the way we live now
The Easter message of the Presiding Bishop of The Episcopal Church may have
its faults, but at least it has provided satirical inspiration for Geoffrey Kirk
Y
our Easter celebration The food we eat, the energy we use, is served by going on about something
undoubtedly has included lots the goods and foods we buy, the ways in which most people have lost interest
of physical signs of new life – in which we travel, are all opportuni- anyway. If they were going to be per-
eggs, flowers, new green growth. As ties – choices and decisions – to be suaded by that sort of thing, it would
the Easter season continues, consider for others, both human and other. have happened by now.
how your daily living can be an act of Our Christian commitment is for I do agree that ecology is the thing of
greater life for other creatures. How this – that we might live that more the moment. Every schoolchild knows
can you enact the new life we know in abundant life, and that we might that it is our duty to save the planet. This
Jesus the Christ? In other words, how do it in a way that is for the whole is the bandwagon onto which we must be
can you be the sacrament, the outward world. seen to jump. What the world needs is
and visible sign, of the grace that you Abundant blessings this Easter, and something that unites people in a single
know in the resurrected Christ? How may those blessings abound through heroic endeavour. Religion divides; ecol-
can your living let others live more the coming days and years. ogy unites (or something like that!).
abundantly? Even the Vatican, you will have noticed,
The Judaeo-Christian tradition has is playing down the old-fashioned, per-
been famously blamed for much of sonal, individual sins in favour of a new
the current environmental crisis, par- T
hat – of course – is the Easter mes-
sage of the Presiding Bishop of The
Episcopal Church to its adherents awareness of our corporate failures and
ticularly for our misreading of Gen- around the world, from Taiwan to Vene- responsibilities.
esis 1.28 as a charge to ‘fill the earth Your own approach, I am delighted to
and subdue it’. Our forebears were so say, goes beyond even this. The opening
eager to distinguish their faith from even the Vatican is playing passage relates well to what people most
the surrounding Canaanite religion associate with Easter – eggs, flowers,
and its concern for fertility that some
down the old-fashioned,
growth – but you could do more (bun-
of them worked overtime to separate
personal sins in favour of
nies? chocolate?). What we need to do
us from an awareness of ‘the hand of is to make people feel good about them-
God in the world about us’, especially
our corporate failures
selves. Good feelings make for generous
in a reverence for creation. How can giving!
we love God if we do not love what I am glad you devote a few lines to
God has made? zuela. The text can be checked on <www. attacking traditional interpretations of
We base much of our approach to episcopalchurch.org/78703_95591_ Scripture. We do not get nearly enough
loving God and our neighbors in this ENG_HTM.htm>. of this, in my opinion. There is still a
world on our baptismal covenant. But indulge me for a moment. Let us grimly persistent view that Christianity
Yet our latest prayer book was writ- suppose that it is not a finished work is a revealed religion – that what the Bible
ten just a bit too early to include from the pen of Katharine, but instead a says, goes. People are less and less respon-
caring for creation among those work-in-progress on Rowan’s computer. sive to that sort of approach. They want
explicit baptismal promises. I would The Archbishop of Canterbury, of to decide for themselves. And that suits
invite you to explore those promises course, after the shariah law debacle, us down to the ground. After all, if the
a bit more deeply – where and how will have undertaken to submit his every Bible has settled all the important mat-
do they imply caring for the rest of utterance to the scrutiny of a dedicated ters, why have a General Synod at all?
creation? band of spin doctors and media advis- There is really only one area to which
We are beginning to be aware ers, prominent among whom is Canon I would draw critical attention, and I am
of the ways in which our lack of Horatio Appleby, younger brother of the sure that judicious rephrasing will solve
concern for the rest of creation better-known Sir Humphrey. The mes- the problem.
results in death and destruction sage has passed over Appleby’s desk, The passage about hamburgers is, of
for our neighbors. We cannot love and the following memorandum has course, relevant and eye-catching. But I
our neighbors unless we care for resulted: hope you will excuse my directness if I
the creation that supports all our ask whether those who have not benefited
earthly lives. We are not respecting My dear Archbishop, from an extensive theological education
the dignity of our fellow creatures Congratulations! This, if I may say so, such as your own (and that includes the
if our sewage or garbage fouls their is most promising. The style is easy and ladies and gentlemen of the press) will as
living space. When atmospheric accessible, and there is a notable absence readily make the connection between the
warming, due in part to the meth- of the sort of technical vocabulary that Resurrection of Our Lord Jesus Christ
ane output of the millions of cows turns people off. I think we are now doing and a herd of farting cows.
we raise each year to produce ham- much better in this regard. As ever,
burger, begins to slowly drown the At first I regretted the absence of any Horatio.
island homes of our neighbors in clear reference to actual resurrection. But
PS Your spell-check owes too
the South Pacific, are we truly shar- then I came around to what is obviously
much to Microsoft: ‘Neighbours’,
ing good news? your point of view. No useful purpose
if you please! ND
April 2008
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newdirections
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