A Creed and calling whose time has come
There are many creeds related to the Christian faith. The Apostle’s Creed and the Nicene Creed are the most popularly used. Both of these have value because they articulate God’s purposes in the cross and Christ’s resurrection along with the nature of the trinity. But both of them are lacking in that they fail to develop a creation theology, and this theology is sorely needed if we are to recover our proper vocation in the world as stewards. There is creed, however, that addresses creation’s glory and God’s role in sustaining the beauty of the earth. It’s Patrick’s Creed: (leave it to the Celts to articulate creation theology!)
God of heaven and earth, sea and rivers,
God of sun and moon, of all the stars,
God of high mountains and of lowly valleys,
God over heaven, and in heaven, and under heaven.
He has a dwelling
in heaven and earth and sea
and in all things
that arc in them.
He inspires all things,
He quickens all things,
He is over all things,
He supports all things.
He makes the light of the sun to shine,
He surrounds the moon and stars, and
He has made wells in the arid earth, placed dry islands in the sea
and stars for the service of the greater luminaries.
He has a Son coeternal with Himself,
like to Himself;
not junior is Son to Father,
nor Father senior to the Son.
And the Holy Spirit
breathes in them;
not separate are Father
and Son and Holy Spirit.
We have great tasks ahead of us in recovering our role as stewards of the God’s earth. What are some steps individuals and communities should take in order to recover our vocation as 'earth stewards'?
posted by Richard Dahlstrom @ 9:15 AM
2 Comments:
ride a bike.
aside from the obvious - no gasoline or parking lot required - riding a bike can be quite an eye-opening experience.
you become intimately familiar with the variation in seasons and the weather. what is hot? cold? which directions do the winds come from and how hard is it really raining? you experience the landscape around you and get to know - and sometimes loathe - the hills and valleys that shape the city around us. navigation becomes recognizable landmarks rather than freeway exits. suddenly, you've got time to look out and see the world around you rather than whizzing past it at sixty miles an hour.
yet, you ride through the roadside trash and shattered glass. you breathe in the exhaust fumes of the cars around you. try biking a few miles along aurora and you can sense our failings of stewardship. (on many levels!). most people hurry through these intermediary places in their lives, never really seeing anything between their origin and destination. if you notice little of the world around you, how can you be expected to care for it? once you start looking around, you may be surprised at how much life there is (and how much could be!) - even here in the city.
word. You definitely notice the exhaust a lot more when on a bike.... I often imagine what the price of gas will need to be for bikers to outnumber drivers. I think it will be awesome to have everybody biking around!
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