Alves |
Sabbath reminds us that creation has intrinsic value and can never be reduced to "natural resources". In the Bible, the call to remember the sabbath and to keep it holy refers, not just to one day out of seven, but to a style of living. In the sabbath, we are invited to cease wresting a livelihood from creation and simply to be present with creation, sharing God's delight in the beauty of all created things.
The theme of rest and delight is also expressed through the sabbath and jubilee years. During the sabbath year (every seventh year), the land is allowed to rest. It lies fallow and only what is needed for survival is harvested from its overgrowth (Lev 25.4-7). The year of jubilee (the celebration following the seventh of seven years), continues the sabbath theme, while binding it to a sense of justice that proclaims liberty for all, complete rest for the land, a return to ancestral roots, and a restoration of right relations (Lev 25.10). The year of jubilee signals God's intention that land should not be held in perpetuity, that captives should be set free, and that neighbours should be honest with one another.
Is 58.1-14 begins with a call to pursue justice and concludes with a call to keep the sabbath. In Isaiah's vision, justice makes space for sabbath. By feeding the hungry and housing the homeless, the people of God become like a watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail. Sabbath marks a turning toward God and toward creation with the desire to do justice. "If you honour the sabbath, not going your own ways, serving your own interests, or pursuing your own affairs; then you shall take delight in the Lord" (Is 58.13-14). God calls us to break the chains of injustice so that the sabbath, the spirit of liberty and joy, may be possible for all.
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Land: the struggle of the Ammungme
For centuries the Ammungme people in Irian Jaya (Indonesia) have lived in a congenial relationship with their homeland. They liken the contours of their land to the body of a Mother. They revere the memory of their ancestors and they regard as sacred the places where their ancestors have been laid to rest. In 1967, white people came discovering gold and copper and procuring land with promises of education and resources for the Ammungme. After twenty five years of mining, the Ammungme know they have been deceived. Protests, beginning in 1977, were met with violence. In 1995 protests at Tamika were suppressed by the military. Sixteen villagers were killed, among them a pastor, a lay woman, and two children murdered during a Christmas service. Others disappeared. Bishop Munninghoff of the Catholic Church in Irian, with the support of the Communion of Churches in Indonesia, took the Ammungme's case to the National Commission on Human Rights. A National Forum of Concern for Human Rights in Irian Jaya was established. The mine owners in New Orleans (USA) have promised to respect the rights of the Ammungme, but cannot restore what has been damaged. The Ammungme are determined to resist the forces that continue to threaten their land and their people. |
Such justice can only be achieved when it is seen as the fulfilment of God's creation, as a vision of God's love. In the same way, justice without sabbath becomes cold and hollow. It neither lasts nor brings joy. In today's world, with its culture of acquisitiveness and exploitation, to do justice and to remember the sabbath, to keep it holy, are acts of resistance. They are counter-cultural.
In Jesus Christ the year of jubilee, the year of the Lord's favour, is already present (Lk 4.18-21). It means the release of captives, the act of healing, and the liberation of the oppressed. According to the gospel, the jubilee year has practical, social, and political consequences for our lives. At the same time, it anticipates the time when "the home of God is among mortals" (Rev 21.3-4).
How shall the people of God remember the sabbath? How can our congregations learn better to rest in creation and rest in God, in our lifestyles and relationships as well as in worship? How can we help our societies to move from economies of accumulation toward economies of care? How will today's church proclaim the year of the Lord's favour, the year of jubilee?
The Reformed tradition has placed special emphasis on observing the sabbath. Calvin rediscovered the centrality of the sabbath in the Old Testament and stressed its relevance for the church's spirituality. In Reformed churches, Sunday has been observed as a day of rest. Only in recent times has respect for the Lord's day begun to disappear, on the grounds that its observance easily acquires a legalistic character. Have we simply adapted ourselves to the prescriptions of modern industrialized society? There is an urgent need to appreciate anew the deeper meaning of sabbath.
The sabbath also has something to teach us about our understanding of work. Reformed spirituality is seen as emphasizing that it is the duty of every human being to work. In the minds of many, the terms "Reformed" and "work ethic" go together. In the past, reference has often been made to Gen 1.28 to underscore the obligation of all people to work. Faced with the impasses of the present day economy and especially with the destructive impact of human work on God's creation, are we not called to rethink our understanding of work? The sabbath commandment sets limits to human work. "Six days you may work, but on the seventh you shall not work." The sabbath commandment, with its strong emphasis on God's creation, may help us today in developing an understanding of work that is more respectful of creation and expresses better the deepest intentions of the Reformation.
Covenant
Covenant frames the Reformed understanding of God's relationship to the church, humanity, and all creation. Each time a rainbow appears we are reminded of God's promise that the earth will never be destroyed (Gen 8.22 and 9.8-17). It is also clear that human irresponsibility and disobedience to God can return creation to chaos (Jer 4.23-26). Though God's covenant is a promise, we live with the ever-present potential of humanity to disrupt creation's fragile relationships.
These two themes, God's grace and human sin, inform Reformed thinking on covenant. The Reformers stressed that God's grace takes the initiative to re-establish the right relationships intended from the beginning of creation, to reconcile God and humanity, and to restore all creation as the expression of God's joy.
This same understanding of covenant is echoed in the celebration of the Lord's supper. "This is the blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many" (Mk 14.24; Mt 26.28). We who remember and celebrate the covenant of God's self-giving love in Jesus Christ are reminded that we are called to participate in a cosmic process of reconciliation and relationship-building. The cup of the new covenant that is poured out for many also recalls the body broken and the blood poured "to reconcile to God all things..." For, "all things have been created through him and for him...and in him all things hold together" (Col 1.16-20).
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Sea: nuclear testing in the Pacific
Over the centuries, people indigenous to the Pacific have made epic journeys across this ocean, navigating by the stars, powered by the winds, and sustained by the fish of the sea. The ocean is central to their life, memory, and myths. In the twentieth century, the Pacific has reverberated with the testing of nuclear weapons. At Bikini Atoll, about 4000 km west of Hawaii, the peaceful waters were poisoned by nuclear weapons exploded by the US military between 1946 and 1958. The people of Bikini Atoll were resettled to the south at Enewetak. To this day, they have not been able to return to Bikini Atoll. More recently, the waters of Mururoa Atoll have been under attack. Coral formations, centuries in forming, have been disintegrated in an instant and schools of fish wiped out by the French military's testing of nuclear weapons. In spite of the damage already done, we celebrate the stated end to nuclear testing by the French government. This is a sabbath for the Pacific Ocean ("ocean of peace"). We applaud the resistance of the Pacific Council of Churches and the many people throughout the world committed to the well-being of the Pacific Ocean and those who live on its islands and atolls. |
Today, when justice for creation is an urgent issue, Reformed faith asks: How does God's covenant in Jesus Christ offer hope for a fragile and fractured world? Within God's covenant with all creation, how do we participate in a process of covenanting for justice, peace and the integrity of all God's creation?
A reconsideration of humanity's place in creation
An understanding of covenant that stresses God's relationship with the many, through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, calls into question distorted understandings of humanity's place in creation. An outlook that sees "Man" as the centre around which all creation revolves has alienated us from nature and from one another in terms of gender, race, and culture. We tend to think of the "other" as an object to be controlled and exploited. The crisis we face bears witness to our alienation.
We are challenged to understand anew humanity's place in creation - to articulate a Christian anthropology that celebrates the diversity inherent in creation with an emphasis on the relationships that exist between the things of the earth and human beings. In this quest, we welcome scientific insights that point to the centrality of relationship as a defining characteristic of life.
In creation, God brought forth the world in relationships. Diverse living things and their environments are interconnected in the community we call creation. This is the context in which God blessed humanity (Gen 1.28). God formed human beings from the dust of the earth and breathed into them the breath of life. At death human beings return to the earth. Humanity is from the earth and belongs to the earth. God created human beings, men and women, to live as partners with each other and with the rest of creation.
Gen 11.1-11 speaks of another stage in creation, namely, the creation of many languages and cultures. This diversity is God's way of ensuring that the blessing given to humanity, "be fruitful, multiply and fill the earth" (Gen 1.28), is continued. The problem of non-communication created at Babel was resolved in Jerusalem when the Holy Spirit came upon those who heard, each in their own language, the apostolic witness to the good news of what God has done in Jesus Christ (Acts 2.5-12). The church is formed from the nations and holds within it a rich diversity of languages and cultures. It is called to celebrate this diversity, to be a means of communication between the nations, so that diversity may not lead to hostility but rather be in conversation with itself.
The power of God, at work through the Holy Spirit, continues to move all things, even people of varying world-views, toward reconciliation and common understanding in Christ. As we accept the vocation to be reconciled and reconciling communities, held together in Christ, we face broader questions. Should we not learn from this diversity, from the wisdom and insights of other faith traditions? Are they not also evidence of the creative work of God's Spirit? Do we not need others' help to nurture a holistic understanding of humanity's place in creation? Many Christians who have shared in the sufferings and struggles of people of other faiths and beliefs testify that they have been challenged both to look more deeply into their own faith traditions and to learn from others.
Commitments to justice for creation
It is timely that we of Reformed faith commit ourselves again to a holistic view of the world, a vision that we have articulated with the phrase "Justice, peace and the integrity of creation". With this theme we have sought to express the relatedness of the physical world, all living things and human society.
The theme of sabbath calls us to a deeper understanding of our relationships with one other and the earth. Sabbath speaks of God's delight in creation and God's intention that all creation be set free from exploitation. Sabbath is a vision of sufficiency. It reminds us that God has provided us with what is necessary to sustain life, calling us to work for a just distribution of resources. By what right, then, can the privileged continue to exhaust finite resources and heap waste upon the earth? The lifestyles of many wealthy industrialized countries burden the earth and oppress other people. The vision of sabbath reminds us that we all belong to creation, to each other, and to God.
The rights of creation
Among our concerns is the need to ensure that future generations will be born into a world that is hospitable and life-giving. We need to establish binding international agreements protecting the environment and ensuring its right to exist without being exploited to the point of extinction.
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Air: climate change
For almost 10 years, Reformed churches, along with other partners in the World Council of Churches, have participated in the UN negotiations on treaties addressing climate change. At present, through a petition campaign, many churches are pressing governments in industrialized countries to set targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions (the leading cause of climate change) and sponsoring workshops in the two thirds world to explore the issue of climate change within the context of sustainable communities. |
One step towards this was the United Nations "Earth Summit" meeting in Rio de Janeiro in 1992. Rio addressed sustainable forestry, endangered biodiversity, accumulating greenhouse gases, the ethical implications of biotechnology, and the impact of militarism and warfare. It brought churches into dialogue with non-governmental organizations, the scientific community, women's movements, indigenous people, youth and children.
Among the measures proposed at Rio de Janeiro was an "Earth Charter" similar to the UN Declaration on Human Rights. The initiative failed, however, and the issue remains before the international community. The Alliance publication "Rights of Future Generations, Rights of Nature" contributed to discussions at Rio and could be useful in the ongoing efforts to establish an "Earth Charter".
Economics and ecology
Economics and ecology are no longer dimensions of human life that can be addressed separately. Analysis and critique are urgently needed in this time of deepening ecological crisis when economic attitudes allow the predatory expansion of megacorporations, the devouring of natural resources, and the dehumanizing exploitation of workers. We need to be creatively critical of patterns of economic activity and human consumption that commodify the earth, living things and even human beings. Economic theory can no longer proceed with the assumption that natural resources are inexhaustible. The atmosphere is unable to absorb indefinitely the emissions of greenhouse gases - the effluents of societies that are founded on industrial development for profit and growth. At the same time, there are questions to be raised about justice and about the sovereignty of nations, especially nations in the "two-thirds world", to pursue prosperity through industrial development. The ecumenical community can contribute to the development of alternative economic models.
Listening and learning
It is not enough for our communities to denounce injustice and point to the seemingly irreparable damage done to the earth. We need to travel further towards the embodiment of a just society living in tender relationship with the earth. We need to celebrate the "mustard seed" signs of the realm of God. We can give thanks for the ferment of the Holy Spirit in and through people who resist the threats to life.
Let us not, if we are adults, forget or ignore the voices of children and young people. They too hope for the realm of God. They are often more committed to attaining a healthy earth than adults seem to be. We are impoverished if we are indifferent to their distinctive voices. With them, we must work for a world in which the whole creation is nurtured and protected with loving care.
We acknowledge the efforts of all those who work for the well-being of all creation with humility, persistence, and determination. Love is patient. Many stories of recent achievements are encouraging. Through them we discern what is possible. They counteract the notion that certain trends are inevitable and irreversible and they show, in the midst of the ambiguity of human motives and actions, that obedience to the Spirit of God makes way for justice and peace. There is hope.
Continuing Our commitment
In 1982, the 21st general council of the World Alliance of Reformed Churches called for a united Christian response to the threat of nuclear war and the ecological crisis. The Alliance lifted up God's covenant with Noah and the whole of creation as the biblical metaphor that best describes the relationship between God, humanity, and creation.
In 1989, the 22nd general council of the Alliance declared its commitment to justice, peace, and the integrity of creation (JPIC) and drew attention to the rights of younger generations to enjoy the fullness of God's creation in "An open letter to the children and young people of the planet".
Since then, the Alliance has joined with many ecumenical voices to assert the inseparable relationship between economic justice and the integrity of creation. In 1992 the Alliance pressed the international community to adopt an "Earth Charter" that would acknowledge creation's intrinsic value and not merely its economic value.
In 1997, the 23rd general council of the Alliance again has the opportunity to make a significant contribution to the common concern for creation.
Recommendations
- That the delegates to the 23rd general council, through study, worship, and action, explore the meaning of sabbath as it relates to creation, contemporary challenges, and their own contexts.
- That the delegates to the 23rd general council enter into a covenant with one another, with their commitment to and responsibility for the integrity of creation as a part of that covenant.
- That the 23rd general council commit the World Alliance and urge member churches to strengthen efforts aimed at securing an internationally binding "Earth Charter". This should be done by working cooperatively with those people and organizations already engaged in these efforts. Because the World Alliance publication, "Rights of Future Generations, Rights of Nature" contributed to Rio Earth Summit discussions on the subject, WARC should consider updating the document and reissuing it for study and action among member churches.
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