Seminary Journal 2008 (August) - Virginia Theological Seminary

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“The change in vision that we need is like the theological shift between the old law and the new law, where, instead of trying to defi ne correct behavior, Christ, the source of living water, tells us that we must re-form our hearts to be in right relation to our neighbors.” to humanity against the value of the existence of a species. Protection of the species must be ensured, and the costs to particular human beings for that protection are irrelevant. The implication is that the existence of a species is inherently and infi nitely valuable. No amount of human benefi t can equal it. In my experience, everyone involved with Endangered Species Act confl icts is stirred spiritually by this stark assertion of the value of the nonhuman creation. For years I have been working on the confl icts over the use of the waters of the Rio Grande in New Mexico. The parties to those confl icts come from every part of the community, even including the non-human community, as endangered species are often the plaintiffs in lawsuits. I worked on one case that was called The Rio Grande Silvery Minnow against the United States of America, which seemed an unequal contest. At the negotiating table in that case were cities, farmers, Native American Pueblos, environmentalists, irrigation ditches, rafting and fi shing groups, artists, state and federal governments. Each of these expressed legal positions in secular, often monetary terms, but everyone I knew saw the issues in spiritual terms also. Who gets the water is a matter of life and death, so that, whether approached from a religious standpoint or a secular one, people hear the question being asked of what is the right relation between humanity and creation. If, when sitting at that table together, all we perceive are too many individuals competing for private property rights in the shrinking resources of the world, it is hard to value each other. In addition to this, when the needs of the non-human world join the competition, people must contend with feeling less valued than a fi sh. All the painful centuries of striving to follow as a moral precept the commandment to love one another, all the work of hearing hopefully that God cares more for each of us than for the sparrow—these things seem threatened or refuted by the suggestion that there are too many of us and we must give way to the needs of animals and trees. Just as in the time of Copernicus, we feel pushed out of the place we thought we had at the center of creation. We are all at that table today, feeling uncertainty and pain. So far, the strategy of environmental law and policy in this crisis has been to try hard to hold on to notions of private property, while making concessions to notions of commonality only to the extent we absolutely must. Environmental theology would do something of the same if it only condemned environmental damage as a sin, without offering a different vision of how to relate to the world. I believe that a theology of water holds hope. The very nature of water refutes the idea that we can divide up the world into private, static portions, and each enjoy alone our separate property. Instead the fl ow between us and all of creation calls on us to acknowledge, protect and celebrate that fl ow. The change in vision that we need is like the theological shift between the old law and the new law, where, instead of trying to defi ne correct behavior, Christ, the source of living water, tells us that we must re-form our hearts to be in right relation to our neighbors. In the same way, we must abandon the effort to parse out exactly what our correct share of the world’s resources should be. Rather, we should be asking, in a living way, what our role in the world’s eco-system should be. This metaphor of an ecosystem leads to an answer to that question that brings together a biological and spiritual understanding. The phrase that biologists would use for what I have called “the role of humanity in the world’s eco-system” is “biological niche.” This means that, like other creatures, we occupy a particular niche and have a particular function in the system. The biological niche of humanity, given by God in Genesis, is that of the steward and gardener. The present environmental crisis underscores the fact that this is our role, as it is up to us to protect the world. In the role of steward and gardener we are in the image of God because we are the ones who are self-aware, with the gift of choice. When we choose to fi ll our role, we actively care for other living things. The model for our so-called “dominion” of the earth is Christ, who exercised His kingship in service. The 50 VIRGINIA SEMINARY JOURNAL AUGUST 2007
centrality of humanity is both restored and informed by this metaphor. Humanity is central because it is our special niche and nature to choose not to count equality with God as a thing to be grasped, but to empty ourselves in service to the rest of creation. I said at the beginning of this talk that the earth and humanity are in a new relation. But there is something very familiar about what we are called upon to do in response. In recognizing the water-like fl ow among the creatures of the world, interconnected in a system, and in feeling how essential the environment is to our lives, we fi nd again truths we have always known about the need to change our hearts to love our neighbors. The world is thirsty, both spiritually and physically. The earth has joined her voice to God’s in calling for us to re-form our hearts to enter fully into the place prepared for us as the stewards of creation. VIRGINIA SEMINARY JOURNAL AUGUST 2007 Aspinwall Hall 51
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Page 5 and 6: VTS as our next Dean and President.
Page 7 and 8: ing this commemoration on the day o
Page 9 and 10: “I am convinced that the moral ar
Page 11 and 12: “If you continue in my Word you a
Page 13 and 14: speak—that silence was complicit.
Page 15 and 16: while Gandhi gave us the method.”
Page 17 and 18: and said, “Where is Burundi?” [
Page 19: A Refl ection on the VTS Racial and
Page 22 and 23: Isaiah 40:6-8, 21-24, 28-31 Psalm 7
Page 24 and 25: The prophet Isaiah acknowledges tha
Page 26 and 27: I met Martha Horne in front of Aspi
Page 28 and 29: This has been a very wonderful fami
Page 30 and 31: “There should be something in the
Page 32 and 33: A Celebration in Thanksgiving for t
Page 34 and 35: Julia and Malina Cochran, daughters
Page 36 and 37: The Water of Life 34 VIRGINIA SEMIN
Page 38 and 39: “Designer water at $100 a bottle
Page 40 and 41: St. Francis’ perspective on water
Page 42 and 43: around God does not need to devasta
Page 44 and 45: The Need for a Theology of Water: T
Page 46 and 47: “Who gets the water is a matter o
Page 48 and 49: federal government could prepare an
Page 50 and 51: deal with than surface water, after
Page 54 and 55: Preaching is a privilege. I thank y
Page 56 and 57: changing of direction. I went back
Page 58 and 59: device ever invented—and it is th
Page 60 and 61: When the Rivers Run Dry: Water, the
Page 62 and 63: else of water and to empty rivers a
Page 64 and 65: serves. I am old enough to remember
Page 66 and 67: purposes, such as fi lling the taps
Page 68 and 69: Commencement Address to the Class o
Page 70 and 71: daughter on the eve of All Saints
Page 72 and 73: even, it is okay. It means that you
Page 74 and 75: Newland F. Smith 3rd Librarian Seab
Page 76 and 77: COMMENCEMENT 2007 continued The Rev
Page 78 and 79: Isaiah 25:6-9 Psalm 121 Romans 8:14
Page 80 and 81: and I know that even now God will g
Page 82 and 83: A Sermon for Maxine Shelly Turner (
Page 84 and 85: Michael Battle and Stephen Edmondso
Page 86 and 87: Betty M Glover Priest-In-Charge Tri
Page 88 and 89: Dr. Chris McConnachie, who is an or
Page 90 and 91: Good morning. Separation of church
Page 92 and 93: when I heard him tell the chaplain
Page 94 and 95: media’s fault? Yes, to some exten
Page 96 and 97: Virginia Seminary Welcomes Its New
Page 98 and 99: Seminary, sharing their life storie
Page 100 and 101: ANNUAL GIVING Annual Giving is a co
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Your generosity also helped the Sem
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Help provide for the financial futu
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The Rev. Ronald G. Abrams The Rev.
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Dr. and Mrs. William G. Thomas III
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The Henry St. George Tucker Society
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Mr. and Mrs. Richard G. Abbott, ‘
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The Rev. S. F. James Abbott, ‘66
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The Rev. Catherine M. Thompson, ‘
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The Rev. John R. Frizzell, Jr., ‘
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Anita Wheatcroft The Rev. G. Richar
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The Rev. A. Moody Burt The Rev. Dr.
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The Rev. William H. Burk The Rev. J
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The 14th anniversary of my ordinati
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Kreitler Environmental Fund The Kre
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St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church, Ne
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The Rev. and Mrs. Gary L. Abbott, S
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Mr. and Mrs. James C. Hamilton, Jr.
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Mr. Emil M. Sunley The Rev. and Mrs
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volume weave together the familiar,
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and in “Throwing the things away,
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and American Evangelicals: Friends
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The Center for Lifetime Theological
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