Sermon by The Rev. Anita Schell-Lambert
Sunday, April 19, 2009
St. Peter’s, Bennington, VT

Easter, Year B, Revised Common Lectionary
Acts 4:32-35
Psalm 133
I John 1:1-2:2
John 20:19-31

“Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe.”

How do we come to believe? Jesus, the disciples, these mountains, and all of nature, tell us that we come to believe and know God in these moments of wonder and great humility. And in those moments and on this second Sunday of Easter, the Sunday before the 39th Earth Day, we come to ask ourselves some profound questions about our role in this world. We don’t own the world, or even a part of it, but everything I read in the Bible, from the Books of Moses; to the prophets; and the psalms, which cover the range of human emotion; to the stories of Jesus’ life and ministry, the history book of the New Testament, Acts; and the letters of Paul; calls me to take care of what I have been given, in humility, love and service.

How do we come to know God? We know God when our eyes and minds are opened, as they were for the first disciples who were experiencing Resurrection that first Easter night. We know God through the prince of peace, Jesus, coming to us with open hands and a wounded heart. And we know God through this wonderful world. Tainted by our own greed and destruction, yes, it is still a wonderful world, because it is God’s world, not ours, and so every day I try to know God through what has God has given us to enjoy and care for Mother Earth, our island home.

I have come to believe that environmental degradation is the number one moral priority of our time. This is our defining moment. The harsh reality is that our planet is heating up – not global warming, but global scorching. Due to climate change, brought on by global scorching, water is scarce in many areas of the world, and in the majority areas of the world it is unsafe to drink tap water.

And, I am continually amazed by the fact that most Americans can just turn on the tap and drink safe, clean water from it. Many in the Diocese of Vermont are also reminding us of the toxics and poisons in our water, landfills and soils.

At the final session in our Lenten series here folk spoke with great conviction about looking at the decline in food resources and food health right here in Bennington, and always, the disproportionate impact on the poor of this economic and environmental crisis. The destruction of eco systems, global scorching and destruction of land are all part of a global crisis that is both economic and environmental.

We have seen changing weather patterns that assure us this crisis is local as well as global. Our parish commitment to the Millennium Development Goals underscores how climate change continues to affect those living in poverty first and the worst. As we witnessed with Hurricane Katrina, this crisis is national. We have experienced the rising fuel costs and change of maple sugaring and ski season’s temperatures the past three winters and springs that I have been with you. What are we Vermonters to do this Earth Sunday? As I suggested in my Easter Sunday sermon, belief has less to do with what we think or say, then what we do. So, if we believe that everything is a gift from God, and then let us looks at how we can come to belief through our actions.

Let us develop new (which are really ancient) habits of mind, what some call an “evolution of consciousness”(1) from …individualism to community, the model promulgated in the reading we heard today from The Acts of the Apostles: “Now the whole group of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and no one claimed private ownership of any possessions, but everything they owned was held in common.” (Acts 4:32) and therefore…“There was not a needy person among them,” (Acts 4:34). Living in community the way the first Christians did (a model that unfortunately did not last, but it is still the model for Christian community), moves us from isolation to interconnection of all life. Does anyone really want to be alone? The more we find places to belong, like church, the less isolated we become. The less isolated we are, the more likely we are to take care of ourselves, one another and all living planets because we are living more holistically – not placing everyone and everything in compartments.

I remember my daughter’s kindergarten teacher, Miss Balamore, from Madras, India, who taught that everything is connected. A unit on India taught kindergarteners about travel, food, math, science, storytelling, caring for one another, not wasting anything at all within the classroom in Lower Merion, PA. By not wasting anything, Miss Balamore also taught her five and six year olds invaluable and permanent lessons about building community partnerships and wellbeing. When I asked Miss Balamore about the biggest culture shock when she came to the United States, she immediately replied, “The waste – the utter waste.” “Americans throw everything away. You are a throwaway society.” Her candid remarks really stunned with me, and I have pondered on how I can be less materialistic, and less throw away ever since. For, the more I throw away, the more I am polluting the planet.

When we become mindful of the beauty of creation, when we cultivate reverence and gratitude for God’s gifts, we realize that we also face an unprecedented opportunity for response. This can be defining moment in how people of faith respond in repentance, reverence, gratitude and love from a place of abundance. (The prayers in our Eucharist always reflect this repentance, reverence and gratitude). In the confession, we ask for forgiveness and to “delight in God’s will and walk in God’s ways.” And yet, in spite of our greed and wreckless disregard for God’s creation, we have the resources and ability, including technology, to be transformed in the way we live in the twenty- first century.

Throughout the Bible, beginning with the first chapter in the first book of Genesis, we are told that God loved the world and saw that it was good. We are told from the 28th verse of that first chapter to take care of the earth. We have seen, beginning with the first chapter in the Gospel according to John, that Jesus has been there also from the beginning of creation, and that there is ongoing redemption of all creation in Christ. Jesus is working to save us from our careless ways. As Jesus told his first disciples at the Last Supper, to “Do this in remembrance of me.” Throughout the history of Christianity, Jesus has made himself known through the natural elements of bread and wine. There is no better way to know Jesus than in such a meal of celebration, sacrifice and thanksgiving.

So, what will our response be to such love and sacrifice this Second Sunday of Easter, when we always tell the story of Thomas, notice that I did not say, “Doubting Thomas?” Will we demand proof, physical evidence, for our beliefs, or do we already have enough proof that despite our wanton recklessness Christ continues to redeem our world? Can we be Christian witnesses, global and local; telling the truth about the urgency of global scorching and it is affect on all life?

Compassion for all life, for ourselves and our children is called for, to be sure. So is reconciliation and healing –both of which we do every Sunday. In our 3 Eucharistic services and in our 2 healing services. Prayer and spiritual practice restore right relationship to creation, reminding us that the earth is the Lord’s and all that is in it. We can live more simply and follow the motto: “Reduce, reuse and recycle” all the material things we posses as we “delight in God’s will and walk in God’s ways.” (2)

I love living in Vermont and these Green Mountains. I look at the mountains every morning and give thanks for their strength and beauty that reminds me of Psalm 121, “I look to the hills, from whence cometh my help. My help comes from the Lord…” What a vast inheritance we have in this land, in these mountains.
How do we come to know God? We know God when our eyes and minds are opened, as they were for the first disciples who were learning Resurrection that first Easter night. We know God through the prince of peace, Jesus, coming to us with open hands and a wounded heart. And we know God through this wonderful world. Together let us work to create a cleaner, more beautiful world. Each of us has a vital and irreplaceable role to play in the healing of the world.

Let us keep our minds and hearts on what matters – the earth is the Lord’s. As sisters and brothers in Christ, let us recommit ourselves as we approach the 39th Earth Day to honor the sacredness of God’s creation and to work for God’s plan for a world renewed, transformed by our compassionate hearts and our mindful actions.

1 http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/248704259), accessed April 14, 2009.
2 “The Confession of Sin,” The Book of Common Prayer, 360.

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