CAC teacher Brian McLaren has a deep love for the natural world and all that it reveals about God and our place on the Earth:
If we’d like to bring our God-concepts into better sync with a Creator who makes sense in this particular universe, we’d better face up to this sobering fact: God loves tortoises. (Jolt)
And really, God loves reptiles in general. (Not to mention insects, if we judge based on how many species exist: three hundred thousand beetles, seventeen thousand butterflies, and five thousand dragonflies, for example, out of over two million insects in total.)
Fathom it: For 245 million years, there were zero people around, but lots and lots of reptiles….
Apparently, God did not say, “Wow. These things are boring.… Praise be to me, for my sake let’s get these reptiles out of here so we can get some religious primates evolving, fast!”
No. For 245 million years, and for 99.999 percent of the 66 million years since, God was happy to have a good universe that included neither a single human nor a single religion, but lots and lots and lots of reptiles….
For humans to make sense to ourselves, I think we’re going to have to rediscover our kinship with the reptiles—and the fish, insects, birds, mammals, and palo santo trees—with which we share the world.…
In his beautiful Canticle, [Saint Francis] describes how we humans are related to all our kin in the family tree of creation. I’ve adapted his prayer as a song:
Be praised, my Lord, through Brother Sun,
who brings the light of day;
He’s beautiful and radiant, like you!
Be praised, my Lord, through Sister Moon,
Through all her sister stars.
They’re luminous and wonderful, like you!
Be praised, my Lord, through Brother Wind
And Sister Cloud and Storm.
They bring flowers from Mother Earth for you.
Be praised, my Lord, through Brother Bird;
You gave him wings to fly.
He sings with joy and soars up high for you.
Through Sister Water, Lord, be praised;
She’s humble, useful, too.
She’s precious, clear and pure, O Lord, like you.
Be praised, my Lord, through Brother Fire,
Whose beauty glows at night.
He’s cheerful, powerful, and strong, like you.
Be praised through all those who forgive,
The patient, kind, and brave,
Enduring suffering, trial, and pain, like you.
Be praised, my Lord, through Sister Death,
Who will embrace all life,
And carry us up to the arms of you….
McLaren comments:
In this grand vision, we aren’t ruling from the heights of a great top-down pyramid or chain of being, generals under King God in the divine chain of command. In this grand vision, we aren’t given by our rank a carte blanche to dominate, oppress, exploit, and exterminate everything below us. No, we aren’t at the top of anything; we’re simply at the tip, the tip of one small branch of a very huge, verdant tree, and all created things are our grandparents, cousins, and siblings.
______________________________________
Joy Fueled
Wilder and Warner go on to explain that Western Christianity has overemphasized propositional truth (left-brain) and underemphasized relational truth (right-brain). Relational truth is reflected in the Hebrew word yada which is translated “to know.” It is not enough to know about God. He wants us to know him in a deep, communal, experiential way. And… he wants us to let him know us in the same way. Jesus addressed this problem with the Jews. You have your heads in your Bibles constantly because you think you’ll find eternal life there. But you miss the forest for the trees. These Scriptures are all about me! And here I am, standing right before you, and you aren’t willing to receive from me the life you say you want. John 5:39-40 MSG
These Jews were the smartest and best scripturally-educated people around. No one knew the Scriptures better than they did. But what they totally missed was exactly what those very Scriptures pointed toward—a relationship with Jesus. We affirm that both ways of knowing are important. It’s not head or heart, but head and heart. We in LK10 are seeking to restore a balance by equipping and training people in how to connect with each other and with God on a heart level as well as a head level. For example, in our Church 101 course, people learn to practice two simple rhythms of attention as a pathway to relational connection. Pastors, missionaries, elders, seasoned and new Christians alike finally discover a relationship with God that they only dreamed was possible. Given that knowledge as propositional, left-brain truth alone does not result in godly character or sustainable transformation, it is inadequate to motivate us in ministry and mission. Did Knowledge Move the Disciples to Mission? Consider the disciples. Here’s the commission that Jesus gave them… All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. Matthew 28:18-20
The part of this instruction that the disciples couldn’t process was “all nations.” They had walked with Jesus for three years in Israel. They were all Jews and understood making disciples of other Jews. But that was the limit of their thinking. The Greek word for nations is ethne, which can also be translated as “gentiles.” A gentile is simply someone who isn’t a Jew and is therefore a heathen and a pagan. During Jesus’ time, many Jews took such pride in their cultural and religious heritage that they considered Gentiles “unclean,” calling them “dogs” and “the uncircumcised.” To make matters worse, it was the Roman Gentiles who were the hated occupiers of Israel at that time.
It’s hard for us today to imagine the negative feelings that Jews in Israel, including, no doubt, the disciples, had towards gentiles. We see this inward focus in Acts 1:6. Jesus had given specific instructions to make disciples of all the nations/gentiles. The disciples don’t even ask about that. Rather, the only question they can think about has to do with Israel. “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?” They simply couldn’t imagine anything outside of Israel and the Jewish people. So, Jesus, after refusing to answer their question, once again shows the scope of what he is thinking. He told them that when the Spirit comes on you, you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem (“Ok, we can do that.”), and in all Judea and Samaria (“Ok, maybe we can do that.”), and to the ends of the earth. (“I’m sorry. What did you say?”) So, what eventually motivated the disciples to go to the ends of the earth and share the good news of Christ with the gentile nations? It wasn’t the knowledge of the great need of the world to know him. And, it wasn’t even the specific instructions of their master, Jesus. It was only the active presence of the Holy Spirit with them that could bridge the cultural gap and guide them into attempting the seemingly impossible.
White, John C.; Daniels, Toni M.; Smith, Dr Kent. Joy Fueled: Catalyzing a Revolution of Joyful Communities (LK10 Core Values) (pp. 23-26). LK10. Kindle Edition.
