Saturday, May 24, 2014

Saturday, May 24, 2014

Matthew 7: 13-21

Today’s passage is a small part of what has been called “The Sermon on the Mount” (Matt 5.1-7.29). One contemporary challenge that faces everyone today concerns the health of our island home -- Earth, a place we have come to discover as an increasingly fragile host to life. The passage in Matthew under study today starts as follows: “Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the road is easy that leads to destruction, and there are many who take it.  For the gate is narrow and the road is hard that leads to life, and there are few who find it.” What does this say to those of us who have taken the concerns of climate change seriously?

We live in an economy and a society in which very powerful interest groups wish to maintain the “faith” in fossil fuels as the sensible power choice that can only be jettisoned very cautiously over a long, long period of time.  In a sense, these false prophets; these societal leaders wish to lull us into a false sense of security by suggesting drastic actions are not only unnecessary but unwise. These interests seek to minimize knowledge about the urgent need to grapple with the real environmental costs of our continued dependence (addiction?) to this power source and the threats it poses to many life forms on the planet. What are people of faith required to do when overwhelming scientific evidence suggests we need to adjust our lifestyles and the way we extract and use this source of power? What is the apparent wide and easy road before us that ultimately leads to destruction? Who are counted among the many that deliberately opt for or allow themselves to be reassured about the status quo which threatens to lead to a destructive outcome? What should we do in our communities, for example, if an election is before us?

- Terry Rothwell