15TH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME – A, JULY 13

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WE ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR GOD’S CREATION

We want my nephew, aged 3, and niece, aged 6, to love nature.  For a start, we gave them a pet bird, but it soon died.  We replaced it with a rabbit that soon, was also dead. Then a pet dog also died.  Lastly I gave them a turtle, warning them this time to take extra care of it. A few weeks ago, I asked the kids about the new pet.  My niece looked alarmed and said nothing. I turned to my nephew to check on the turtle.  And he replied:  Which turtle, Father, the dead one?  And so ended the pet training sessions for these kids.

The Word of God today reminds us of God’s love for creation.  The created world is reflected in the images used in our readings:  in the first reading, Isaiah speaks of the rain and the snow prefiguring the Word of God that descends from the heavens; Paul proclaims the redemption of creation; and the gospel allows us to review Jesus’ parable of the seeds that fell on various types of soil.  The Bible starts with an account of the creation of the world and ends with a vision of a renewal of all creation.  Saints, mystics and theologians tell us that God’s love enters our lives through his creation.

It is shocking though to see how humanity has misused this gift of creation.  Because of our greed, animal species are beginning to disappear.  A merchant of tiger parts was asked what she thought of kids not finding a tiger in the wild. She replied that they would still find tigers in the zoo.  Without planning and monitoring, industries near bodies of water have polluted our rivers, lakes and oceans. Many of our country’s once life-giving waters are now declared biologically-dead.  While we are voting for some of our tourist spots to enter into the Natural Wonders of the World, we must not forget to do something to straighten up our misconduct over nature.

And we are repeatedly dazed when mountains erode over whole villages, when flash floods claim hundreds of citizens, when springs and creeks dry up and when boulders fall down on farmlands from the mountains. The pillage of the environment takes a toll on our wellbeing, safety and future. If we do not alter our attitude towards nature, more disasters will happen in our land.

God has given humanity charge of creation but not as its lord, only as its custodian. God remains the Lord of everything in the heavens and on the earth. He entrusted the world to us to utilize but also to safeguard and protect for the coming generations. Pollution in our minds and hearts manifests in acts of pollution in the environment.  Today, the Lord calls us into account.

As Christians we are enjoined by the Lord to help preserve the planet from destruction.  Not only do we need to use wisely the resources of the earth but from our hearts, we must develop attitudes that show appreciation and respect for the rest of creation.  We share God’s goodness with animals and plants and with the whole material world.  Let us start loving our world through little deeds of concern and responsible stewardship.

Review your attitudes about cleanliness, about garbage, about wasteful use of food and drink, about tenderness towards animals and plants.  We are blessed to be given all these for our needs. Like all gifts, let us treasure them and use them properly for the glory of the Lord.  Amen. 

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