While I was on my way to work several weeks ago, I was reflecting on an email that had shown up in my inbox some time before. It was an update from an organization working to spur action mitigating climate change. What had caught my attention was the group’s worry that some impending action from a Christian denomination would engage “creation care” and not “climate justice.” That distinction had troubled me, but I couldn’t figure out if my unease was simply personal preference or something deeper. [Read my full column here.]
Author: A. G. Siegrist
Against Boredom and Disenchantment – A Sermon for Feb. 13
Texts: Ps. 104:1-4,14-24; 1 Corinthians 15:12-20
I would like to begin this morning by drawing out two phrases from our scripture readings—just two. The first is from Ps. 104, “Oh LORD, how manifold are your works! In wisdom you have made them all; the earth is full of your creatures.” Let me distill these sentences into one word: wonder.
And from I Corinthians 15, a question from the apostle Paul, “Now if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead, how can some of you say there is no resurrection from the dead?” Let me distill this sentence into one word: hope.
Wonder and hope are of crucial importance today. Wonder and hope are worth cultivating. They are even worth defending. Wonder and hope—in all their biblical nuance and universal appeal—are a response to a pernicious set of modern temptations.
Continue reading “Against Boredom and Disenchantment – A Sermon for Feb. 13”Faith and Public Life – Back to Basics
As protests continue in our nation’s capital, there are a many things I would like to see less (intimidation and hate symbols for instance), but there are also a few things I would like to see more. One thing I would like to see more is the use of that very Canadian phrase, “peace, order, and good government.” The phrase comes from the Constitution Act of 1867, and it’s long been held as one of the articulations of Canadian political values that distinguishes this country from others.
Continue reading “Faith and Public Life – Back to Basics”I’m Headed to A Rocha
Seasons, seasons, seasons . . . my season of ministry at Ottawa Mennonite Church is coming to an end. Though many of you are aware of this already, it is still strange to write these words. It will be hard to say goodbye to the many wonderful people my family and I have gotten to know here in eastern Ontario. OMC is a special congregation with a rich history and an important role to play in this city. Though I’m stepping away from pastoral ministry, I remain deeply convinced that faith communities are a vital part of the social fabric and essential to our spiritual lives.
Continue reading “I’m Headed to A Rocha”Consider the Raven – A Sermon on the Bible and Biodiversity
Texts: Luke 12:22-31; I Cor. 13:1-13
On a day when our city is full of noise and sloganeering, this is a sermon about what holds the world together. This a sermon about what our Catholic siblings sometimes call the “integrity of creation.” This is a sermon about the Bible and biodiversity. This is a sermon about God’s love for the wonderful variety of plants and animals that populate the earth.
Continue reading “Consider the Raven – A Sermon on the Bible and Biodiversity”The Vulture: A Hopeful Symbol of our Economy
The vulture is under-appreciated. We would all be better off if this noble creature had more of our respect. Better yet, we should make our native turkey vulture a symbol of our economy. Canadian coins feature a variety of animals: the loon, the caribou, the polar bear, and the model-citizen beaver. No vultures though. U.S. coins exhibit an eagle fixation, so no vultures there either. I would like to see this change.
[Find the rest of the essay on the Mennonite Creation Care website.]
“With Whirlwind and Tempest,” the Bible and Climate Change – A Sermon
Texts: Ps. 36:5-10; Job: 28:1-12
What does the Bible have to say about climate change?
Continue reading ““With Whirlwind and Tempest,” the Bible and Climate Change – A Sermon”The Story Water Tells – A Sermon for Jan. 9 and the Baptism of Jesus
Texts: Isaiah 43:1-7; Luke 3:15-17, 21-22
The person we know as John the Baptist had a vocation, it was to “prepare the way of the Lord.” So John did two things: First, he preached repentance. Luke tells us that John encouraged everyone with two coats to give one away and everyone with more food than they needed to share it. Second, John baptized. Baptism is a ritual of cleansing and renewal. Rituals are important. During graduation, you walk across a stage or shift the tassel on your cap from one side to the other. If you’ve taken marriage vows, you probably exchanged rings. None of these rituals are necessary, but yet they are.
Continue reading “The Story Water Tells – A Sermon for Jan. 9 and the Baptism of Jesus “
Jesus is God’s ‘Yes’ to Creaturely Life-A Sermon for Jan. 2
–This sermon begins a series on the Bible and ecology.–
Here once more this declaration from John 1 verse 14: “And the Word became flesh and lived among us.”
The Word, what we sometimes refer to as God’s Wisdom, became flesh and lived among us. What if we think of the ‘us’ here as not just the human ‘us’, but as the creaturely ‘us’? John loves the big picture. An expansive reading of verse 14 finds support later in the same gospel account, when we read (3:17) that “God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.” Whatever the ‘world’ might mean in this verse, it is certainly bigger than just the human soul.
Continue reading “Jesus is God’s ‘Yes’ to Creaturely Life-A Sermon for Jan. 2”Gelassenheit to Joy – A Sermon for Advent 3
Texts: Isaiah 12:2-6; Philippians 4:1-7
Anthony G. Siegrist 