we are all connected
(and humans are not the center)

February 5, 2023 • Fifth Sunday after Epiphany
Scripture Readings: Genesis 1:24-31 & Psalm 8 (The Inclusive Bible)
Rev. Jeff Wells

[You may find the full worship video recording at: https://youtu.be/mY0o44XrQI4]

Our current worship series challenges us to think theologically about areas of our lives that seem important for each of us to examine and for us as a community to spotlight and have clarity on. We are all aware that we face a global ecological crisis that threatens the very existence of life on Earth. It is the greatest existential threat the world has ever faced. I have been studying, thinking, and speaking about the implications of this for a few years now. I am currently helping to found a new organization called the Alliance for Ecological Civilization, that is drawing together a group of prominent activists from around the globe to promote a fundamental transformation of human society and its relationship to all of Earth’s ecosystems. So, when I pondered what to focus on this Sunday, I was inspired to take on this daunting topic.

I thought to myself – “Self, we need a theology of ecology.” I didn’t invent that term. But I have a friend named John Cobb, who will be 98 years old on Thursday. John wrote a book 50 years ago titled, Is It Too Late? A Theology of Ecology. I like the rhyme and the ring of that phrase. Sadly, John and so many others who were sounding the alarm that long ago were largely ignored by the world’s human leaders, who could have made the changes necessary in time to avoid what we are going through now.

The current devastation and looming catastrophe have been perpetrated largely to increase the wealth and power of a small minority of humans on the planet. Yet we all bear some responsibility and we all have a role in reversing it. And it has been justified by a Christian theology that places human beings at the top of a hierarchy of living beings and with dominating power over and use of everything that is not human. 

Unfortunately, most Christian theological thinking and writing over the past 2,000 years has focused on the relationship of God and humans, while continuing to present humans as the center and ultimate purpose of creation. Only over the past 50 years have Christian thinkers begun to develop the insights we need for the fundamental transformation in theology and ethics that we require to face the historical moment we are in. Many things will need to change if we are to create ecological harmony between humans and the rest of nature, but a crucial place to begin is by interrogating our human-centered narrative and theology, knocking humans off of our pedestal, and creating eco-centered narrative and theology to replace it.

Our two readings today from the Hebrew Scriptures sound so familiar to most of us that they seem like old friends. They feel comforting and trustworthy. We hesitate to question their motives, intentions, or assumptions. And they are beautifully written – aren’t they? – especially in these translations from The Inclusive Bible – the version we use most often in worship at the Church of the Village. Our preferred version uses gentle language like “Let humankind…be stewards” of the other creatures. We hear God instruct humans to “Bear fruit, increase your numbers, and fill the earth – and be responsible for it! Watch over…all the living things on the earth!” And in Psalm 8, we hear that God has “made us responsible” for creation. Yet, I have to tell you, the vast majority of U.S. Christians do not use and have never heard of The Inclusive Bible. They use translations of these passages in which God tells humankind to “subdue the Earth and have dominion over” all other living things. 

To be clear, I don’t think the choice of translation is the problem, because even in The Inclusive Bible, humans are set over and above the rest of creation. I have come to believe this is destructive theology, which has contributed to destructive policies and practices. Humanity has cruelly exploited, overused, poisoned, and slaughtered living creatures and the soil, air, and water. We have, indeed, “increased our numbers and filled the earth” to the point of straining its capacity to survive. Instead of caring for creation, we have been killing it.

Most of us have been taught to think of “nature” as something separate from us. What comes to mind when you hear the word, “nature”? Wild animals? Hiking through a forest or up a small mountain? Maybe just spending an afternoon in a big city park? We tend to think of “nature” as something outside of ourselves and our “built environment.” We have been taught to think that way. In fact, the definition of “nature” in the Oxford English Dictionary is, “the phenomena of the physical world collectively, including plants, animals, the landscape, and other features and products of the earth, as opposed to humans or human creations” (emphasis added). The Cambridge, Collins, and Britannica dictionaries all have similar definitions. Nature is everything that is “not human.” But this strange concept is an invention of Western culture. If you talked this way to indigenous people in the Amazon, they would say, “No, we think plants and animals are people like us.” They do not have a word in their languages to describe “everything that is not human.” They see themselves as deeply embedded in and connected to all other life and all elements of the ecosphere.

Don’t you resonate with that? We have been indoctrinated to believe that humans are better, higher, more advanced, and more important than other species. Our society is built on the assumption that anything that is not human is simply there for us to exploit for our own benefit. Yet, our personal experience of plants and animals, of soil, air, and water, of the cycles of life, can teach us something very different. So, perhaps the place to begin creating our own theology of ecology is from our own experience. 

I grew up deeply connected with nature. Hiking, walking through large fields, swimming, boating, fishing on the Mississippi River. I was not consciously “thinking theologically” back then, but in hindsight, my perspective on God and the creation was being shaped by my personal experience. This is a way of knowing God and God incarnate in the world through our bodies, our senses, and our spirits. It is lived theology. 

More recently, I have combined that love of birds, mammals, and trees with more intentional study. [1] All of this has dramatically shifted my perspective from a “love of nature” and a not very well practiced “environmentalism” to a deep understanding that we are all connected – you, me, all living things, and all non-living elements of the universe. We cannot survive or thrive without all elements of our ecosystems thriving as well. Also, my eyes have been opened to the arrogance of our anthropocentrism.

Let me offer our dog, Sadie, as an example. It has been a revelation to me to live with and learn to love Sadie. I have learned over time how curious, fun-loving, playful, stubborn, determined, and smart she is. Being descended from wolves, her brain did not evolve to understand human speech, yet she has managed to learn about 50 words or phrases, including come, sit, lie down, stop!, high five, get the ball, let’s go, this way, deer!, train!, and many more. For my part, I have learned to distinguish between her barks and whimpers – mostly based on context and intuition. I can no longer imagine seeing her as an object without intelligence, rather than a subject worthy of love, respect, and moral standing, and with a very distinct personality. She and I have different capabilities. She cannot sing as well as I can or write a sermon like this one, but I can’t chase squirrels or deer nearly as well as she. Nor can I leap up and catch a ball between my teeth in midair! We have different capabilities. I celebrate hers and she seems to enjoy some of mine.

We have learned so much about the rest of nature in the past 50 years. Those of us who are willing, are much better able to discern the brilliance of ecosystems in which myriad creatures cooperate and maintain a delicate balance with one another for the benefit of the whole community. We now know trees can communicate and share resources with one another. The intricate and massive fungal underground network cooperates with trees to help them communicate and share nutrients. In 2002, a Japanese scientist discovered that a slime mold was clever enough to solve a puzzle. He was ridiculed by colleagues for calling it “intelligent.” Yet, if that is not intelligence, then we need a different definition. We have only begun to understand how clever other sentient beings are. Also, if we humans are so intelligent, then why have we made such a mess of things, not only affecting our own species, but threatening to destroy all life on the planet?

A theology of ecology is not anti-human, but it does seek to undermine human supremacy. And we won’t be able to undermine human supremacy unless, at the same time and as part of the same struggle, we dismantle white supremacy and all other kinds of supremacy, oppression, and inequity. They intersect in fundamental ways. 

I have shared before my belief that humanity needs to move – and quickly – toward an ecological civilization. This will require a new worldview and a deep and fundamental transformation in every aspect of human life and our relationship with the rest of nature. As part of this, we need a theological and spiritual revolution that overthrows the idea, embedded in the Bible and carried on in Western philosophy, politics, law, science, and economics that says, humans ought to dominate and rule. It is not too late yet, but we don’t have much time before it will be.

There is still hope and we can see pretty dramatic things happening and millions of people becoming more aware and active. And, as small as our community is, we have a larger reach and voice than our size would suggest. We are among those on the front lines of this titanic struggle and I encourage you to take on the challenge. As we continue to develop our theology, let us all keep speaking up and speaking out. Share this message and others in video and print. Tell your friends about what we stand for and what we are doing. We can contribute to making this part of the public conversation about saving a living Earth. 

Friends, as usual, it all comes down to love. We can and must broaden the message of Jesus – the imperative to love. God is calling us to extend our love beyond human beings and to humble ourselves if we want to help all of life survive on Earth. Let us broaden our vision of community beyond humanity. We are all connected. We are all chosen family.

Copyright (c) 2023 - Jeff Wells
All rights reserved.

Following the sermon most Sundays, we invite those participating on-site and online to engage in conversation for 8-10 minutes with 2-3 others about one or two reflection questions. Below are the questions we offered following this sermon. We invite you to contemplate these on your own. Also, you are welcome to share comments on the sermon with Pastor Jeff at pastorjeff@churchofthevillage.org.  

How can we, individually, contribute to reimagining theology beyond our own species? 

and

“How can we, as a community, more consciously practice and share this “theology of ecology”? 

[1]  For example, scientific/spiritual works like Peter Wohleben, The Hidden Life of Trees and Robin Wall Kimmerer, Braiding Sweetgrass, as well as theological treatises on eco-theology, eco-justice, eco-ethics, like Larry Rasmussen’s Earth-Honoring Faith: Religious Ethics in a New Key.

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