Climate End Game [Epiphany 4; St. Matthew 8:23-27]

LISTEN TO THE AUDIO HERE.

From the Gospel heard today, Jesus speaks, saying:

“And behold, there arose a great storm on the sea, so that the boat was being swamped by the waves; but he was asleep.”

Yesterday, the Church celebrated the Purification of St. Mary and the Presentation of Jesus. Where we heard the beginning of this on New Year’s, when Jesus was given His Name and Circumcised, yesterday was the actual day when those things happened. 40 days after His birth, Jesus and His mother are purified and able to rejoin regular Temple life together.

This is a key theme to recognize in Epiphany: that Jesus, the Lord of all, the Creator of all known and unknown things, waits 6 weeks with His mother in order to return to God’s Church at the same time as her.

Which brings us to one of the many “storm of the sea” scenes that Jesus attends with His disciples, where He either calms the storm or walks on water. In similar fashion, Jesus takes the hard route, unnecessarily, simply to be on the boat.

But, once again, Jesus refuses to be just a part of the crowd. He changes water into wine, heals lepers and paralytics, and today He waves His magic fingers over the water and changes the weather. And, once again, just as He doesn’t heal all lepers or turn my water into wine, not that that would do me any good in my life, He doesn’t stop all storms. Just this one.

Let’s face it. To have a Christian opinion or worldview today will get you sent to the dunce’s chair. Nobody is saying Climate change doesn’t exist, we just call it normal weather. Yet, time and again, those in power want you focused on their scientism rather than Christ and being a decent person. “But you can’t be a good person if you’re dead”. Well you can if Jesus raises you from the dead.

In any case, every time Jesus mentions the environment, it does not exactly fall into the “good steward” category. Jesus is always talking about flowers and grass withering away; of trees being cut down and burned, and of weeds and chaff being blown away into fire. What a climate denier!!

So, let’s see: of the 1,189 chapters of the Bible, only the very first 2 find all of Creation in harmony with its Creator. For those first 6 days, there was no Climate crisis, no pollution, and no death. Jesus spoke Creation into being. All things were made by speaking 3 simple words: “Let there be…”

Yet, in the very next chapter, seemingly in the same week, Adam and Eve bring sin and death into the world and all of Creation is cursed. Upon closer listening, we find that the Word of God does not lay the blame at Adam’s feet nor even at the devil’s.

The One who curses the environment to inevitable destruction is God, Himself. As Scripture says, “For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope;”(Rom. 8:20)

Through His spoken Word God curses the serpent, Adam, and the environment. “Heaven and earth shall pass away”, saith the Lord and He means it.

What does this mean? What do we do with an earth-cursing God? What do we do with an environment that produces man-killing tornadoes, hurricanes, and wild-fires? How can you commune with or fight for nature when it conspires against you?

Scripture says, “O foolish [Christians]! Who has bewitched you? It was before your eyes that Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified. Let me ask you only this: Did you receive the Spirit by works of the law or by hearing with faith? Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh?” (Gal.3)

“Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my Word shall never pass away” (Mt. 24:35). In Adam’s fall, Jesus wanted Adam to know that it wasn’t going to be by nature, that he would be saved. Jesus wanted to show that it would be by an unnatural tree that redemption would be accomplished. A tree so alien to nature, that it could hold the infinite in fetters. A tree that could kill God.

Now this tree of Life, with every good, stands with Christ upon it. It is for this reason that creation groans under the curse. For, the Word of God “imprisoned everything under sin, so that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe.” (Gal. 3:22)

In our sinful foolishness, we believe that if we work hard and do what is right, we will be saved. Instead it is by Christ’s hand alone that we are saved. Jesus is not only willing to give up all of creation, but also His entire being on the cross, in order to forgive your sins and then be with you in all your suffering as well.

Thus, it is to this of the curse placed upon us, which we can not escape, that Jesus comes to and stays with us, as He stayed with His mother and His disciples. While we were yet dead in our sin, Jesus died for us. While we were without love towards God and our neighbor, Jesus showed us God’s love on the cross and spoke it to us in His Word.

The Word of God speaks to you even in this darkness and even as all creation heads towards destruction. He does not condemn you, He does not upbraid you. He simply is born of a virgin, is made man, suffers and dies. He reveals Himself to be the center of all of history so that, as the only light shining in the dark, He can speak His words of salvation to you and create faith.

Faith comes from nowhere else except Christ and Him crucified. In Christ is the New Creation; the new Jerusalem; the new heavens and the new earth. All of creation is the way it is so that we learn to hope for the better, perfect creation.

Scripture says, “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more.  And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God.  He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” (Rev. 21)

No more curse. No more climate crisis. No more pollution. No more death.

In Christ, we do not look to this current earth for any kind of comfort, be it in cures, comforts, or sustainability. But in hope, we look to that which Jesus has prepared for us; that is eternal life with Him in everlasting righteousness, innocence, and blessedness.

And it is to this hope that Jesus leads us. Not just by Word and deed, but in flesh and blood. Just as He was with His mother, just as He stayed with His disciples, just so He stays with us. In God’s Body, Jesus dwells with us in Word and Sacrament. Though we love and care for His creation, we find salvation in Him and not anywhere else, because He does not leave us.