I wonder what this land was like hundreds of years ago, before the church, before the town, in that time when the only human beings to travel this area were the Indigenous peoples. Was the space we occupy a forest, a marsh, or a meadow? What plants and animals inhabited the places where we now have pews? Were there berries in this space that black bears could eat in the summer? How often did battles of life and death take place around us as cougars or wolves hunted? How many deer munched on the vegetation that sprouted where our feet now rest? How many birds nested in the space above us? Where are the generations of these animals now?
Then they came to Capernaum; and when he was in the house he asked them, ‘What were you arguing about on the way?’ But they were silent, for on the way they had argued with one another about who was the greatest.
The colonial approach to nature is one that assumes human exceptionalism. It interprets the passage from Genesis about filling the earth and subduing it and having dominion over it to mean that humans are the greatest and most important creation and thus can do whatever we want with everything else.
Humans are the reason there are no longer bears, cougars, and wolves in this area. Humans are the reason we need spaces like Point Pelee and Ojibway to protect a plethora of endangered species that might otherwise disappear. Humans, placing our needs and interests first, have drastically impacted the spaces and places, the lands we inhabit. Humans, by assuming that we are the greatest of creation, have become disconnected from the wisdom of Creation.
Being the greatest holds power and privilege. The greatest has the authority to make things happen. This can be used to the advantage of those who are considered great, giving them status and resources beyond the rest. Being the greatest is a desirable goal and yet, the fact that this discussion among the disciples is placed immediately after Jesus’s teaching about his imminent arrest, trial, death, and resurrection illustrates what is often forgotten in the battle to be great: with great power comes great responsibility.
With great power comes great responsibility.
(Jesus) sat down, called the twelve, and said to them, ‘Whoever wants to be first must be last of all and servant of all.’ Then he took a little child and put it among them; and taking it in his arms, he said to them, ‘Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes not me but the one who sent me.’
Jesus is quick to remind the disciples what it means to be great. The power and privilege of greatness is supposed to be used in service, lifting the small and the weak, and creating space for welcome and inclusion. One who is truly great does not use this to their advantage, but rather uses that power and privilege to make a difference. Jesus exemplifies this in his life, death, and resurrection. He exemplifies this in that moment by acknowledging that he, even in his perceived greatness among the disciples, is servant to the one who sent him.
With great power comes great responsibility. The Genesis 1:28 passage may tell us that we are to fill the earth and subdue it and have dominion over it. But that shouldn’t translate into our exploitation of Creation. Rather, considering Jesus’s message about greatness, the Genesis passage can be read as an invitation to embrace our responsibility to Creation. We are called to be servants of Creation, ensuring there are spaces and places where the wisdom of Creation becomes wonderfully evident moving hearts and transforming our relationship with all of God’s gifts throughout the earth.
It is this humility that informs this year’s journey through the season of Creation as embodied in the theme: To Hope and Act with Creation. “With”. That single word speaks volumes reminding us that we are in relationship with Creation. How we embody that relationship matters. We have the power to choose what this relationship looks like. What more can we do to serve Creation? What more can we do to hold Creation before us, welcoming its gifts and honouring its presence? What more can we do to use our power and privilege with great responsibility?
May we humbly seek to continually hope and act with Creation embracing its wisdom and trusting in the goodness of the Creator. This we pray as we sing: (SNC) 92 In Sacred Manner May We Walk
