May I speak in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
In accordance with today’s Gospel reading, the theme of my sermon today is our relationship with nature. I have chosen this theme because we are in a digital age which, it might be argued, has to some extent removed us from comprehending the full value of nature. Technology provides us with wonderful images of nature and detailed information regarding its structure and processes which is of great educational value, but I believe that something is missing if we do not also encounter nature directly without the media offering it to us.
To find that missing element let us turn to today’s Gospel reading when Jesus asks his disciples to, and I quote: ‘consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these’. That consideration comes from reflecting upon the beauty of the lilies. Such reflection requires a moment of quiet contemplation that involves looking at the lilies not on a screen, but where they are found in the natural world, in this instance in a field. What this direct approach means is that we are given the full value of nature, offered to us in all its glory.
This, I believe, is where our church garden here at St Mark’s has such significance because we, here in London, are given the opportunity to contemplate nature by sitting amongst its flowers and trees. It is true to say that in today’s busy world we have not much opportunity to contemplate nature yet we may be prompted to do so by the famous poem entitled ‘Leisure’ by the Welsh poet, William Henry Davies, with its opening lines that read: ‘What is this life, if full of care, we have no time to stand and stare’. The poem concludes that it is a poor life if we do not contemplate the natural world. I would add that observation of nature can have a calming effect on us that helps us get through the busy days. If your faculties are limited, you can still benefit from direct contact with nature by whichever faculty you do possess – for example you can touch or smell or hear sounds of nature.
This contemplation of nature in reality provides us with a rich and deep understanding of its manifestations. It also relates to our Christian journey which is one whereby we are asked to be stewards of creation. This stewardship depends upon our valuing nature so that we will care for it and nurture it and not abuse it for commercial purposes. Such abuse may be found in excessive deforestation and, as I have learnt from Neil Messer’s book on Christian ethics, tampering with crops by genetically modifying them so they appear more attractive to consumers. These are examples of what can happen when profit is put before nature.
Being good stewards of creation is not, though, the end of the story because nature is often used in the Bible to reveal the higher purpose of putting the Kingdom of God before all our other concerns. In today’s Gospel reading Jesus uses the glory of the lilies to call upon his disciples not to worry about their needs. He tells them that the lilies possess a glory greater than the glory of Solomon without having to toil or spin so they too should not worry about their needs but trust in God who knows their needs. Needs will be met if they strive first for the Kingdom of God.
The consequence of not putting the Kingdom of God first is expressed throughout the Bible. In the Book of Genesis, in the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve did not put God’s will ahead of their desire to eat the fruit of the Tree of Paradise and were punished by God in expulsion from Paradise. From the moment of that fall, running throughout the Bible is the repeated call to put the Kingdom of God first or trouble will ensue. This call makes much use of nature to warn of wrongdoing that can take you away from God. An example here is in a further teaching discourse in Matthew’s Gospel when Jesus warns his disciples to ‘beware of false prophets’. He says that ‘You will know them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thorns or fruits from thistles? A good tree cannot bear bad fruit nor can a bad tree bear good fruit’. Here we see the need to perceive nature correctly as this will help us to avoid anyone who comes to us as a wolf in sheep’s clothing.
Returning to the text of today’s Gospel reading, I asked myself whether we have greater cause for worry than the lilies do as they do not have any responsibilities or deadlines to meet. I found the answer in the concluding sentence of this text which acknowledges that worry exists but if you trust in God there is no need to be anxious about the future. If you strive to be righteous and give to others, then everything will be given to you and if you trust in God then that will prevent your anxiety about the future.
So let us stay well in direct contact with nature so that we can avoid the ruin of the natural world and keep in step with our journey towards the Kingdom of God.
AMEN