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Creation Theology/Climate Apocalypse

Updated: Jul 24, 2024

An hour long talk shared at a Christians Aware Summer School.



“Creation Theology/Climate Apocalypse: Faith and Love in a World of Climate Breakdown."



My script is below.


Today I have been given the task of speaking on Creation Theology,  I want to say at the outset that what I am going to present to you isn’t a standard discussion of creation theology, instead I seek to theologise in a way which stirs our hearts, and mobilsiings us for action. Its a creation theology rooted in our context, and reality of injustice. If this is creation theology, then it is of the liberationist, contextual and prophetic kind.


By way of introduction—before delving into the main material—let’s start at the beginning, in the opening pages of Genesis. Unlike other Ancient Near Eastern (ANE) creation myths, the Hebrew Bible does not depict the world as emerging from violence. Consider the Enuma Elish, for example: the world is born from the slain body of Tiamat, the sea monster, after she is defeated by Marduk, the principal god of Babylon. In stark contrast, the Hebrew Bible offers a different narrative: God creates the world, and as each day unfolds, we repeatedly hear that it is "good," culminating in the declaration that it is "very good" on the final day.


As several mainstream academic commentators point out, the pinnacle of creation is the seventh day, when God rests. In the ancient world, gods would rest in their temples, and here we see that the purpose of creation is for God to dwell with His people. Creation is presented as a cosmic temple, emphasizing the profound significance of the physical world. Unfortunately, some creation theologies have become overly spiritual, inadvertently diminishing the importance of the physical realm. Yet, the Hebrew Bible underscores that physicality matters deeply.


Within this cosmic temple, for those with ancient eyes and ears, God appoints humans—not just kings—as His image bearers. They are to tend and keep (abad and shamar); essentially, they are to serve as priests. The only other instances where these words appear together in the Old Testament are in reference to those who work in the temple and tabernacle. The notion that all humans are image bearers is revolutionary and ethically profound. It challenges the ancient worldview where only the elite reflected the divine image. Instead, it asserts that all people—regardless of gender, wealth, or status—are made in God's image and are therefore deserving of dignity, honor, and respect. This idea provides a foundational mythic basis for the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, affirming that every individual has intrinsic value and worth.


In contrast to other myths where creatures are often considered gods, in the Hebrew Bible, they are non-human worshippers in whom God delights. These creatures, too, are part of the cosmic temple, illustrating that all of creation is involved in worshipping God.


However, early Christian thinking was significantly influenced and, in many ways, hijacked by Platonic thought. Plato’s philosophy, which viewed the material world as a mere shadow of the true, perfect spiritual reality, shifted the focus of Christian thought heavily towards the spiritual realm and the afterlife. This led to a devaluation of the physical world, which was often regarded as inferior or corrupt. Such a Platonic perspective diverged sharply from the Hebrew Bible's celebration of the physical world as "very good" and its vision of creation as God's temple.


If we turn to the end of the Christian canon, the Book of Revelation portrays the new creation as a temple, merging heaven and earth. In this vision, the new creation is depicted as a renewed and perfected temple, where God once again dwells intimately with His people. The imagery of Revelation brings the biblical narrative full circle, from the garden-temple of Genesis to the city-temple of Revelation, signifying the restoration and fulfillment of God’s original design for creation.


Today, we live between these bookends of creation and new creation. We inhabit the beauty of the cosmic temple, surrounded by the wonders of God’s handiwork. Yet, we are also acutely aware of its brokenness and the pervasive presence of sin and suffering. As stewards of this temple, we are called to tend and keep it, to uphold its sanctity, and to anticipate with hope the day when it will be fully renewed. In this in-between time, we lament the destruction of the cosmic temple, bear witness to its beauty and demise, and work for its healing, joining with all creation in worship and looking forward to the ultimate redemption and restoration of the world.

Father of Creation,

God of Compassion, 

The earth as a cosmic temple presents itself as a symphony of praise;

A rich diversity of song and dance,

From a whole range of characters who Inhabit,

Perform 

And point to you

As the giver of gifts.

 

Father of Creation,

God of Compassion, 

From mountain heights to ocean depths,

Across the seasons, 

Non-human worshippers worship 

With a stunning array of unique characteristics and colours.

 

The willow tree bows in reverent praise,

Whilst birds in flight perform a waltz of wonder.

Since creation’s dawn, 

You, O Lord, have opened their lips;

A hiss, a screech, a bark, a purr, 

A tweet, a song, a howl, a caw. 

A neigh, a bleat, a cuckoo, a buzz, a roar.

You have filled their beaks,

Their wings, 

Their lips 

Their mouths with praise.

 

And we join with them in saying

What you have made is good.

To you, we give praise, honour and glory.

 

Father of Creation,

God of Compassion

The cosmic temple has begun to sing a different song;

A lament for what has changed,

A requiem for what has been lost,

A lament for what will be.

 

Father of Creation,

God of Justice,

From mountain heights to ocean depths,

The impact of humanity has been made known.

Instead of worshipping,

Tending 

And keeping.

We have forsaken, 

Betrayed 

And plundered.

 

 

Have mercy on us, according to your steadfast love.

 

Father of Creation,

God and father of our Lord Jesus Christ,

We live within both the beauty and the brokenness.

We ask that you would give us a melody of praise to

join with creation's cosmic song and dance. 

 

We ask that you would give us a lament that

grieves for what we have lost and what will be.

 

May the melody of our humble existence

take up afresh our priestly calling

to tend and keep your cosmic temple

until the redemption and restoration of all things.

 

Father of Creation,

To him who sits on the throne and to the lamb,

Be praise, glory and honour.

 

Amen








Do not run from concrete reality,

into a world of romanticised abstractions.

Take courage,

The truth at times will hurt.


Do not Romanticise Reality,

But look it straight in the eye.

And behold the nightnarish evil that many endure.


Don't dodge or look away,

But lament,

And grieve,

The kingdom is calling.


Don't dodge or look away,

But listen.

And love,

The Kingdom is Calling.


Do not romanticise reality,

But look it in the eye,

And commit yourself to justice and peace.


Hold the hand of the hurting,

Wrap your arms around the broken,

Hold their gaze, and whisper

‘This is not the way it was meant to be’


Speak truth to those corrupted by power,

Stand up for the oppressed,

Hold their gaze and whisper.

‘This is not the way it is meant to be’


Do not not romanticise reality,

But rest a while in extravagant love.

Bathe in his kindness,

Receive his healing.


Do not romanticise reality,

But know that hope is on the way.

For he will transform reality,

There is not a hurt that he will not heal.

——



Several years ago, before the onset of COVID-19, my worldview underwent a seismic shift.


Immersed in preparations for a sermon series on the Book of Revelation, I found myself, one Friday , amidst a youth-led climate march in Leeds City Centre .


Just to clarify, I wasn’t there as a ‘youth’  but as a supportive father, accompanying my teenage daughter who had skipped school, with hundreds of others to raise a voice of protest.


During this sizeable protest, I absorbed a series of talks on climate change delivered by scientists from the University of Leeds. Their revelations shattered my preconceptions, challenged my narratives, serving as an apocalypse of the harsh reality: the climate crisis is far more dire than I had ever imagined.


After several weeks of my own research into mainstream climate science, I continued to be confronted  emotionally by this unsettling truth, I realized that the world I once knew had vanished, replaced by a new reality of climate breakdown.


Embracing this apocalyptic awakening—rooted in the Greek word "apokalypsis," meaning unveiling—I delved into an in-depth study of Revelation, an  apocalyptic text which concludes the Christian canon,. Within its pages, I discovered a call to unwavering allegiance to Jesus amidst a world besieged by oppressive forces.


Contrary to popular misconceptions propagated by certain Christian media outlets, Revelation isn't a crystal ball predicting contemporary events. Rather, it's a scathing critique of the Roman Empire and its systems of domination .


It reveals that the empire, with its insatiable thirst for power and growth- built on slavery and violence-  is the harbinger of destruction and desolation —the very antithesis of goodness and justice.  All that glitters is not gold, and the Pax Romana, working at the behest of evil is a beast, but Christians are called to follow the way of the butchered lamb who rules and reigns with self giving sacrificial love.


As our world grapples with the unholy trinity of consumerism, unrestrained capitalism, and individualism, Revelation's metaphorical narratives serve as a stark warning. They remind us that the illusion of stability offered by these systems is just that—an illusion. In truth, they are the architects of our planet's demise, promising prosperity but delivering only devastation.


These reflections on climate and the book of revelation  were published in a book called ‘Time to Act’


Today I have a fourfold task. Firstly, I want to sketch an apocalypse of our current predicament.


Secondly, I want to speak to you prophetically. By this, I do not mean that I will offer predictions of the future—although I will talk about trajectories and future scenarios. Rather, drawing insights from old testament scholar Walter Brueggemann, I seek to articulate truth  a culture of denial, enact hope in a culture of despair, and advocate speaking  truth to power for the sake of the powerless.  I’m not going to offer hopium, a kind of hope that distracts us from reality, but rather a hope filled realism that speaks of hope whilst taking reality with utter seriousness.


Thirdly, alongside this prophetic and apocalyptic task, which helps us see our diagnosis, I want to speak of love. Love is  the treatment option for our  wounded world, an intervention to avoid worst case scenarios, and the necessary pastoral  posture as humanity lives in and through the time of great unravelling .


Its a love   love that looks like something, a love that can shape imaginations and possible futures. This love, the human and divine disposition to have affection, is also a verb and can be embraced and enacted to counter the idols of self, consumerism, and unrestrained capitalism, and to comfort those who are wounded by our present predicament.


Love, and for the Christian this finds its apex in the God-man Jesus,  is to be our compass and guide.


Lastly, after speaking prophetically of both apocalypse and love, I invite you to talk, share, and question what you have heard.






Part One- Apocalypse Now



In a recent television broadcast, David Attenborough spoke these words,


“Right now we are facing a man-made disaster of global scale, our greatest threat in thousands of years: climate change. If we don't take action, the collapse of our civilisation and the extinction of much of the natural world is on the horizon.”



The sobering truth of our times is that we we are living amidst the throes of a climate breakdown, our very own apocalypse. The culprit behind this crisis, fuelled by unrestrained capiltisma nd consumerism,  is none other than the pervasive presence of greenhouse gases in our atmosphere, largely stemming from the burning of fossil fuels—coal, oil, and gas.


We once turned to fossil fuels as a beacon of progress, a source of blessing that promised us comfort and advancement. Indeed, through their utilization, our lives have been transformed in myriad ways.


From nourishing our bodies with food to adorning ourselves with clothing, from traversing great distances through transportation to harnessing the power of technology for our benefit, fossil fuels have woven themselves into the fabric of our existence.


They have lifted millions out of poverty and contributed to an extended global life expectancy.


However, the shadow cast by our reliance on fossil fuels grows longer with each passing year.


In the blink of a geological eye, spanning a mere sixty years, human activity, especially the consumption of fossil fuels, has inflicted unprecedented damage upon our planet. We stand witness to the dawn of the Anthropocene epoch, a period marked by irreversible alterations to ecosystems and weather patterns. The telltale signs are all around us: temperatures soaring, seas swelling,  oceans acidifying, forests receding, and biodiversity vanishing.


Despite our knowledge, global emissions continue to climb unabated.


Consider this: the Earth now accumulates heat at a rate equivalent to 12 Hiroshima bombs detonating every single second..


Just let that sink in—enough energy to boil 700 million kettles per second, with a staggering 90% of that heat absorbed by our oceans.

The first major scientific report warning of ‘global warming’ came out in 1990. Emmisions are 60% higher now

In the book of Revelation (11:8)  the Roman Empire is called the ‘destroyer of the earth’ 11:8 but this label could just a well be given to our generation.  We turned to fossil fuels for blessing, but now they bring  and are bringing a curse upon humanity.


 This is the story, the apocalypse for those with eyes to see, we find ourselves in. 


“I wish it need not have happened in my time," said Frodo."So do I," said Gandalf, "and so do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.”

J.R.R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring


A year ago, scientists delivered the unsettling news that global temperatures had soared to 1.2 degrees above those of the pre-industrial era.


However, where we are heading is painting an even grimmer picture: A damning UN report recently underscored that there is currently no credible pathway to limit warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius. Even if nations manage to meet their current targets, a staggering 2.4-degree rise in temperature looms ominously by the century's end.


The stark reality is that in recent months, daily global temperatures have repeatedly spiked beyond the 2-degree mark.The month of  February alone recorded temperatures hovering around 1.7 degrees Celsius, a figure that, even when factoring in the El Niño weather phenomenon, is nothing short of alarming.  The last year we have averaged 1.64 degrees above preindustrial temperatures.


Climate scientists are concerned, this is keeping n them awake at night.


The prospect of breeching 2 degrees Celsius centigrade within a few decades is on the cards,


The pace of change far outstrips the projections made by the scientific community just a few years ago.


UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres  states that humanity faces a direct existential threat.  More recently, Guterres has starkly warned, 'We are on the highway to climate hell with our foot firmly on the accelerator.’



And Justin Welby the, in words not typical of the  Archbishop of Canterbury said that that the ‘horseman of the climate apocalypse are already at the gates’.


What are the horseman of the Anthropocene? According to Gaia Vince,  in her excellent book ‘Nomad Century’ the 4 horseman are  fire, heat, drought and flood.


Each of these horseman are set to make parts of the world uninhabitable, and each bring disntc but related suffering to human beings.


The UN estimates that by 2050 we could see up to 1bn refugees as huge parts of the globe become uninhabitable due floods, temperatures which are not compatible with human life.


With wild fires that destroy communities.  Last year Canada had record breaking fires ’45.7millions  acres went up in flames, an area about twice the size of Portugal,  In 2020 20% of Australias forests were destroyed in wildfires.  This summer our new feeds again will be filled with tourists in Europe fleeing fires…..



Heat is making our summer hotter. For many of us a heatwave may be nice, but we our infracsture is not prepared for the level of heat we are seeing.  There were 62,000 heat related death in Europe in 2022, in other parts of thew world temperatures are now becoming incompatible with human life.  Like Covid and the Cost of Living crisis its the most vulnerable who suffer the worst effects of rising temrpatures.  More worrying than the European heat is the rise in ‘hot bulb temperature’ . Only a few years ago scientists predicted that ‘hot bulb temperatures’ would begin a in a few decades time, yet these tempopratures (with a a related humidity) are now being witnessed with am increasing frequency in


Pakistan, India, Saudi Arabia, Mexico and Australia. Hot bulb temperatures do not just effect the physically vulnerable or fragile.. Instead healthy young people, wearing light clothes, with access to water, in the shade and in from tof a fan can be hospitalised, or die within  just a few hours.


Drought:  Climate Change is bringing drought to some of the worst poorest.  150 million people in east africa are effected by drought , with 20 million faces food insecurity and malnutrition.


Floods:


Extreme rainfall produces catastrophic floods. Storm Daniel hit Libya last year, 2 damns collapsed, and thousands were washed away.

Sea level Rise

Low lying nations will simply cease to exist.  Barbadian Prime Minister Mia Mottley made a dire warning.

“1.5C is what we need to stay alive – two degrees is a death sentence for the people of Antigua and Barbuda, for the people of the Maldives, for the people of Dominica and Fiji, for the people of Kenya and Mozambique – and yes, for the people of Samoa and Barbados.





 At times the reality of climate breakdown presses into the present flooding us with feelings of anxiety and grief. 


We can feel overwhelmed in the face of systems and structures of domination that seem hell-bent on pushing us to the point of no return.  And sadly there is a point of no return. There are tipping points, posiitive  feedback loops, which if activated mean that even if we cease using fossil fuels the temperatures will rise.  Let me mention two of these, sea ice and melting permafrost.


Sea ice, has a high albedo. It is very white and reflective – we and reflects back more solar energy than the darker open sea. But when global temperature rises melts more sea ice in the Summer than usual this results in a darker sea surface overall than normal, which reflects less solar energy, raises local temperatures, and leads to yet more sea ice loss.


Permafrost Permafrost is made of a combination of soil, rocks and sand that are held together by ice. r 11% of the global surface is underlain by permafrost,[1] with the total area of around 18 million km2.[2] This includes substantial areas of Alaska, Greenland, Canada and Siberia.  Permafrost contains twice as much carbon as the atmosphere and three times as much carbon as that stored in the worlds forests.  Due to rising temperatures permafrost is begggining to melt and thaw. When it melts it releases co2 and methane into the atmosphere. This in turn means higher temperatures and more melt.


We need to be clear in the story we tell.


It is simply not true, its counter factual, to say that that we need to act now to avoid dangerous levels of climate change. We have already hit that point. We cannot avoid catastrophe, we are in a catastrophe. The question is for our future will with move into the better catastrophe.



An apocalypse,


Given , this let me mention 4 possible futures which civilisation/complex culture faces in the coming years.



Dodo:


As Pope Francis says ‘“Doomsday predictions can no longer be met with irony or disdain.”

This civilisation could collapse utterly and terminally, as a result of climatic instability Irreversible catastrophic damage to ccosystems- -Rupert Read

  • Collapse of Civilisation

  • Societal Breakdown

  • Mass Starvation & Mass Migration

  • Hot House Earth/Irreversible Tipping Points


In the Dodo scenario humanity will fail to slam on the brakes and we enter in a hothouse earth situation in which the vast amount of humanity, along with entire ecosystems becomes extinct.  In this scenario we built babel with the tools of unrestrained capitalism and consumerism. We turned to it for blessing. We thought we were Gods . We opened the door to ecological violence and it overwhelmed us. In this scenario, reflecting the language of the book of revelation, we have become the destroyers of the Earth and ourslevs. This scenario will be more of less guaranteed if we remain addicted to fossil fuels.


Butterfly

‘[The view that] civilisation will somehow manage to transform itself deliberately, radically and rapidly, in an unprecedented manner, in time to avert collapse’

- ‘Rupert Read


  • New Global-Political Economic Ideology

  • Immediate and Deep Cuts to Fossil Fuel Emissions

  • Development of Carbon Reduction Technology


In the buterfly scenario we transform and transition rapidly from fossil fuel captilalism to avert mass suffering and societal collapse. The governments of the world, including including India and China, achieve the almost impossible by reducing omissions to almost zero by 2030 for the the developed world and 2040 for the developing world. Although some traction is given to this approach by IPCC and others it is almost, as I see it, entirely dependant on three factors


(1) The development of a new global-political ideology . A waking up of the governments of the world with the political will and structures to bring bringg change. require a fundamental re-evaluation of economic assumptions around growth value and progress”  (


2) Immediate and signciant cuts to global carbon emissions. To quote from lead climate scientist Kevin Anderson.

For a fair chance of staying below 2°C, developed countries including the UK  must bring about immediate and deep cuts in emissions from all sectors.

That is to say, cuts of 10 to 15% year on year and with immediate effect.

To reiterate … starting now. Not ten years from now.


(3) the development of scientific and technological solutions. carbon capture and removal technology, a technology that is not available to us at present in terms of scale.  Geo-Enginerring is another option which is being explored, butvthis brings with it huge risks as we manipulate weather systems, which may bring benefits to some parts of the globe but inintentioanlly bring havoc elsewhere.


The butterfly  is clearly the preferred scenario


The Pheonix- This civilisation will collapse, unable to bear the weight of that which is placed upon it.  This will be a time of unprecenetd suffering, the collapse of global infrastructure and major food shortages.



will manage to seed a future successor-civilisation(s), as this one collapses.




I can’t stop climate breakdown,

But I can play my part,

A small part,

So small,

That it is insignificant,

But I will try.


I can’t stop climate breakdown,

But I can pray,

And act,

So small,

That it seems insignificant

But I will try.


I can’t stop climate breakdown,

But I can love,

And be loved.

So beautiful,

That my life has dignity,

But I will try.


I can’t stop climate breakdown,

But I can rage against the machine,

And say,

Not in my name,

So small,

But I will try.


I can’t stop climate breakdown,

But I can hope,

And dream,

And participate,

In a conspiracy of compassion,

A holy rebellion,

Until that day when all tears are wiped away.



Many of us may experience Missional paralysis, like rabbits caught beneath the headlights, we do not know what to do, so we don't do anything. 


Or, to change the metaphor, we may choose to act like ostriches that bury our heads in the sand even though the tide is coming in.  


 In our world of climate breakdown, like covid, we can look to leaders (global, national, local) to lead us through the crisis. Yet, when we look for effective leadership, we can too often become disheartened, disappointed and discouraged. 


What kind of leaders do we need at this late hour? How should the church respond?  What kind of theology do we need for such a time as this? What implications does this have for our own lives of mission and discipleship.



So how should we live?  I want to suggest that we need to take up afresh the path of love.


Part Two: Love in a World of Climate Breakdown


Jesus said this ‘Love the Lord Your God with all your heart, mind and soul. And love your neighbour as yourself. There are no greater commandments than these. ‘


Jesus is clear, our lives are to have vertical and horizontal dimensions’ We are to love God AND love our neighbours.

A love for neighbours- our near neighbours, those in our cities, parishes and communities.

If the days ahead are to be difficult then our churches would do well to be loving and resilient communities.   One of the ways we can show love in a time of climate breakdown is to talk.  Katherine Hayhoe, both a christian and a leading climate scientist, says that this is the most important thing we can do.  Talk, chat, and share with others.


We need to talk to our friends, family, neighbours, work colleagues, and others about the climate. If we talk about it, it prevents us from slipping back into functional denial. Talk  stirs imaginations, leads to action on both an individual and community level; this, in turn, influences the political and economic will of the city and nation.


love for neighbours—our global neighbours, including our brothers and sisters who live in distant lands. A love for the poorest nations if the world who bear have contributed the least to the rise in global temlatures, but suffer the worst of the consequences. Let me spell this out, the richest 1%  in the world produce twice as much emissions as the poorest 3.8 billion.


To love in a world of Climate breakdown may requires us to live more simply so that others may be allowed to simply live.  What does it mean for the church in the the developed world to embody the self giving sacrificial love of Jesus in our lifestyles, There is a limited carbon budget available which keeps us from 2 degrees. Should this budget be used in building resilience in poorer countries, developing health care and local food infrastcrure? Or should this carbon budget be spent on on high carbon consumerist lifestyles… we need to think chrsianity about a whole host of things, flying for pleasure, our consumption of meat, the fashion industry and our desire for endless economic growth and our relationship to consumerism,


And perhaps, although this probably isn’t what Jesus is referring to, we should include a love for future generations.  What we do in the next few years will determine the the level of suffering which will be faced by future generations.


Sir David King

“We have to move rapidly,” said Professor Sir David King, founder and chair of the Centre for Climate Repair at Cambridge University and a former advisor to both the Blair and Brown governments.

“What we do over the next three to four years, I believe, is going to determine the future of humanity. We are in a very very desperate situation.”





And perhaps, although this probably isn't what Jesus is referring to, we should include a love for future generations. Our generation stands at the hinge of history, in that if we do not embed the radical systemic changes that are necessary, then our children and grand children will face hardships that are barely imaginable for use.


  We all know that recycling, eating less meat and flying less help to lower carbon emissions. Yet the stark reality is that this is not enough, if we are seeking avert the worst of what may be, by showing love and compassion to future generations, we need systemic change, to avert the worst of what may be and to adapt to what is already locked in.  Our political leaders and economic systems have failed us, what doe sit mean for us to take up the way of Christ and offer truth and challenge to those who lead us into a tragic future.



And Jesus practices what he preaches; he loves his Father and embodies and enacts this love time and time again.




Love looks like something; love is a verb.

     

13 Love is actualised and embodied in action.




Let's dig deeper while keeping an eye on how we should live in a world of climate breakdown.



Love looks like Justice

Martin Luther King said ‘‘Justice is what love looks like in public,)



Justice is the dream of the prophets which stirs imaginations so that a new world becomes possible. It is the hope of Amos that looks forward to a time when 'justice will roll on like a river'. 


Justice is also at the heart of God. As Isaiah says 'For the Lord is a God of justice; blessed are all those who wait for him.' 


To be a friend of God is to do justice. 


In Jesus, the Word made flesh, we see justice embodied and entwined with extravagant mercy. He welcomes the weak, gathers the oppressed and lays down the prophetic challenge to the unjust structures and systems of his day


Justice is settign the world to rights  


Justice stands against oppression, domination.

and economic exploitation


Justice stands with the poor and powerless and 

 speaks out for those without a voice 


And so we see in Jesus final week that he engages in engages in a symbolic action which causes disruption. He breaks the law. He overturns tables. It is non-violent direct action, civil disobedience. 


In flipping the tables and driving out the money changers, Jesus quotes from the prophetic justice passages. Jesus, the activist, is concerned about justice.


In Jesus, the Word made flesh; we see justice embodied and entwined with extravagant mercy.





In our own time of climate breakdown, standing at the hinge of history, we are called as Gods servants to be the justice shaped people of God. 


As Martin Luther King put it 

'A church that has lost its voice for justice is a church that has lost its relevance for the world'. 


Or, more positively, we may say justice is in our missional DNA.  


In the face of climate breakdown the church is called, to be a prophetic community who do not retreat into a world of spiritual romanticised abstraction, but who embody the justice shaped kingdom in speaking out and speaking forth on the issues of their day.   We need to be those who are willing to take justice into the ballot boxes, onto to streets, we need to be those who raise our voices above the parapet of indifference, and perhaps, with love and justice in mind, we need to reconsider our stance towards the democratic right to civil disobedience and non violent protest if our leaders continue to deny reality and plunge us further towards mass suffering.




Love looks like Tenderness


Cornell West-  Justice is what love looks like public, and tenderness is what love looks like in private.


Jesus is tender and kind to towards those on the margins, tot he poor and downtrodden, to those suffering.


In a world which marked by exclusion Jesus embraced the leper, the weak, the outcast and the marginalised. Jesus listened and loved those who did not have a voice. He was moved with compassion and in tender kindness brought hospitality and healing to those pushed to the edges.


As we move further into climate breakdown let the church be know for its compassion, kindness and tenderness.  For those in our Parishes with climate grief. Let us be kind and loving.  As we move further int climate breakdown the financial stresses on the most vulnerable will kick in the deepest.  As millions are displaced and more refugees make there way to our nation. Let su be tender, kind and compassionate.




Conclusion.


And so let’s bring it all together. We live in two stories. The apocalypse of climate breakdown and in the story of Gods love. In which God has not abandoned this world but in and through Jesus is working for the reconciliation of all things.


The church, like Jesus is Called, to tender compassion and to justice/


In other words, if we are to live missionally  in a warming world we should be tender and compassionate to those who suffer because of climate breakdown (to the refugees, those in economic hardship, the hungry, those overwhelmed with climate grief ) , but the church should also be involved in justice shaped work that seeks to avert the worst of what may be. Or as the pastor-theologian  Dietrich Bonhoeffer put it…’


“We are not to simply bandage the wounds of victims caught beneath the wheels of injustice, we are to drive a spoke into the wheel itself.”


― Dietrich Bonhoeffer


In the name of the F,S and HS






















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