Sounding Gough

Look! Behnd you! The Realm of God!

Genesis 1

1In the beginning when God created the heavens and the earth, ²the earth was a formless void and darkness covered the face of the deep, while a wind from God swept over the face of the waters.

³Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light.

John 1

1In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. ²He was in the beginning with God. ³All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being ⁴in him was life, and the life was the light of all people.

Colossians 1

13He has rescued us from the power of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of his beloved Son, 14in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. 15He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation; 16for in him all things in heaven and on earth were created, things visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or powers—all things have been created through him and for him. 17He himself is before all things, and in him all things hold together. 18He is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that he might come to have first place in everything. 19For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, 20and through him God was pleased to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, by making peace through the blood of his cross.

I don't clearly understand how any reading of both the Hebrew and Christian texts of the Bible can cause one to come away with a dualistic understanding of the cosmos. Yet we constantly talk about our reality as being that of either spirit or matter.

What these and many other scriptures tell me is that there is no separation between the two. God speaks and light happens. Light, energy, matter happens. And all of this through the Word of God. What we touch, smell, hear, taste, and see all came into being from the Word of God. I am not saying it happened instantly but through means and processes that we are still discovering today. Even those things we have not yet learned to measure exist by the will and Word of God. 

Your own matter makes up who you are. Your thoughts and memories are, in fact, matter. They have mass. Separate from your body and you would be something entirely different. You need your DNA and your mass to be who you are. If you are to be maintained in anyway beyond death then you must be resurrected.

Jesus is the Word incarnate, and the first to be resurrected. Jesus is not a hero sent from a heavenly realm to rescue those dirty blobs of mass. Jesus is the blueprint for all matter and the revelation that God desired to be God in and through God's creation.

All matter is made up of vibrating atoms with relatively massive gaps of space in between. They vibrate to the Word of God. The "I AM" that powers all life and holds all things together.

The impact of this should be mind boggling to us. The realm of God is near as both John and Jesus proclaimed. Nearer than we could imagine. Near in space and in time. It is what desires to live and move each of the atoms that make up who we are. It cannot be made far. God isn't a spirit only force that comes and goes in this messy material world but is a God who is matter as much as a God who is beyond matter.

With that in mind sometimes I think scientists are our best Christians. The wonder and excitement I have seen in some who study with glee the amazing wonders of this material world inspires me. I hear them talk or read their words and I want to have a more proper response to this reality, worshipful of the one who is in it.

In the same vein, I am sad when those of faith are so dismissive of this physical existence. Who seem comfortable advocating a self-centered dominion of creation. The focus on an after-life makes many feel as if this creation is a throw-away. It is no more a throw-away than the material life of Christ was a throw-away. 

This material world is where God has made God's being. Our relationship with creation is one that should carry our awe and worship of God, one propelled by love. A right relationship with this world is part of our spiritual life. Balance, sustainability, justice, conservation, and preservation are things motivated by love. Consumption, dominance, and self-centered use are not marks of a love-based relationship.

Perhaps we Western Christians have had such a hard time with spiritual discipline and life because we got the idea that it does not involve our material lives. We can rediscover a spirituality that finds life through material means. Maybe the reason why so many churches are finding it hard fill the pews is because God is inspiring people to gather in community gardens, in marches for sustainable energy policies, at swap meets, or in simplified and resource-sharing communities.

God is in our atoms. The realm of God is you. Here and now and forever. God speaks and you were and are. We can only choose whether our voice will be in harmony with God's very real and material Word or not.

Every Thing Matters

Camp is a natural place to incorporate ways of living that are healthy, have less impact on the environment, and that are sustainable. A new intern program may start here next fall where 4-8 young adults will spend a year focusing on Christian spirituality and care for creation. While our very successful environmental education program and our ministry have largely been run as separate programs we are expanding the places where they do intersect.

We look at our practices here at camp and the necessities of running a business and know that we can't change everything right at once. While much of our produce comes from a local market with a commitment to local farmers first, we still order food from SYSCO that is not necessarily healthy (I have been begging for the elimination of processed cheese in the grilled cheese sandwiches-blech) nor local. Our chicken strips likely come from chickens raised in the large indoor chicken plants where, if you saw them, would probably have you swearing off the eating of chicken. There are many examples aside from food where we just can't be as "green" as we can be due to prohibited costs and logistics 

Some look at these inconsistencies and proclaim the whole thing a failure or use it as an argument against changing the way we live. This short-sighted attitude is rooted in the instant gratification culture of today. There will always be areas of improvement. The question to ask isn't, "have we have arrived," but rather is, "are we moving in the right direction?" Step by step we move towards a faith that chooses to live a life fueled by love, including a love for God's creation and our neighbors around the world and in future generations.

Speaking of change and neighbors around the world, my father is currently in the Congo as part of an effort to set up legal clinics for women. If you know anything about the treatment of women in many parts of Africa you probably are tempted to throw up your hands and declare that changing the culture is impossible. Perhaps, if you want it changed overnight. But just as our own society has been changing in how we grant equality to all people so it is possible in all places. My father was involved in the grass-roots movement in this country that began in his youth and now, in his 70's, he is bringing his experience and legal expertise to a country that while it recently adopted a constitution that grants rights to women, needs a grass-roots education and movement towards that ideal.

The change will be gradual but it will change. They are the ripples of the justice and love that impacted this planet in the person of Jesus Christ that cannot be stopped.  I am proud of a Father who heard a call and did not let the overwhelming task dissuade him from asking "what steps can I take?"

His own words:

"Yes, things are good here.  Spoke to the people attending the Genre and Justice seminar in Lubutu—about experiences in the south and my practice, and then tied it in with the past three days of teaching by Richard.  Got a huge laugh with my explanation that I do cooking and laundry at home, and “Regardez moi, je suis encore un homme; je m’habille en pantaloons et pas une robe…”  Look at me, I do all that and I am still a man. I still wear pants and not a dress.”  Also, talked about change and Obama’s candidacy slogan of “yes we can,” and ended my presentation by asking, “Pouvez vous?” (can you [change]) and received a resounding reply, “Oui, nous pouvons!”  (Yes we can)"

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Take 20 Minutes to Think About Something Important

Find 20 minutes and watch this video. Even if you don't take Annie Leonard's point of view I think everyone needs ot stop and think about the way we have come to live.

Jesus told us not to store up treasures that rust and led a life of simplicity why then is the church not at the forefront of the sustainability movement?