2023 Lenten Preaching Series 3: One Hundred Hours

One hundred hours. That’s the oft-cited statistic for how long a human body can typically survive at average temperatures without access to water. Today’s Sinai Peninsula averages 91°F in June, with the average high temperature at 104°F. In such extreme heat and with exposure to sun, the timeline for survival shortens considerably.

Now we’re down to fifty hours. Exertion—such as walking long distances in the daytime, carrying one’s belongings, tents, and small children, and wrangling livestock along the way shortens the timeline further.

Under extremely hot desert conditions of at least 120°F … during forced marching … sustained high sweat rates can reduce estimated survival time without drinking water to as little as seven hours, or approximately the time it takes to walk twenty miles. One long day’s march on an unusually, but not impossibly, hot, June day was all it would take to finish God’s people. Because they had no water – that’s the context we have for the first reading today from the Book of Exodus.

And the people of Israel were right to complain to, contend with, and test their leaders … and their God. We would be, too.

While about 71% of the earth's surface is water-covered … and the oceans hold about 96.5 % of all earth's water … and that water also exists in the air as water vapor, in rivers and lakes, in icecaps and glaciers, in the ground as soil moisture and in aquifers … and even in you and your dog, there still many in our world who thirst for water – clean and available drinking water.

Water is essential to life, yet 771 million people in the world – that’s 1-in-10 - lack access to it. According to one report, the water crisis is the #5 global risk in terms of impact to society. Nearly 1.5 times the population of the United States lives without a household water connection. These people, in particular women and children, must spend time to get water, instead of working or going to school or caring for their families. Unbelievable in 2023!

Moses, the leader who bears the brunt of the people’s contention, fears the people will stone him, because the landscape has no edible plant life and surely no visible water, but it does have lots of rocks. Moses has exhausted the avenues that are familiar to him and has no ideas for moving forward.

In response to his desperate query, “What shall I do?”, God instructs Moses to look to the very landscape that has engendered the people’s despair and his own mortal fear and tap the resources it does have to engineer a creative solution.

Moses must be willing to put himself out in front: “go on ahead of the people”. Moses must cross in front of the people, and in so doing become vulnerable to their anger, fear, and insistence. In so doing he will also see the need that is written upon their bodies and in their faces, and he will have to confront and respond to the magnitude of their thirst.

Moses is not the solution himself, however. Lest he imagine himself as the sole agent of the people’s salvation, he is to take with him a group of people, elders from among the Israelites. The elders carry with them their testimony to the past. They carry the trust and the hurt and the hopes of the people. In this new moment they will witness God’s presence and saving action in the present. They will participate through their own ministry of courageous presence.

Moses may be called the first “ecological economist”. Ecological economics is a trans-disciplinary field. It's a bridge across not only ecology and economics but also psychology, anthropology, archaeology, and history. That's what’s necessary to get a more integrated picture of how humans have interacted with their environment in the past and how they might interact in the future. It’s an attempt to look at humans embedded in their ecological life-support system, not separate from the environment.

As we continue our series on caring for our creation, I believe that we are called to be like Moses, perhaps, even to be mini-ecological economists ourselves. Let’s face it, it’s undisputed that clean, safe drinking water in parts of the world is scarce. Today, nearly 1 billion people in the developing world don't have access to it. Yet, we take it for granted, we waste it, and we even pay too much to drink it from little plastic or glass bottles.

Also, like Moses, I think that we too need to be a bit more vulnerable … that is open to the fear, anger and disbeliefs of our brothers and sisters. There are still those, perhaps even here, who refuse to see the problem … who deny it, who speak against it and who even criticize those who are trying to help and address it.

Water scarcity is a global concern, and that means there's even a problem in our own backyard. While it may be difficult for us to put ourselves in the shoes of an African child struggling to find fresh water, it's important to understand that water scarcity affects everyone, even here in the United States. Water scarcity is not just an issue for those who "never had." It is a problem that faces people where water seemed abundant. Pollution, demand, and other factors are ushering in these new problems at record speeds.

Water scarcity within the United States is not just an environmental problem. Our current daily demand for water also affects its future availability. Wasteful flush toilets, non-insulated pipes and generous showerheads are all culprits to the water crisis. The Southwestern United States is already this emerging reality. A crisis may soon spread into other areas when local waterways can no longer replenish their resources to meet our growing demand. Many may "thirst" for more.

God told Moses to tap the resources he had. God tells us the same. Let’s be open to learning more about it, to acknowledging it and to be better at not wasting water and our other natural resources.

Exodus says that Moses was not the solution himself, nor was he the sole agent to fixing the problem, he brought others on the journey to help. We can mimic those actions, because it’s not just about us, it’s about everybody!

Access to safe water can protect and save lives, just because it's there. Access to safe water has the power to turn time spent into time saved when it's close and not hours away. Access to safe water can turn problems into potential: unlocking education, economic prosperity, and improved health. As a Church, we believe that every human being deserves to define their own future, and water makes that possible.

In the Gospel today the woman from Samaria asks Jesus to give her a drink. My friends, people all around us are asking us the same … to help them with their thirst, their spiritual thirst and the physical thirst too.

This Lent let’s recommit ourselves to working together to design a sustainable future for our children and theirs. Moses knew that satisfying people’s needs was not just an analysis of the past, but an analysis to create something new and better for the future. We are challenged to do the same!

RSM

2023 Lenten Preaching Series 2: Caring for God's Creation

In this second week of Lent, we continue to hear the Word of God from the book of Genesis, and Genesis 12 is a story of new beginnings.

In this short chapter, we meet Abraham, who will become in subsequent pages, the father of a large nation. But here, one only sees the uncertain beginnings of a family who find themselves at the threshold of a new tomorrow. This short passage begins with God’s command to Abraham to go from his country, from his family, from his father’s house to the land that God will show him. This divine command implies leaving all that is familiar behind to face an uncertain future.

The call to Abraham though does not come alone. It is important to note that God’s command is accompanied with a fivefold promise presented in five 1st person statements: God says:

· I will make of you a great nation,

· I will bless you,

· I will magnify your name,

· I will bless those who bless you and

· I will curse those who curse you.

But, what's with all this "blessing?" The Hebrew word for bless is berak, it means to bless or to kneel. Blessing, in Hebrew, is to bring a gift to another while kneeling out of respect; to do or give something of value to another. So not only will Abraham be given something of value (a blessing) he will also, while showing and living and kneeling in respect to God, give to all the people of the earth, a gift. Further, God says in no unclear terms that there is a future waiting for Abraham and Sarah. And God is making some big promises: land to a landless people and offspring to a barren couple.

The story of Abraham and Sarah’s family is perfused with work. Their work encompasses nearly every facet of the work of seminomadic peoples in the ancient Near East. At every point, they face crucial questions about how to live and work in faithful observance of God’s covenant. They struggle to make a living, endure social upheaval, raise children in safety, and remain faithful to God amid a broken world, much as we do today. They find that God is faithful to his promise to bless them in all circumstances, although they themselves prove faithless again and again.

But the purpose of God’s covenant is not merely to bless Abraham’s family in a hostile world. Instead, he intends to bless the whole world through these people. This task is beyond the abilities of Abraham’s family, who fall again and again into pride, self-centeredness, foolhardiness, anger, and every other malady to which fallen people are apt. We recognize ourselves in them in this aspect too … despite our best efforts, even the best amongst us falls from time to time. Yet by God’s grace, they retain a core of faithfulness to the covenant, and God works through the work of these people, beset with faults, to bring unimaginable blessings to the world. Much like them, our work also brings blessings to those around us because in our work we participate in God’s work in the world. Through Abraham and Sarah all the families of the earth shall be blessed. They will have an impact on people everywhere.

Genesis 12 speaks a powerful word for us too today, certainly in those instances when we are called to leave all that is known behind; to relinquish all our comforts and securities; to follow God with closed eyes; to depart on a journey without a map. And much like Abraham and Sarah, our lifestyles will have an impact on people everywhere, today and in future generations.

This Lent we have been trying our best to focus on how to better care for our planet, to leave the earth enjoyable for future generations. Much like Abraham and Sarah, our little individual families, and all of our families collectively will have an impact on people everywhere in the ways that we care for the earth. And while we surely do not have all the answers, the time has come to have the conversation, to raise awareness, to develop a plan to try and restore the earth to its original beauty and resourcefulness.

The hard part is that some of what we are called to do will challenge us to think in a new way, to act differently, and to step away from some of our comforts, conveniences, and casualness with respect to how every one of our actions has consequences today and for tomorrow.

This week’s focus, responding to the cry of the poor, challenges us to work together to protect those most vulnerable to climate change and ecological injustice. Worldwide, under-resourced communities—migrants, refugees, Indigenous Tribes, communities of color—shoulder the worst impacts of environmental degradation. And our actions are connected to this human suffering.

As Pope Francis teaches, Creator and Creation are “interconnected.” Yet, our climate crisis is a direct result of our severed connections with Creator, Creation and one another. Powerful countries (those with the highest carbon emissions) have prioritized consumption and convenience, treating Earth and its people as resources for extraction. But it is the powerless—low-income nations, communities of color, Tribal Nations, women, children and senior citizens—who suffer the consequences. This crisis stems from decisions in desolation—choices aligned with the desires of a few rather than all. The Pope said that in turning away from Creation, we seemingly have turned away from God, too.

· How can we re-direct our focus away from only our individual concerns and expand our capacity for love?

· Who do we see as our neighbor?

· How are our choices connected to the injustices experienced by communities worldwide?

Yeb Saño, a member of the Global Catholic Climate Movement, discusses the urgency of the climate crisis, and how it is rooted in three human characteristics beginning with the letter ‘A’. He writes:

The first word is arrogance. Arrogance is the belief that we're better than God or better than nature, that we’re smarter than nature - and that has caused a lot of havoc in the world.

The second word is apathy. Apathy is the dangerous belief that it’s somebody else’s job to care, it’s somebody else's job to take care of others or take care of the environment.

And the third one is avarice, which is extreme greed. Greed has made this world a much, much worse place to live in. Greed is what drives, for example, corporations to only think about profits and not the people and the planet.

These are three words that “we as Catholics strive to stand up against”, three forms of a lack of love: “the love that Pope Francis reminds us to embrace as a commandment from God and as an example from the life of Jesus”.

In Matthew’s Gospel today we hear that Jesus took Peter, James, and John his brother, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. And he was transfigured before them; his face shone like the sun and his clothes became white as light.

Rather than being people of arrogance, apathy and avarice, the Gospel calls us to be people who are interested, invested and informed because only then will we, like Peter, James and John be transformed to continue to experience the blessings of the sun and the moon and all of creation as God would have us enjoy them, and to preserve it for future generations too.

This journey of better caring for creation may be long, sometimes much longer than one may have thought. It is a journey with many ups and downs, many joys and sorrows. But it is a journey filled with many, many promises — the most important being the promise of God’s presence to show us the way.

This Lent, take some time to learn more about what we can all do in this regard, for ourselves and those who come after us.

RSM

2023 Lenten Preaching Series 1: We've Come a Long Way Baby

In 1968 Phillip Morris launched the very first cigarette brand marketed specifically to women. You’ve come a long way, baby was the slogan that instantly caught on. You may remember that the ads featured an old-fashioned photograph of repressed women smokers behind a colorful, vibrant “New Woman” free of oppression, smoking proudly. Smoking Virginia Slims was freedom, so the ad conjectured.

We may use that same line; you’ve come a long way baby when we think about life in the Garden of Eden … when the LORD God planted a garden and placed there the man whom he had formed. It’s a beautiful image to think that out of the ground the LORD God made various trees grow that were delightful to look at and good for food. Those of you who have a green thumb may experience this personally … seeing, smelling and tasting the work of your hands, in your own little garden of Eden.

And while our faith story from Genesis on is long and consistent, the world, our Garden of Eden, our gift from God, has become a very different place … we’ve come a long way baby.

Unlike the initial beautiful image and place in the garden created for us, pollution of all kinds is threatening our world. It is undisputed that the industrialization of the developing world is creating unsustainable pollution levels. And the solution requires a technological and an intellectual revolution; an alternative route to economic prosperity that preserves resources and limits carbon emissions. And these must be developed before it’s too late.

Each of us personally, and all of us together in cultures and companies and nations – have been entrusted with an ability to make decisions that have enormous consequences. These decisions affect us as individuals and as a community, and the planet on which we live. Lent reminds us of that capacity and calls us to ponder the consequences of our decisions individual and collective. This Lenten season we will be focusing on these themes, aided by Laudato si', the Pope’s encyclical. Pope Francis really blows the whistle on us.

This First Sunday of Lent suggests that we see ourselves as Adam and Eve standing before a wondrously beautiful and potentially enriching tree. It asks:

· Are we using the technocratic power we have developed over time as we should?

· What norms are we using?

· What responsibility are we accepting for the consequences?

Adam and Eve made decisions based on what pleased them, but in doing so they inflicted deadly consequences upon the rest of humankind – we call it original sin. Are we continuing in the same vein? Does our malfeasance or even our nonfeasance toward the created world continue to sin against God and one another? Are we just as disobedient to the call of God to be fertile and multiply?

Adam and Eve were tempted by the serpent to defy their obedience to God and choose against him. Who are the serpents of our day? Who are they that continue to tempt us not to believe that climate change is real? Further, who are the ones who have given us permission not to do something about it?

Here are some facts we should understand about climate change:

1. Climate change is caused by humans

It’s not caused by the sun nor is it a part of a natural cycle. We have learned a lot of amazing things about how our planet functions—and other planets, too. The data is available, the results have been published in peer-reviewed papers and in popular press. We are responsible.

2. It's not too late to fix the damage that's been done.

We can turn off the road to disaster as soon as we use our collective efforts to put on the brakes and commit to wanting to be a part of the solution, not perpetuating or denying the problem.

3. Climate change affects everyone—including you.

Although some may feel the impacts of climate change more than others, everyone experiences its impacts. Any simple google search demonstrates region by region of the world how we are all affected. Take some time to do the research!

4. Certain issues can have more than one cause

Sometimes people create binaries where it must be one or the other or that it's not responsible to blame everything on climate change. There are many causes, and surely many ways to help change it.

5. There are plenty of fossil fuel alternatives

Solar technology has improved in the past few decades and keeps getting better. Electric power can be made with effectively zero emissions. New technologies for storage and distribution are advancing every day. Powering our society with clean electricity will be a challenge, but we can do it – if we want to do it. It is no longer a technological impossibility, just difficult politically.

Jesus was tempted to make decisions that would bring him comfort, prestige and power. However, he refused, and so became a source of life and salvation. Lent gives us an opportunity to reflect on our decisions and their consequences – in the past, the present, and the future, and that includes our decisions toward the environment.

No doubt, there are plenty of myths about climate change out there. Myths can help people feel in control of something that's complicated or frightening. Some myths may fit comfortably into the pattern of one’s life.

As believers, let’s not let the myths rule the day. Let’s not surrender to those who have vested interests in the status quo. Let’s not be manipulated by emotion, but rather take a real, hard look at the truth and the facts and then do something about it.

Let's work together to ensure the future of our planet for our children.

Let us take time over these next forty days to see how we can be more responsible to our sisters and brothers near and far, those born and yet to be, and to all of God’s creatures with whom we share our beautiful planet – "our common home."

RSM