Isaiah 11:1-9      The Peaceable Kingdom of God         Sept 14, 2008

      A couple of years ago, I was outside when I saw a hummingbird sipping nectar from a flower.   I slowly moved towards the flowers for a closer look and the hummingbird saw me and moved in my direction.   Time froze for a moment, as I tried to keep perfectly still, while the hummingbird, wings beating fifty times per second, hovered in front of me.   We looked intently at one another for a moment, then she lost interest and flew off.   But what a gift that was, the moment with that extraordinary creature made by God.

       You know we are surrounded by an extraordinary creation made by God.  I know many of you enjoy being outdoors, in nature, enjoying the beauty of the earth.  It is surely a gift from God.  And yet it is a gift that is being abused and destroyed.  We hear more and more about Global Warming, shortages of natural resources, climate changes, animal extinctions, droughts and water shortages.  What are we to think or do?  Today, we are remembering Saint Francis, one of the most beloved Christians of history who loved nature and all God’s creatures.  He is most often seen with bird in hand.  As we look at a few Biblical passages, we will see that God calls us to care for His creation, first, because God loves all that He has made.  And secondly, because we are to love our neighbor who is dependent upon nature’s resources for life.

      In our scripture today, the prophet Isaiah had a vision of the Kingdom of God when Christ would rule the earth and all would live in peace and harmony.  Edward Hicks who lived from 1780 -1849 painted one of the most famous American paintings entitled the Peaceable Kingdom.  How many of you have seen this painting before? 

(click to enlarge)

It is based on Isaiah 11 and features the animals and children living together in peace.  In the background, we also see the colonists and Indians coming together in peace.  Hicks was a devout Quaker who believed deeply in peace and, like the prophet Isaiah, Hicks longed for the day when all creation would find harmony.  You see, the Bible teaches that God loves all that He has made.  Psalm 104 is a love song to God and His wonderful creation.  Furthermore, God will save all that He has made.  I know many of us grew up being told that Spot and Fluffy had no souls and that only people would live eternally.  But in Revelation 5:13, when John saw a vision of the throne of God, he wrote that he saw every creature in the skies, on the earth, and under the seas, gathered and praising God.  Paul writes in Romans 8 that all creation is groaning and waiting to see the new creation that God is preparing.  And when Isaiah saw the new Kingdom, it was one where all God creatures would live in peace.  That’s what Edward Hicks was painting. 

      Now many Christians have given little thought to the environment.  Maybe we think it is a political issue, a secular issue, maybe a liberal issue.  But Christians today are awakening to the fact that the environment is a spiritual issue.  Bob Hybels, leading evangelical at Willow Creek Church recently delivered a sermon entitled “Can Our Planet Survive.”  Many others are speaking out.  Websites are online for Christians and environmentalism or sometimes called “Creation Care.”  Whatever we call it, Christians should take the lead in caring for creation.   

     Rev. Tri Robinson of the Vineyard Church has written a strong book entitled “Saving God’s Green Earth,” implementing biblical principles of environmental stewardship.  Rcently, the Vineyard Association hosted a retreat of top environmental scientists and evangelical leaders.  In attendance was Dr. E.O. Wilson, the best-known biologist alive today.  Dr. Gus Speth, Dean of School of Forestry & Environment at Yale and an adviser to U.S. Presidents spoke at this retreat.  Dr. Speth said this, "I used to think we could solve the environmental crisis by throwing enough good science at the problem. I was wrong. The primary threat isn't pollution, climate change, biodiversity loss, or habitat destruction. It's selfishness, greed, and apathy. We need a spiritual & cultural transformation to deal with that."  And that is where we Christians must enter the picture because God’s Green Earth will not be saved by politicians.  Our environmental problems will be solved when people’s hearts and minds are changed.  When we realized how much God loves this earth then we will begin to love the earth also.

      But secondly, Christians seek to protect the natural environment because Jesus has taught us to love our neighbor.  How is that connected?  Because my neighbor, the people of this world, the future generations of this world, are dependent on the natural resources of the earth to live.  If I seriously want to be a student, an apprentice, a disciple of Jesus, then I cannot help but be concerned that millions of his precious children are suffering due to environmental problems.  And as Dr. Speth stated, the primary problem is selfishness, greed, and apathy.  In Biblical language, the primary problem for our world is sin.  Our lives of wanting more and more stuff is destroying the earth and depriving basic necessities from the poor people of the earth.  When I use too much of the world’s natural resources, it means that others will not have enough of the world’s natural resources.  God has made this world to have enough for everyone but this earth does not have enough for my selfish greed.

      So what can I do?  Well, my family has long recycled in our home.  We have installed shower heads that use less water and I take shorter showers.  I only use lawn products that are environmentally safe.  If I am only buying one item at the store, I tell them I do not need a bag.  I can carry it as it is.  I drive my car in ways that conserve gas.  I think about our food consumption, considering what is best for the environment.  For example, did you know it takes about 20 pounds of grain to produce one pound of beef, about 8 pounds of grain to produce a pound of chicken, but only one pound of grain to produce a pound of grain.  So we eat less meat and we eat more grain.  I not a vegetarian but I do think more about what I consume.

      Now here’s the problem and I am going to step on some toes right now, but that is the preacher’s job.  Many of us here are listening to this and thinking, “Huh.  I’m not giving up my long shower.  And I want a shower head that gives a full blast of water.  And I need those stronger chemicals to keep my yard weed free.  And recycling takes too much time.  And let me tell you, I want my big piece of meat every night.”  I know many of us are thinking those things, but friends, what would Jesus do?  Can you imagine Jesus every saying, “I want my big piece of meat every night and I do not care if other people are starving in poor countries.”  Would Jesus say that?  No.  Of course not. 

      Now that is all hard to swallow.  The good news is that a recent study, by the Merck Family Fund, found that most Americans do think we consume too much, produce too much waste, and have lost sight of the spiritual values that once guided us as a society.  What were the simple values that guided our great grandparents years ago on the farm?  When I talk to older people, they tell me they lived more on vegetables and pinto beans and corn bread.  They could not afford to waste and abuse the earth because they lived close to the earth.  Somehow, by a change of heart, we must regain those values from the past.  We must learn again to live a more simple life so that others can simply live.  It happens with a change of heart.  It happens when we decide that we want to live in ways that preserve the earth and its resources.  God loves the earth and all He has made.  And God wants us to love our neighbors by sharing the earth’s resources.  Amen.