The Care for Creation!

Our relationship with creation is in terms of affiliation. Creation and all created things are inherently good and they reveal the essential nature of Creator. We are not only the beautiful/good shepherd of the sheep, but also of nature!  Therefore, we need to care for it and to protect it!

1. Introduction:

The present writing is the continuation of my previous article 'Cry of the earth.. The care for creation springs from the fundamental relationships between God and creatures. The Creator reveals himself through every creation to each of us, as having the same root from the creator. Therefore, the creation is a gift to us all. The scripture reveals the roots for human existence. The creation manifests Creator’s revelation, with its inherent values and goodness. The love for creation places our responsibility to take care of the creation because of ecological crisis.

The “dominant technocratic paradigm” is the root-cause of our crisis and the breakdown of a holistic vision of humanity and Creation.  We are the beneficiaries of the technological change for the last two hundred years.  The technological growth is also risky because it has not been “accompanied by a development in human responsibilities, values and conscience”. In other words, using technology for noble ends requires an ethical framework, a spiritual culture and a vision for life and the purpose of life.

We try to have gain, control and mastery over all objects to meet our needs. This greed for control leads to the exploitation of natural resources as if they are unlimited. We believe that science, technology and market forces will solve all problems. It would hardly be helpful to describe symptoms without acknowledging the human origins of the natural crisis. A certain way of understanding human life and activity has gone awry to the serious detriment of the world around us.

The effects are seen in the deterioration of the environment which affects every aspect of human and social life. We have to accept that technological products are not neutral, for they create a framework which ends up conditioning our lifestyles and shaping social possibilities along the lines dictated by the interests of certain powerful groups.

2. The Creation in connection with our worship:

Our care for creation has a direct link with worship. I invite you to view creation as an act of God. It is then that the creation will lead us in worship and fit into how we worship the God who created it. Indeed, it helps us in “our recognition of Creator and raise our minds and hearts and everything in worship to God, and so the human person’s working of everything that God has created in creation also represents his way of worshiping God, his way of serving God.” Thus, all human activity ultimately has a “sense of worshiping the Creator.”

Therefore, serious questions arise if our work or use of the earth does not contribute to our worship and glorification of Creator. If any of my actions does not become an act of worship and glorification of the creator then, what am I living for? Or to whom am I living for? Or who authorized me to destroy His splendid plan of creation and cause desecration to it? Let us earnestly reflect and give a thought to it.

3. The Creation belongs to everyone, present and future:

The fact that creation is an act of God that it does not belong to any one particular portion of humanity to exploit “the creation in any way they want”. This applies both in terms of space and in terms of time as well. We are meant to take care of our present needs with a view to those who will need to take care of their needs in the future as well. We must learn to be grateful to those who have left us with all that we have today.This is called “inter-generational solidarity”.

4. The Creation leads us to contemplation:

The sense of the care for creation leads to a contemplation. St Francis of Assisi was a great contemplative. He saw creation as an instrument for prayer and meditation. He encouraged his Brothers to reach out to Creator in prayer through His wonderful artifacts like brother Sun and sister Moon. They used creation in their communities as an element through which they could worship God.

5. The Creation reveals Creator’s presence:

The Creator reveals Himself universally through nature, humanity, history and experience. In many ways creation reflects the Creator and “the mighty works of God”. This shows that creation has the capacity of narrating and revealing Creator’s presence in it. This is very crucial, when St Francis saw in creation a means of contemplating the presence of God. Thus, we learn a lot about care for creation, “preserving everything that God has made”.

The Creation, indeed is a brother, a sister. St. Francis used these terms regarding “kinship” to express our relationship to what God created.  This means that ‘our relationship to creation is in terms of affiliation’. Creation and all created things are inherently good and they reveal essential nature of Creator.Therefore, we need to ‘cultivate it, care for it and to keep it’. The relationship between brothers and sisters is reflected in the relationship between the human and creation. Creation is for us, a kin, to be kept like we keep a brother… we support our brother, we protect their lives. We safeguard everything they have.

6. What is the need of caring the Creation?

I will tell you about our humble contributions to protect the creation. We have to take a small, conscious step in our everyday lives on our call to care for creation and make a positive impact on the environment. Simple things like composting kitchen scraps, recycling. The “Care for Creation and Global Climate Change is a wake-up call” for all of us.

It is a call to love the Creator and our neighbors by caring for creation in the light of dramatic climate changes occurring before our eyes. It is a sincere invitation to examine the scientific evidence for global warming and to respond as “individuals along with collective faithful actions”.

The use of 3R's can help to conserve natural  resources, recycle the recyclable materials, reduce trash and reuse the material to prevent waste. Not only will this benefit us but also our planet, thus preserving its beauty and ensuring its beauty for more generations to come. We are called “to protect people and the planet,” while living in relationship with all creation.

7. The Safeguarding of Creation:

The safeguarding and redeeming of “creation appear as a ‘commandment given’ to humanity even before the law was given to Moses. Together with other commandments, the command of sabbatical rest, was given to guard and cultivate the garden”. The Man must choose between “being the substitute of Creator’ who reigns over creation and authoritatively ‘enhancing his life, or being a disfigurer, exploiter and ill manager of creation’.

The human not only sins against God, against his brothers, against himself but also against nature, often by making the land desolate. I feel we need to reconcile with nature, with animals, with the works of man, with daily realities of life. The contemplation on nature, we will be able to draw rays of peace and consolation to respond to the everyday ‘cry of the creation present’ in everything.

We are not only "the beautiful/good shepherd" of the sheep, but also of nature! We are approaching and in front of the "advancing desert" facing the increasingly desolate land, we should learn from 'Second Adam' to see how to look into the depths of creation - the “signatura rerum”, (meaning: the Signs and Signification of the several Forms and Shapes in the Creation) the writing of things, to grasp. We must learn from not only the “lacrimae rerum” (there are tears in things: life is tragic) but also the “laudes rerum” (the praising of Creation).

8. The human Responsibility:

We ought to be a good shepherd of nature, too. Today the idea of steward has been applied in its most original and fundamental meaning to refer to our “human responsibility to care for the Earth”. We have failed to be responsible stewards of the Earth and this has led to the current ecological crises threatening global climate stability and the biodiversity of plant and animal species and endangering even the human species.

The ecological problems include the pollution of the air, the poisoning of the land, the pollution of fresh water and billions of tons of plastic that pose a hazard to the health of the oceans, rivers, pounds and all water bodies. The loss of forest and land in alarming proportions has tremendous implications for food security.

“The Caring of creation is a mutual responsibility because it is our common home. We all belong to the same planet, in the web of life. The promotion of the common good means we have to foster a sense of responsibility to be stewards of Mother Earth’s resources. This is central to what it means to be a Shepherd of nature”.

9. The integrity of Creation and Creator:

The integrity of creation is that human beings are companions to other creatures on earthly community. The “creation is the presence and self-expression of Creator” who has power to transforms the whole universe. The integrity refers to the rational use of creation. The use that is respectful of its purpose and destiny and is mindful of the needs of future generations. The Creation calls for ‘collaboration’ in an on-going process and a contribution towards the realization of an ‘unfinished potential’ (the on-going process of creation).

We are not God. The earth was here before us and it has been given to us…... although it is true that we have at times incorrectly interpreted the Scriptures, nowadays we must forcefully “reject the notion that we being created in God’s image and given dominion over the earth justifies absolute domination over other creatures”

10. Let me sum up:

The indifference and silence lead to complicity,violence and destruction. Whenever we stand by as people are “dying of suffocation, starvation, flood, drought, high temperature, violence and destruction”. Whether large in number or small in scale, these are always tragedies even when a single human life is lost.  Globalization is the process by which the world is becoming increasingly interconnected as a result of ‘massively increased trade and cultural exchange’ and indeed the world economy is growing because of technological change. “We need a Sustainable development, economic progress and technological progress but with social inclusion, meaning that everybody should benefit but with environmental sustainability.”

The world community is facing the uncertainty of the future in entirely new terms. Some generations more than others have been aware of individual mortality. They have experienced high rates of infant mortality; they have been victims of incurable plagues. In Western society medical science has advanced to the point where people have begun to manage the personal threats. We are now confronted with a global problem about the survival of the whole planet.

We need to ‘educate people’ with a notion “GO GREEN.” This shouId touch their hearts. In this modern era people are educated but they are unaware of the destruction that we humans are doing to the environment. The environment awareness program on global warming and climate change is essential. This education will make ‘individuals to explore environmental issues, engage in problem solving and take action to improve the environment’.

…………...to be continued in the next edition.

Thank you.

Bro. Antony, New Delhi. 

Montfort Resource Center (MRC)

e-mail: tonyindasg@gmail.com

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