Sermon: Let Us Love
Friday Nudge: Do what the kids do. Learn about another creature
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I learned something cool this week. Apparently, there are giant octopuses (octopi!) in the waters surrounding British Columbia. Who knew?
I didn’t, that’s for sure.
They are giant Pacific octopuses, one of the largest species of octopi on Earth. They weigh about 33 pounds and have an average arm span of 14 feet. The largest ones have weighed more than 110 pounds with 20-foot arm spans! How awesome is that?
I learned all this in an article in my local paper this week that describes a National Geographic documentary recently filmed off the coast of Vancouver Island.
A press release for the film describes just how smart these creatures are:
“Octopuses are regarded as one of the most intelligent animals on the planet. they have the ability to solve puzzles, open childproof bottles, use tools, and have visual and tactile memory centres in their brains.”1
Well, they certainly have me beat on those childproof bottles, that’s for sure.
What does this story, as interesting as it is, have to do with faith and climate action? Our faith is lived in the world; what we believe and how we express those beliefs interact with the world around us all of the time, whether we are aware of it or not. To nurture a faith that can be responsive to the climate and ecological crisis and to ground us in awe and wonder for God’s creation, we must pay attention to the Earth community in which we live. We can pay attention in our daily lives, going on walks and noticing the birds and squirrels at our backyard feeders. And, we can pay attention to stories like this one, learning more about the other-than-human world all around us.
So here’s my Friday Nudge for you, friends: Do what kids do all the time: Go and learn about another creature. Whether you read a book, watch the National Geographic documentary Secrets of the Octopus, films like My Octopus Teacher, or visit the Canadian Museum of Nature (bringing a child along is optional), I invite you to learn about an animal that has evolved into existence, created by God for God’s delight. You will be amazed!
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Sermon: Let Us Love
Preached at Trinity United Church, Kazabazua QC, April 21, 2024, in honour of Earth Day
Scripture Reading:
16 We know love by this, that he laid down his life for us—and we ought to lay down our lives for one another. 17 How does God’s love abide in anyone who has the world’s goods and sees a brother or sister in need and yet refuses help?
18 Little children, let us love, not in word or speech, but in truth and action. 19 And by this we will know that we are from the truth and will reassure our hearts before him 20 whenever our hearts condemn us; for God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything. 21 Beloved, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have boldness before God; 22 and we receive from him whatever we ask, because we obey his commandments and do what pleases him.
23 And this is his commandment, that we should believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ and love one another, just as he has commanded us. 24 All who obey his commandments abide in him, and he abides in them. And by this we know that he abides in us, by the Spirit that he has given us. (1 John 3:16-24, NRSV)
God of Life, May the words of my mouth and the meditations of all our minds and hearts lead us to deeper understanding of you and the love you call us to live. AMEN.
The writer John says, “Little children, let us love, not in word or speech, but in truth and action” (1 John 3.18). Let us love not in word or speech, but in truth and action. I love that. (pause)
I am a climate chaplain. I accompany people of faith as they seek to respond to the climate and ecological crisis, help them process their fears and anxieties about the future, and encourage them to take climate action that is meaningful and effective. This is the work that I have been called to do, as both an ecotheologian and an ordained minister, by God. It is work in which I seek to encourage and inspire Christians like you and me to love in truth and action.
I do this in various ways, including writing a newsletter, preaching, public speaking, and offering pastoral care in unique and unusual ways, such as at climate protests. I encourage people to understand taking action in response to the climate and ecological crisis as a form of discipleship, a way that we live out our belief in Jesus Christ in the world.
We are, after all, called to the Great Commandment to love God with all of our heart, soul and mind, and to love our neighbour as ourselves (Matthew 22:35–40). John’s version of this is in our epistle reading this morning:
“And this is his commandment, that we should believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ and love one another, just as he has commanded us. All who obey his commandments abide in him, and he abides in them.” (1 John 3.23-24, NRSV)
In other words, let us love not in word or speech, but in truth and action. The truth comes from believing in Jesus Christ as our God and the action is in all the ways that we love our neighbour. Loving in truth and action is discipleship.
Indeed, the people who read my newsletter, invite me to preach, and share my commitments to climate action, are responding to the climate and ecological crisis out of love, a love for our neighbours, both our human and nature neighbours. They are responding out of love for the poor, here and in the global South, who are experiencing the first and worst effects of the climate emergency. They are responding out of love for the Amazon rainforest, the monarch butterfly, coral reefs, and other endangered species that are threatened by biodiversity loss and global warming. They are responding out of love for this whole Earth community that God created and is creating, the same Earth community that God calls good in our creation story in Genesis. Let us love in truth and action.
Yet, love isn’t all we are feeling, is it? When we pay attention to the climate and ecological crisis, we experience many other feelings than just love.
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