Earth Centered Spirituality in Christianity

There is a strong earth-centered tradition in Christianity. By considering it, we can learn more about positive Christianity and nature based tradition.

We seem to be on a roll
   with Earth Centered Spirituality.

We haven't been
  on as much of a roll with Christianity
    among all the religions
        that we have been studying together.

I'm convinced that there is a strong component
   of earth centered spirituality
      in the Christian tradition.

With this month's emphasis on it,
    I have high hopes
       of moving into some new territory
           to provide some different perspectives.

Since Christianity is still dominant
    in much of the culture in which we live,
       it will be well to acquaint ourselves
          with possible alliances in its traditions.

I still consider myself a Christian
    in that my personal faith is based deeply
       in the Jesus story.

I find meaning there,
   even though the name of Jesus
       and His story
            are too often misused
                 by those who claim the name of Christian
                       to try to impose their own beliefs
                            and standards
                                 on others.

At the same time,
    the story of Jesus provides us an alternative view
         of what it means to be human.

His story and His sayings
   also provide an alternative way
       of relating to the natural world.

In Matthew 6:28 and 29 we read how Jesus used
    the blooming flowers of the countryside 
        to encourage us not to worry too much
             about the clothes we have and wear.

"Why do you worry about clothes?
   Consider how the wild flowers grow.
      They neither work nor weave,
         but I tell you that even Solomon in all his glory
            was never arrayed like one of these!"

PHILLIPS MODERN ENGLISH BIBLE, by J. B. Phillips, "The New Testament in Modern English", Copyright© 1962 edition, published by HarperCollins.

My feeling is that one cannot easily look
   at the beauty of nature, appreciating Gaia's gift,
       and soon thereafter seek to harm or exploit
           the environment in which we all live.

I know that I'm being a bit naive,
     but I still believe that there is value
         in the communication of wonder
              as we contemplate the beauty of nature,
                   no matter the season of the year.

Speaking of seasons,
     today marks the beginning of a new season
           on the calendar of liturgical Christian churches.

Today is the Feast of the Epiphany,
     remembering the arrival of the Magi,
            the Wise Men from the East,
                 who famously brought gifts of
                       Gold, Frankincense and Myrrh
                             to the Christ child.

They were probably Persian astrologers
     who read the signs in the stars
            of the birth of a newborn world ruler
                  among the Jews.

I'm not advocating any kind
     of superstitious astrology,
          but the metaphors that come to us
               from ancient wisdom
                     can sometimes help us make sense
                           of the things we see around us.

At the very least,
     sometimes those same metaphors
            can help us appreciate the vastness
                  of the world of nature
                       as we seek to recover our reverence
                             for the Earth itself
                                   and the many living things
                                       with whom we share life
                                            and existence here and now.

In the years of the development of Christianity,
    some key events and people
        helped develop a positive relationship
             between faith and nature.

First and foremost in forming and informing
     our understanding of Gaia
         is the development of natural science.

With the entry
   of Greek philosophy and Arabic science
       into the medieval Christian universities,
           the study of nature
                according to the scientific method
                     as done in the West
                          was born into human history.

Gaia must have been pleased
     as some of her children began
          to know and understand her better.

Love and understanding of Gaia grew
   with the life and ministry
       of St. Francis of Assisi.

His statue is often portrayed with animals and birds.

His preaching
            was often portrayed as being appreciated
                 by birds and animals, also children of Gaia.
as was the preaching of his disciple,
    St. Anthony of Padua,
         patron saint of my home town
               of San Antonio, Texas,


Isaac Newton was another famous Christian
    whose life work expanded
         our understanding of Mother Nature.

The famous story of his insight into
   the natural law of gravity
      as he sat under an apple tree
           is one small example of iconography
               that can be shared
                    by devotees of both Christ and Gaia.

Charles Darwin has been repudiated
   by many Christians who know little about him.

He was a person of faith,
     a bridge between Unitarian Universalism
          and Christianity.

Darwin was an Anglican
      whose faith was very much in line
              with Unitarian Universalism.

As I have said before,
    the Anglican Communion is one of many examples
         of the possibility of Unitarian Universalism
              and Christianity
                  coexisting in peace
                       within a single faith community.

Darwin definitely considered himself a theist,
    believing that his theory of evolution
         was a description of how
             new and wondrous forms of life come to be.

His life's work
    gave the world a beautiful perspective
        on the way Gaia is creating and developing
            the forms of life on our small planet.

The great Jesuit theologian of the 20th Century,
   Pierre Teilhard de Chardin,
        is for me without a doubt
             among the leading Christian advocates
                  for Earth based spirituality.

I have spoken before, including last month,
    of his concept of the noosphere,
         a metaphor for Gaia's thoughts,
             and to me, a prophecy about the internet.

In the context of Christian earth based spirituality,
    I have to share a little bit about Teilhard's
       "Mass on the World."

On Easter Sunday, 1923, Father Pierre Teilhard
   was in the steppes of Asia
       without altar, bread or wine
            to fulfill his priestly obligation to say mass.

Instead of lamenting his unfortunate situation,
    he wrote the great, prayerful essay,
         "Mass on the World,"
                in which he offered the planet as a whole,
                     with all its blood, sweat and tears
                          to be consecrated
                               as divine substance.

In the Mass on the World, he wrote,

“With neither bread, nor wine, nor altar, I, your priest, will make the whole earth my altar and on it will offer you all the labors and sufferings of the world.”

“No visible tremor marks this transformation; and yet, at the touch of your Word the immense host, which is the universe, is made flesh. Through your incarnation, my God, all matter is henceforth incarnate.”

This was no conceit on his part.

He was uniquely placed in time, space and mind
      to provide the insights
             that enable us to this day
                   to see our world
                         as a means of grace,
                               as a physcial context
                                    for the presence of the Divine.

Teilhard thus was and is
    among the most powerful witnesses
          of the importance of Earth based spirituality
                  among Christians.

Thomas Merton, the great Christian teacher,
    was another advocate for the importance
        of Earth centered spirituality.

His life and work intersected the development
     of the progressive movement
           both spiritually and politically
                in the crucial years of the mid-20th Century.

Finally, there is one more Christian leader
    who is also teaching and promoting
         Earth-based spirituality, Matthew Fox.
              (not to be confused with the actor)

He has a website, http://www.matthewfox.org ,
   where we can read the following introduction
        to his work and teachings:

CREATION SPIRITUALITY:

REAWAKENING MYSTICISM,
     PROTECTING MOTHER EARTH

Born in the wonderment
     of our earliest human ancestors,

rooted in ancient Judeo-Christian tradition,

supported by leading-edge science,

bearing witness for social, environmental,
               and gender justice,

and voiced most powerfully for this generation
           by spiritual theologian Matthew Fox

Matthew Fox's book, Original Blessing,
     was a primer in creation spirituality, as he calls it.

The concept of original blessing is offered
      as an antidote for the dark, pessimistic side
             of the doctrine of original sin.

In another book,
                   A Way to God:
Thomas Merton's Creation Spirituality Journey

Matthew Fox writes that much of the trouble
     he's gotten into with the Catholic church
         is because of Thomas Merton.

To my way of thinking, that is high praise!

As keeps happening in these sermons 
     on Earth Centered Spirituality,
          I seem to be able only to list
               and briefly comment on resources.

Each of the Christian leaders of creation spirituality
      from Francis to Fox
            could be the basis of a whole sermon.

If it seems to us a good idea,
     it's a direction in which we might move
          for the next several months.

In any case,
   it's deeply encouraging to me
      to find so much support
         for a positive view of the world in which we live
             among leading Christians
                  of other times as well as our own.

It gives me hope for the unfolding of spiritual life
       in our own time.

Amen.

Blessed be.