The day before yesterday, an Orthodox deacon posted a copy of the Opening Address of His All-Holiness Ecumenical Bartholomew at the Symposium on The Great Mississippi River held at New Orleans on Facebook. It was not a religious forum per se, and so the address was a carefully worded neutral beginning. Frankly, it was not one of the more scintillating speeches I have ever read, but it did set a framework for the agenda that was to come. Our Lord was not mentioned, though Creation was, and wisdom was invoked, as well a faith, hope, charity, and works. As I said, not overly stimulating, but certainly adequate for the task of framing the task. But, a young Orthodox priest posted the following reply:
I must humbly say that I thank God that Our Lord Jesus Christ did not preach this sort of message but focused instead on humanity’s true ills.
I puzzled over that message because it seemed somewhat far away from some of the ways in which the Orthodox think about the Creation, as it appears that the young priest is saying that a concern for the Creation is not part of Our Lord’s focus. Yet, for instance, St. Isaac the Syrian wrote:
And what is a merciful heart? It is the heart’s burning for the sake of the entire creation, for men, for birds, for animals, for demons, and for every created thing; and by the recollection and sight of them the eyes of a merciful man pour forth abundant tears. From the strong and vehement mercy that grips his heart and from his great compassion, his heart is humbled and he cannot bear to hear of or to see any injury or the slight suffering of anything in creation. For this reason he offers up tearful prayer continually even for irrational beasts, for the enemies of truth, for those who harm him, that they be protected and receive mercy. And, in like manner, he even prays for the lowest as a result of the great compassion, which–after the likeness of God–is poured out beyond measure within his heart.
But, I also puzzled over it because it seemed to ignore some of the ways the New Testament regards Creation, let alone the Old Testament. In the Sermon on the Mount, Our Lord says:
Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? . . . Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? . . . For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.
Please notice the structure of Our Lord Jesus Christ’s argument because it is totally and completely based on God’s loving, practical, and obvious care and oversight of the Creation. That is, one of the guarantees that God’s promises regarding our salvation–notice the reference to “thrown into the oven”–and of his providential care for us are true promises is the evidence given by the Creation itself, by the way in which the animals and plants receive care and beautiful “clothing.” In passing, this makes God not only a good husbandman but also an artist.
In the Old Testament, Jeremiah assures us that part of the reason that Israel was sent into exile was because they violated the Sabbath Year, and in doing so they violated the Creation. Thus, God was now going to collect the “past-due” accounts. The Israelites had been on the land for 490 years, therefore God was going to collect the 70 Sabbath Years by sending them into 70 years of exile.
And those who escaped from the sword he carried away to Babylon, where they became servants to him and his sons until the rule of the kingdom of Persia, to fulfill the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah, until the land had enjoyed her Sabbaths. As long as she lay desolate she kept Sabbath, to fulfill seventy years.
God’s care for the land is so great that He is even willing to punish His chosen people for their failure to care for the land in the way in which He had commanded. Please note that we are to grow into the likeness of God. Notice that God punished the Israelites for their failure to behave toward the land in the same way in which Our Lord Jesus Christ describes that God the Father behaves towards the land. To fail to care for birds, grasses, etc., is to fail to reflect God’s likeness, and therefore to fail in our growth as Christians and to open ourselves to God’s loving discipline.
And finally, Saint Paul hooks the Creation into our coming final salvation when Our Lord returns to free us:
For the earnest expectation of the creation eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it in hope; because the creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groans and labors with birth pangs together until now. Not only that, but we also who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for the adoption, the redemption of our body.
Notice that the Creation, “also will be delivered from the bondage of corruption.” God’s plan of salvation includes not only us, but His entire Creation. This is why it says that, “God so loved the world that He sent His only begotten Son . . .” rather than saying that God so loved humanity. Yes, Our Lord Jesus points out that if he shows such care for birds, how much more for us who are created in his image and likeness. But, make no mistake that God’s intention is not merely for us but for us and for His entire Creation.
So St. Isaac’s concern for the whole of Creation and his prayer for the whole of Creation is his carrying out in a typical monastic way–the way of prayer–a care for the Creation that will allow him to grow more and more into the likeness of God. And we, too, must have a like concern and a like “fear.” Our like “fear” is as we behold the Israelites. Should we fail to care for the land, then we may face God’s discipline. But, even worse, the non-Christian who sees us failing to care for the Creation will have every right to say that our God does not care for him. Remember that Our Lord Jesus hooked the Father’s care for the Creation to His promise of salvation. And Saint Paul hooked our salvation to the deliverance of the Creation itself. As we image the Father’s care, as we have a concern for the Creation, it will open up avenues for us to minister God’s salvation to a needy world.
Thus, part of our Orthodox calling should be to have the same care and concern for the Creation that Our Father has. To the young priest I would say that while Our Lord Jesus did not speak about the Creation all the time, nevertheless, He did speak of the Creation some of the time, as did Saint Paul, the Prophet Jeremiah, the Book of Chronicles, etc., and he based our salvation on the example of the Father’s care for the Creation. I have not quoted every possible Scripture. But, I would say that to speak of care for the Creation, to insist upon a sound ecological handling of the Creation is part of the “preaching” call of any deacon, priest, or bishop.
To fail to do that is to fail to preach on some of humanity’s ills and to slip into a constricted Gospel that limits the Gospel only to personal salvation. And, ultimately, that is not Orthodox preaching.
Excellent! Thanks.
Father, forgive me as I disagree with you (being that young priest you mention above). Bishops, priests and deacons should stick to the gospel (which happens to be about the salvation for all humanity). Please notice that I have never said that environmental stewardship isn’t important. Any man who understands that God so loved the world as to send His Son, understands that all of creation is beautiful, complex and worthy of our respect. But please notice that in quoting St. Isaac you have precisely touched upon the important point because as he begins to mention the entire creation he begins first with “For men”. Man was created in the image and likeness of God. It is primarily for man that Christ became man. Jeremiah’s concern is clearly Israel’s disobedience to God’s commandments, to God Himself. This does not mean that we should be destructive towards the whole of creation. It simply means that I thank my Lord and my God that while He used illustrations that mention the creation, Our Lord’s focus is firmly planted in man’s relationship or lack thereof to God (humanity’s true ill). It is the place of bishops and priests to preach this above all else. You may find comfort in this message but I take no comfort where God, Christ, the poor and the downtrodden are not so much as whispered.
My disagreement is that a Gospel that only focuses on humanity and God is too narrow. That is why I cited Saint Paul on the whole Creation groaning. And, I would not say that Our Lord was just using an illustration, but was speaking a reality of how God works. He cares for all of Creation, and the care and love he shows for animals and plants is but a small demonstration of the incredible care and love he has for humans.
While the Gospel centers on the Incarnation, Life, Death, Resurrection of Our Lord, and the Giving of His Holy Spirit, the Gospel is not only the reconciliation of man with God, but also the reconciliation of man with man and man with Creation. This is why the whole Creation groans, not just man. The phrase about the Creation groaning comes in the same chapter as the grand declaration about there being no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus because we have been set free from the law of sin and death. It is in that context of that freedom that Saint Paul speaks of the entire Creation and says that it, too, will be freed and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God.
Part of the Gospel is the good news of our theosis, our living out lives of increasing reconciliation with God, with each other, and with the Creation in the power of the Holy Spirit, full of the Body and Blood of Our Lord. It may center on us, but it spreads out to all of Creation.
And, as a priest, I cannot just “stick to the Gospel.” At least, not if it means preaching a specific set of sermons on accepting Christ. That Gospel has implications for human rights. It has implications for discussions on just war theory. It has implications for ecology. It has implications for bioethics, etc. I am to represent God, in all His facets, to a needy world. While most times that may very well mean calling people to come and know Him, it is not all that it entails. That is why the call in Matthew 28 is not simply to preach, but also to disciple. That includes discipling into a way of life that reflects God’s relationship to the Creation.
That “young Orthodox priest” you mentioned in your first paragraph is exactly correct.
And thank you for admitting “Our Lord was not mentioned”. How sad.
Yes, as you can read, this speech received a lukewarm review from me. But, here would be my question the other way. Does the name of the Lord have to be mentioned every time a cleric is speaking?
In the case of this opening speech, I would have expected the Patriarch to mention Our Lord. He had a sterling opportunity, and I suspect that everyone expected him to speak as a “religious” authority. But, is it necessary each time he makes a speech?
How sad that we expect “A MAN OF GOD” to always speak in strictly religious terms. While it is somehow expected that a person with a religious title will speak as a “religious authority”, it is also sadly true that many cannot hear what is said if it is simply religious. Sometimes we must meet people where they are. Jesus met the woman at the well where she was. She was attempting to draw water from the well. He used that opportunity to offer her “Living Water.” But he started where she was…..at the well drawing water. Jesus over and over again met people where they were–sick in body or mind, hungry or thirsty, lonely…..and He drew them in. Perhaps His All-Holiness Ecumenical Bartholomew met the people of the Symposium where they were–at the Mississippi River–and he reminded them of creation and wisdom and faith and charity. Perhaps his words are the camel’s nose in the tent of the Symposium–just a hint of HE who IS Creation not to mention Wisdom and Charity to draw them in. There are some who are for whatever reason instantly turned off by “RELIGION”, but when you meet them where they are, you can draw them toward the Lord with WIsDom and Charity.
Alix
Alix,
No one expects a religious authority to always speak in strictly religious terms. My original point was simply that Our Lord Jesus Christ refused to make his preaching a product of societies expectations for what is acceptable or even tolerable. Christ’s message was NEVER about environmentalism or conservation even though he mentioned the creation. It is about the infirmity within each of us, as it was for the woman at the well. Let’s not beat around the bush when the real issue is not the environment. The real issue is a scarred human image that inflicts destruction upon the rest of creation because it lacks love and lacks God. We are not called to preach in the most sterile, acceptable form. We are called to be ambassadors of Christ. This is all the more true for a patriarch who does not so much as mention God.
It is difficult to know just what the intentions of another are. Do we know that the aforementioned speech was made as it appeared because of secular expectations or perhaps His All-Holiness has another agenda of which this speech is merely the initial salvo in the battle.
I have a sneaking suspicion that the guys who grabbed their sick friend on his pallet and rushed him to the house where the Lord was teaching and finding the way blocked hauled him up to roof and let him down at Jesus’feet didn’t say, “we are going to see the Son of God.” They probably said the 1st century equivalent of “hey, dude–there is this cool guy in town–maybe he can help you.” Then when they got there….well you know the story….
Perhaps the Patriarch is saying something along the lines of “creation is important and we must care for it” as the hook so to speak. When he has their attention, perhaps he plans to reel them in once hooked with something on the order of…”Let me tell you about the One who made it all, cares for it all and incidently cares for you and gave His Son for you. Perhaps he starts at the Mississippi RIver and goes on at another time to note–once he has their attention and they know he cares about the Mississippi River as they do–that it is the “scarred human image that inflicts destruction upon the rest of creation because it lacks love and lacks God” and then he can go on to tell them how to heal those scars both of the human soul and of the Mississippi River.
Of course, both your point and mine are conjecture only. I am not in His All-Holiness’ heart or mind. Only God can judge his intentions. To jump to the conclusion that his speech was preaching in the “most sterile, acceptable form” or not preaching to humanities true ills hints to me of the smallest bit of haste to judgement, but I have been mistaken before and undoubtedly will be again.
Then again, the whole subject is really out of my hula hoop. I have to work really hard at keeping my attention on my own lack of wisdom, charity, faith and hope and too often must ask God’s mercy and help that I not continue to miss the mark. Thereby I will close the keyboard and attempt to work on the beam in my own eye and not the speck in the eye of any of my brothers and sisters. (Not practicing restraint of tongue, pen and keyboard is one place I miss the mark and ask for mercy and help on too regular a basis. There are those who would cheerfully grace me with the title Biggest and Fastest Mouth in Florida -and that extends to pen and keyboard as well. My mother used to say that if I had a thought or opinion in my head, it just rolled unbidden out of my mouth!! I have gotten better through the years, but not as better as I could hope for.)
Alix
Yes, we all need to work on those qualities and I am the first to admit that I often am hasty. However, opinions are just that, and I stand behind my original statement and not the misreading or misunderstanding that others find in my statement.