A story is told of a young boy who treasured the globe of the world in his bedroom. One morning when his mother was cleaning the room, she accidently knocked the globe and it fell to the ground, breaking into many pieces. The boy heard the crashing sound and ran to his room. Seeing the smashed up globe, the boy wept bitterly, only able to get out the words, “You’ve broken my world!” In our present day with ever more destructive weapons and environmental vandalism, I cannot but wonder if God doesn’t look at us and utter those words - “You’ve broken my world!”


Today, we are focused on the beauty of the world as a result of the floral arrangements in this church. We are aware that there is much beauty in the world. And whilst, we appreciate the efforts of those whose creative skills have been exercised in these arrangements, we can also be aware that the ultimate source of such beauty is God. After all, this is God’s world. It is as the Psalmist says;

“The earth is the Lord’s and all that is in it.”

Of course, we do not know how the earth and its beauty came into being in a scientific way. In some circles, there has been dispute between faith and science. Such dispute is particularly vigorous in parts of the United States. Every so often we find Genesis being set against scientific discoveries such as evolution. Such a debate is inevitably arid. After all, the Bible does not claim to be a scientific handbook. If you want the science, you buy a good scientific book. But if you want to find reason for our being, then it is eminently reasonable to look at God’s revelation, especially as found in the Holy Scriptures. To get the fullest of pictures, we will take both seriously so that science and faith might enrich each other. For what matters most is an appreciation that God is behind the process of creation, God is still involved in the ongoing development of that creation and God is revealed to us in creation.

So how does the beauty of creation reveal God to us?

Firstly, as we look at the beauty of the world and see it as well as we who are creatures, owing our being to God, we can appreciate that our relationship with God is one of depending on God. We owe all to God and in a sense our dependence on God is as Martin Luther once put it, as total as is the beggar’s dependence on those from whom he begs. Creation reveals God to be the most generous of givers.

Secondly, in the brightness, colour and diversity of creation, the nature of God is revealed. God is dynamic and certainly not dull. Just as Jesus turned water into wine, through creation God offers to us the most vibrant of pictures. Of course, there have been times when a puritanical spirit within the church, has dulled the brightness of life. Yet creation reminds us that God is about a putting of fizz into our lives just as Jesus once commented that he had come into the world that we might have “life with abundance.”

Thirdly, in creation, God reminds us to value the physical side of life. This is in contrast to those who would say that only the spiritual side of life matters. God has made us physical being who can be enriched by physical activity and the material things around us. Nowhere does the Holy Scriptures suggest that Christians should not enjoy the material world. On the contrary, Genesis records God as looking at the unfolding of creation and seeing that “it was good.”

But fourthly, in creation, God calls us into partnership. The Genesis 1 account of creation has the arrival of humanity as the high point of the story. Humankind is to have a special role. And that role is to exercise dominion over creation. The significance of this is that human beings are given a major role in the tending and development of creation. In short, God calls us to share with God in the ongoing work of creation. This is a permission for human being who are in the image of God, to themselves be creative. And of course, what we see around this church today is God’s creation enriched by human creativity. As such we are able to share in the very work of God.

But and it’s a big but, there is a serious question as to how we should exercise dominion. After all, Christians have often used the language of “dominion” to excuse rampant pillaging of God’s world. At times, people have assumed that God will always make up for our destruction of the earth’s resources. No wonder that a number of commentators have come to the conclusion that Christianity bears a huge share of the burden for the ecological crisis that now confronts the world.

So perhaps as global warming with potentially catastrophic consequences for so much of the planet, becomes a very real threat, we need to reassess what is meant by dominion. I think “stewardship” is probably a better word to understand what the writer of Genesis 1 had in mind. This means accepting God’s gifts and using them responsibly so that future generations can share in the benefit. The nature of God fits this image. For when we look at power, the supreme picture we find of Divine power is Jesus Christ. And the power of Jesus is certainly never used for immediate self gratification or for the putting of his needs above those of others. On the contrary, Jesus uses his power to serve the needs of others especially those who are at the bottom of the pile. What this means for us today is that as the Bishop of London has recently suggested regarding air transport, we need to make the decisions that treat the gifts of God’s creation with respect and take seriously our responsibility to those in other parts of the world and those of future generations. A green Christianity is not just one of many options. It is a necessity for God’s world and represents true gratitude to God for the many generous gifts we receive.

So today, we thank God for the world in which we are stewards. We look to share with God in the work of creativity. But as we enjoy the world, we know that it is not ours to break. So today we do well to take heed of the words of the Psalmist;


“The earth is the Lord’s”

Don’t forget it!

Amen!