©Thomas B. Cundiff
Genesis 2: 4-9
John 15: 1-11
THE SECOND ACCOUNT OF CREATION
Genesis 2: 4-9
4 These are the generations of the heavens and the
earth when they were created. In the day that the Lord God made the earth and the heavens, 5when no plant
of the field was yet in the earth and no herb of the field had yet sprung
up—for the Lord God had not caused it to rain upon the
earth, and there was no one to till the ground; 6but a stream
would rise from the earth, and water the whole face of the ground— 7then the Lord God formed man from the dust of the ground,
and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and the man became a living
being. 8And the Lord God planted a garden in
Eden
JESUS THE TRUE VINE
John 15: 1-11
15‘I am the true vine, and my Father is
the vine-grower. 2He removes every branch in me that
bears no fruit. Every branch that bears fruit he prunes
to make it bear more fruit. 3You
have already been cleansed by the word that I have spoken to you. 4Abide in me as I abide in you. Just as the branch cannot
bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you
abide in me. 5I am the vine, you are
the branches. Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit, because
apart from me you can do nothing. 6Whoever does not abide in me is thrown
away like a branch and withers; such branches are gathered, thrown into the
fire, and burned. 7If you abide in me, and my words abide
in you, ask for whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. 8My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit
and become my disciples. 9As
the Father has loved me, so I have loved you; abide in my love. 10If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love,
just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. 11I have said these things to you so that my joy may be in
you, and that your joy may be complete.
I. Introduction – Scriptural
Images
“’Stewardship’ is one of those words”, according to Thomas J.
Pappalardo of Pittsburgh Presbyterian Seminary, “that people in the church use often, yet I’m not sure they’re fully
aware of its definition. For some it
only means that on two Sundays each year, their pastor preaches about giving to
the church. For others the meaning might
extend to how they manage their resources, namely, their money. But ‘stewardship’ has a much richer meaning than
both of these surface definitions communicate.”[1] Today’s sermon helps us look at one of these
broader definitions of stewardship.
The root
of the term “Stewardship” is found in the beginning of the Bible, in Genesis
and the Garden of Eden. God tells Adam
and Eve to be stewards of the Garden – to care for “God’s Garden of Creation”.
What Adam and Eve didn’t recognize was the fact that the garden did not
belong to them. The garden will still
and always belong to God. While God
gave Adam and Eve the free will’ to
live in and use the garden, God did not give them ‘title’ to the garden. Likewise, while God gives us this beautiful earth—this
world in which to live and use, this glorious earth—this world still and
always belongs to God.
Some
scriptural references from Genesis one verses 1, 24 and 27:
“In the beginning when God created
the heavens and the earth” … “to bring forth living creatures of every kind … creating humankind with God blessing all that God has
created”. (vs. 1, 24 and 27 paraphrased)
And Scriptural illusions of stewardship of “God’s Garden of Creation”:
- Psalm 24:1 "The earth is the Lord's, and
everything in it, the world, and all who live in it."
- Deuteronomy 10:14 "To the Lord your God belong the
heavens, even the highest heavens, the earth and everything in it."
- Job 4: 11 “Everything under heaven belongs to
God.” (Job 4:11)
The gospel of Jesus points to where we are now in this
time and this
place when Jesus
says in the gospel of John:
John 15: 5 “I am the vine, you
are the branches.” Jesus is talking to ech of us! “Those
who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit, because apart from me you can do
nothing.” (John 15:5)
II. Earth Stewardship
There is
a small organization in the church called the “Presbyterian Earth Care Network”.
These are dedicated Presbyterian advocates for the care of God’s created
earth and all who live on what they call the “Vine of Creation”. Consider this rather complicated
definition from the Earth Stewardship
Association—
“Earth stewardship involves shaping
trajectories of social-ecological change at local-to-global scales to enhance
ecosystem resilience and human well-being.”
Leave
it to a group of Presbyterians to come
up with this kind of a definition …. you must be kidding: “Trajectories
of social-ecological change …. to enhance ecosystem resilience and human
well-being.”? Are they talking about Earth or Mars?
So trying to be straightforward with a clear question that defines the
issue:
With a world that is going through numerous changes with the serious
degrading of natural resources that support life, what can we do as stewards of
this earth to slow the progress of all that is negative and doing harm to our earth?
For each
of us, assuming we too are called to be proactive stewards of this earth who
live on the “Vine of Creation”, what are some stories and illustrations of what
we can be doing to understand and then get involved in protecting our
earth?
Of
course I have to begin with the super-storm that hit the eastern coast of our
country this past week. Some of the best
minds in the world have been trying to explain what happened…..global warming,
the melting of the polar ice caps creating the depths of the oceans, combined
with the temperature changes that helped to create a “perfect storm”. Whatever you may believe is happening, our
world is going to be seeing some dramatic changes as weather patterns shift for
years to come.
We have
all been hearing about the power outages.
I can’t even imagine millions of people without any electricity, lights
or heat. I laugh at all the people
lining up in public places to plug in all their cell phones and computers….and
this really, isn’t a laughing matter! I
have kept a back-up battery for my cell phone now for several years. Seriously:
these little phones are the only connection millions of people have with
family, doctors, insurance companies, utility companies, and those who can help
them recover from the storm.
There is
no doubting the fact we have become dependent on many types of energy—energy
that uses various fuels ranging batteries to coal and oil and gas engines that
probably brought all of us to church this morning—energy that is expended all
around us—power that is the driving force in our lives that help us move and
get around: even the natural and free power that comes from riding a bicycle or
walking or running.
There
are new “earth friendly” sources of energy that we see in wind-farms planted (like
crops) all around us—take a drive toward Alma
And the
cost of all this energy? Not cheap! There is a price to pay for all this energy
that places a burden on all of us—but mostly the poor, that makes this a social
issue in assuring all people have the heat they need to get through antherr
cold winter.
There is
a new television series titled REVOLUTION
that takes place in a post apocalyptic world – a science fiction series that has
been created that depict what life would be like without the sources of energy/power
we have grown to be so dependent.
Imagine
if we were forced to return to living without electricity? No batteries.
No televisions or computers. We
would, for sure, be stock-piling firewood and purchasing shoes and boots
preparing for a lot of walking. Get out
those warm blankets—it gets cold in Michigan
Imagine
what life was like when settlers first came to the Saginaw
For a small commercial – if you get a chance get tickets to the “North
Poll Express” in Owosso beginning Nov. 24th…..learn more about the
Steam Railroading Institute and the importance of “steam energy” in our world
through the years. I am sure Roger could
get you more information …..
There are also some examples /
illustrations of those who work hard to protect the environment:
The local
residents and owners of the Savoy Grill,
on Federal and Washington Avenue
The Farmers Market, Jeff Bookmeyer is the
manger, doing a fantastic job in promoting the use of natural, locally grown
produce…..a huge success with dozens of vendors and local customers sensitizing
us all the benefits of growing and purchasing our food locally.
Churches like
First Methodist in Frankenmuth that promote the “Plant a Row” program encouraging local farmers to plant an extra
row of their crops to be shared with others….if you will, giving back to the
earth an “agri-tithe”!
Many more
examples including the gardens that our own Roger nurtures, sharing fresh and
tasty produce with us throughout the year – and his harvest of maple syrup! [We have our own in-house Michigan State University-trained
expert who could teach us all a thing or two about what it means to be a
steward of God’s Good Created Earth!]
I know
there are many in this church who rescue and preserve foods through canning and
freezing….something more of us should be learning how to do…
We, also
in the church, have been changing light bulbs….making sure we have good
protection for our windows, insulation, and an efficient boiler and timer that
has saved us thousands of dollars because we are trying to use only the energy
we need to use!
The list
goes on – and I sure wish I could share with you the twelve examples I couldn’t
list in this sermon because of time constraints!!!!
IV.
STEWARDSHIP LESSONS
Dr.
Randal Bush, pastor of the East Liberty Presbyterian Church, was recently asked
to preach in Geneva, Switzerland in giving a theological grounding to what his
church is doing in reclaiming and reusing water that runs off the roof his
large church—a 10 million dollar project and largest of its kind in
Pennsylvania![2] He has shared some rules to consider as
stewards of creation:
The first
rule: “We are partners with God in
taking care of the Garden.”
This comes from the Genesis 2 account calls us to partner with God in
taking care of all that God has given us….all kinds of life….and sources of
energy…..oh so much more to care for than the MONEY it takes to pay for
things…..
The
second rule: “To live righteously and
justly in promoting the well being of all”. We are called to be stewards of all life –
every form of life. Life is sacred.
And from
this sermon from Dr. Bush: There are
solutions to the problems that exist with our environment and there is
hope. The church has responsibility as
stewards to not just take care of internal budgets….but to preach a gospel of
care for all creation. This is the
simple message. We are called to care,
in partnership with God, for the simple gifts God has given each of us.
V. Conclusion
So what
is our task? As stewards? We need to pay the bills. That’s why we ask for pledge cards and
financial contributions to help pay for programs and ministries of this
church….pledges that we try to use responsibly in caring for this
building. To say this as simply as I
can: “We are called to care for
God’s church, God’s people whoever/wherever they may be, and “God’s Garden of Creation
In all
this we hope for a better future, a glorious use of all God has entrusted our
care.
Amen
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