God, Creator of all that is, remind us of our dependence on
you and on each other. Teach us
compassion for the earth and give us the resolve to love your creation as much
as you do. Let us hear with our hearts
and let me speak from my soul. Amen
Tomorrow is Earth Day again. The first Earth Day was held just two months
before my graduation from High School and so I have been an adult throughout
the history of Earth Day. Sadly, some of
the initial enthusiasm has waned for many of us just as the need for
responsible care of the creation has increased exponentially. I have chosen to tell you a fable on this the
43rd celebration of our great planet. You won’t find it in any books, since I just
wrote it this past week. But it is a
fable, nonetheless, and could have been told from generation to generation of
caring, compassionate individuals throughout time. A fable means that not all of it is
explainable by our rational minds; so, just for the next 15 or so minutes, suspend
that skeptical part of your brain and listen with your heart instead. This fable could be Christian, or Taoist, or
Native American, or pertain to no tradition at all. For the earth is quickly losing her ability
to survive for all of us at exactly the same time.
There
once was a magical place where stars, planets, the sun and wind could all go to
communicate. Once there was a meeting
called by Earth. Earth knew that things
were going wrong all over her lands and seas and called Sun and Moon to come for
a summit. Wind, not wanting to be left
out, came along, too. Rain hopped on the
back of Wind so he could come as well.
Earth
began the meeting with her opening statement:
“I am Earth. I am Giver and
Receiver. I am Healer and
Recreator. I am Lover and
Protector. I am Hope and Love; and, I am
very, very frightened. My people—those
who live and play and fight and love all over my great planet are going to die. They might not die today; but, they will
die. And, they will die at their own
hands. They no longer love me and they
no longer love each other. They only
love themselves and want what is best and greatest and most costly for
themselves and care nothing for the rest who simply don’t count.”
Sun
replies: Mother Earth, I call you
“Mother” because you have birthed an entire planet. Mother Earth, tell us more of what ails this
wonderful planet of yours. We want to
help, but we must first understand what you have traveled this great distance
to tell us. Speak, Mother Earth, we only
want to hear and comfort your pain.”
Mother
Earth speaks again: You see, it began innocently enough. My earth people went about their own
ways—tilling the earth, killing only the animals they needed to eat, fishing
the seas for food. And, then, my people
began to invent tools. These tools
allowed them to travel from their places of birth. Immediately, they began to see lands that
they thought to be better than theirs.
They began to make claims on the neighboring clan’s lands and
resources. And then, the fights broke
out. At first, they were small and
pretty well contained. A few people were
killed; but, most of the time they were able to work it out. But, the farther they traveled, the more they
saw. Before long, people were fighting
people from all over trying to get control over as much of my precious fields
and forests as they could.
Then
they began to use the resources they found on others’ lands to create
energy. Less and less did they depend on
the roaring power of rivers or even the wild might of Wind. Nothing could satisfy them. On and on it went for generations and
generations. Rain, here, can tell you
what happened to her sweet waters. Rain
spoke up, “The awful chemicals of these energy plants polluting my water,
making it unsafe to drink or even bathe in.
Not content with what nature would give them, they used fertilizers
which seeped into every aspect of the land—eventually ending up in my raindrops
waiting in the clouds. We call it
pollution and this is how it spread until finally there was little land left
pure, and animals, birds, and fish began to die off faster than we could keep
up with. Now we have lists that we
watch—species on the verge of extinction.
Every once in a while, someone will step up and try to save a particular
bird or fish, but mostly the list gets shorter and shorter as the list of
already extinct species continue to grow.
You tell them, Wind, what you were telling me just the other day.
Wind
shakes off the howls of a hurricane in progress and says, “I travel the earth
and all over I see signs that Earth here is in big trouble. You should see the hillsides and mountain
tops where strip mining has claimed the incredible beauty these lands once
held. It break my heart that my gentle
breezes now drift across forests who have no trees to enjoy me because they
have been cut down for housing developments or shopping centers. And my farmer friends struggle to make ends
meet, so many of them are giving up and selling out to devious corporations who
care nothing for the land as long as it produces what they need to sell. Sometimes, I pull myself back up into the
clouds and just sit and weep.
Moon
interjects: “And, as I watch the tides
of Mother Earth’s great oceans, I see less and less beach for the tide to play
upon. So much development—who needs all
the houses and hotels anyway? Why the
other night I was looking for a quiet place to shine my gentle beams across a
vast expanse of beach and had to travel for miles to find one. The oceans themselves no longer reflect my
beam with purity and brightness. Trash
and oil spills destroy the fragile borders between water and land and my beams
are mired down in the filth.
Sun
sighs and says, “It is time to consult the Great Spirit, the One who created us
all. Great Spirit—we call on you to come
and speak with us. Our hearts are heavy
and only you can help our precious Earth now.
We know you made her and love her.
Come now, and save her. “
Great
Spirit is suddenly there in the midst of them.
You can’t really see Great Spirit, but you always know when you are in
the presence of Great Spirit. “My
creator’s heart weeps, too”, Great Spirit began. “I placed Earth so gently in motion and
watched as paradise unfolded. You are
right, Earth, once my people had the means to see other lands, jealousy and
envy took over. My people want more than
they need and we must work together to help them understand the damage they are
doing to their home.”
Great
Spirit continued, “I will call special ones among my people who will be my
hands, and I will wrap my hands around them bestowing all the power they need
to heal their home. They will be my
people and I will protect their land.”
Earth said, “Thank you, Great Spirit, I now have hope—hope that it is
not too late.” Sun said, “I will help by
shining extra bright on the places that need my sunlight to regrow the plants
and nourish the animals.” “And I will
help the oceans to recover by regulating my tides to dissipate all the garbage
that now is in the water”, said Moon.
Wind added, “And I will be ready to blow and blow when the people begin
to build windmills to harness the power I have in my gusts.” Rain jumped up and said, “My raindrops will
help reduce the poisons in the land and replenish the forests when people plant
new trees.”
Great
Spirit led Earth, Sun, Moon, Wind, and Rain in a great psalm of rejoicing. Just as the psalmist said: “Everyone, make a lot of noise,
joyfully. Worship the Great Spirit with
gladness and sing as loudly as you can.
Know that God is our God, our creator—therefore, everyone belongs to the
tribe of the Great Spirit. People belong
to the Great Spirit and the Great Spirit belongs to the people. Be thankful for this and other great
miracles. The Great Spirit will always
be here and all the generations to come will still have the Great Spirit to
protect them.” There was singing and
dancing and the whole sky lit up with the energy and power generated by their
joy! Earth would be saved because people
would care—simple enough for us all to understand.
Of course, we all know that fables
are only fables and rarely come true.
May God help us all. Amen and
amen!
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