This Sunday, we wrap up the season of creation with Mountain Sunday. What is it about mountains that can be at once holy, inspiring, and intimidating all at the same time? We will also consider the joys and perils of the "mountaintop experience."
Our starting point is the idea of the holy mountain found in Isaiah and in the Psalms (see Isaiah 65:17-25 and Psalm 48).
This week, we continue our look at God's creation by considering the skies. We think about the role of the skies and heavens as a part of creation and throughout the Bible. We also consider an apocalyptic vision from Jeremiah that feels right at home in any number of post-apocalyptic stories in our modern world (see Jeremiah 4:23-28).
Today, we continue our focus on God’s creation -- both the act of creation and the things created -- by taking a look at humanity, that is, all the people who inhabit God’s creation. Picking up our reading in the book of Genesis where we left off last week (Genesis 1:26-28), we see that following the creation of the Earth itself, the skies, the seas, the sun, moon, and stars, the plants and all living creatures, God creates humanity. If you’ve been following along, you know that this is a continuation of the same day on which God created all the animals on land. On the fifth day of creation, God created the creatures of the sea and the birds of the air. Now on the sixth day, so far, God has created all of the wildlife on land -- the cattle and livestock, the crawling things, and all manner of animals. And seeing that it was good and pleasing, God continued by creating humans.
As we enter the month of September, we return again to the Season of Creation. Throughout the year, our readings routinely remind us of God’s providence, of all that God has done for us, of all that God has given us. But we don’t always dig into the details, and we rarely focus exclusively on God’s creation.
However, if we stop and think about it for a moment, the very act of creation is the beginning of God’s relationship with the world and ultimately with us. The Hebrew Scriptures, commonly called the Old Testament in the Christian Bible, begin with God forming creation into a pleasing design. God is pleased with the results as the Earth takes shape.
Over the month of September, we have been celebrating the Season of Creation. This is a relatively recent season of the church year, recognized as a time to focus specifically on all that God has created and our place within that creation.
Turning to Revelation 22:1-5 this week, we focus on the life-giving rivers that are a part of our world.
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We started this Season of Creation at the beginning of September with verses from the first book of the Bible. It somehow seems fitting that we should end the season with a text from the last book of the Christian Bible, Revelation. This vision attributed to John brings us a view of a new creation.
In Genesis, the river that fed the Garden flowed from Eden. This river watered the Garden, including the Tree of Life. After watering the Garden, this river branched out to form the four most important rivers of the region where the Hebrews lived.
In the new Jerusalem of John’s vision, the river flows from the throne of God and the Lamb. It flows down the center of the main street where it is easy for all people to receive. The Tree of Life grows on either side of the river and provides fruit and healing for the nations.
The kingdom of God that John saw in his vision is not only of a new paradise, a new Garden. It is also a critique of the injustices perpetrated by Rome across the empire. In the face of violence and bloodshed, it offers a vision of well-being and peace based in God’s love for all of us. Instead of walls cutting off the source of life and healing from the people most in need, the River of Life flows down the center of the main street where all can gain access. Instead of being hoarded and kept only for certain peoples, the tree of life has leaves that provide healing for all nations. In the face of pain and violence and despair, this glimpse into God’s kingdom offers a vision of hope for all people. And all centered around the life-giving river.
I love the imagery in this text of the river of life-giving water flowing down the center of the street. This image reminded me of San Antonio, Texas. I don’t know if any of you have had an opportunity to visit there, but in the center of the city is a natural bend in the river. Nearly 100 years ago, the city began a project to line this part of the river with walkways. People can stroll along the banks of this river that brings life and greenery to the middle of an area that is otherwise rather dry and barren. It is a beautiful sight to see if you ever get the chance, and it is an example of the vision of hope in our reading.
Rivers like this one figure prominently throughout the Bible, and they are often places of importance. Many times, rivers are places of healing and salvation. In Egypt, Moses is saved when he is placed in the Nile in a basket of reeds. The Hebrew people enter the land of Israel by crossing the Jordan River. Naaman the Syrian, a foreigner and general of an enemy army, is healed after the prophet Elisha directs him to bathe in the Jordan River.
Rivers are also places where people encounter God. Jacob famously wrestles all through the night with God along the banks of a river. As we read last week, Jesus was baptized in the Jordan River and then visited by the Holy Spirit and God’s voice from heaven.
One of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr’s most frequently quoted scripture passages brings to mind a river. Part of Amos’ vision of God’s judgement, instead of festivals and offerings and songs of praise, God says that the people should “let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream” (Amos 5:24, CEB). As Dr. King reminded us, the prophet’s vision is one where the people act justly in the world as an act of praise. This vision of justice and hope flowing into the world is echoed in our reading today of the kingdom of God that is still coming into the world.
Of course, it is important for us to remember that these Biblical rivers are not just metaphorical. While Amos may be using the flowing waters as a metaphor, the other rivers are connected to real places, real rivers. The Jordan is a real river. The four rivers that flow from the Garden are real rivers in southwest Asia. The people of the Bible encountered God alongside real rivers. They depended on real rivers for life and other things just as we still do today.
As you may recall from science class, rivers are important to God’s creation as a way of spreading nutrients from one place to another. They fertilize and provide water for farmlands. Plants and animals rely on rivers for food and water or even as a place to live. In addition to food and water, people have used water for millennia to get from one place to another. Rivers are important to our lives and our well-being.
A short distance from the church I currently serve, a life-giving river flows by. The Chattahoochee River starts up in the mountains north of Helen, GA. It fills Lake Lanier, crosses the northern part of Georgia, and continues south to eventually flow into the Gulf of Mexico as part of the Apalachicola River. The people of north Georgia enjoy the river in a variety of ways. It meanders along farmlands in the community I serve and provides water to much of the region. Like many others, I have hiked along the banks of the river nearby or gone rafting down the river on the northside of Atlanta. Others regularly go tubing on the river up near Helen or take a boat out onto one of the lakes along the river like Lake Lanier or Lake West Point. And many people spend their days fishing one part of the river or another.
Think of all that this river provides to our area. Think of all the ways in which the people of north Georgia rely on this river. It provides water, food, and even transportation. Dams along the river are used to create electricity. The river also provides us with recreational opportunities. And this is only one river in our part of the world. Rivers all over this country and this world do the same thing.
Because of all that rivers provide for us, it is important to take care of them as a part of God’s creation that we have been tasked with caring for. Beyond the Biblical mandate, we must also remember that we require fresh water for our very existence. While there are many options for food and many ways in which we can adapt to various climates and regions, water is something for which there is no other option.
And so we care for what God has provided. We care for this resource on which we rely. For many of us, this care takes place at home. We take care not to overuse water and are careful of what we add to it. When fishing or enjoying our rivers, we are careful not to throw our trash in the river.
Other times, more organization is needed. Some of you may have heard of the Chattahoochee Riverkeepers. The first group of Riverkeepers started along the Hudson River in New York state. It was a group of volunteers, mainly fishermen, who were concerned with pollution and the misuse of the area’s waterways. This grassroots organization of citizens expanded from New York, eventually becoming part of the Waterkeepers Alliance, a worldwide network of people dedicated to protecting the waterways on which we all depend for food, transportation, and clean drinking water. Here in Georgia, the Chattahoochee Riverkeeper association helps to ensure the Chattahoochee River remains clean for our present and our future.
Water is essential to our well-being in so many ways. From food to water to transportation to recreation, rivers add much to our life. And perhaps, like some of our Biblical forebears, you have had a divine encounter along the banks of a river. Maybe you have watched the power of a flowing river and imagined God’s justice flowing into our world. Or maybe rivers have provided you a place of healing and safety.
Historically, this idea of healing, protection, and salvation has been more than a metaphorical idea. From rivers used as a defensive feature of a city or a fortress, to rivers literally being a means of escape and salvation. In our nation’s history, we have at times been on the wrong side of salvation. From the colonial practice of taking land away from the peoples that were here first to the practice of enslaving others based solely on the color of their skin, we as a nation have much to atone for.
During parts of that history, rivers provided a place of gathering and a place of salvation to those who had been enslaved. Rivers became an escape route, a place to travel without leaving a scent, a place to find freedom.
The song I have chosen for reflection today likely has its origins as a slave song about escape and salvation. Slaves were known to sing songs containing coded messages for each other. It doesn’t take much imagination to hear a song about going down to the river to pray as a song about finding freedom. It is not hard to think about the starry crown of the sky overhead and the Lord God showing the way to freedom.
As this song became more common in church settings, it has also been sung during outdoor baptisms, particularly those taking place by a river. Some of you may have seen the movie, “O Brother, Where Art Thou” which contains a scene exactly like this, with a group of people going down to the water’s edge to be baptized while singing this song.
Whether seeking physical escape from literal bondage or spiritual escape from the bonds of sin, rivers offer us a passage to salvation. Rivers offer us life, sometimes new life. Rivers are a part of God’s creation that provide for so many of our needs.
As you listen to this song, remember the importance of the many rivers in our world. Remember our dependence on all that God has provided. And remember our call to be good stewards of all that we have been given.
The one who calls us to the river offers salvation freely to us all.
Two weeks ago, we started the Season of Creation with the book of Genesis and the trees and forests that God has surrounded us with. Last week, we saw Jesus foretelling his death and resurrection as we considered the land that God has created. This week, Matthew takes us to the beginning of Jesus’ ministry (see Matthew 3:13-4:2).
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In our text today, Jesus comes to John in order to be baptized. They have a conversation about John’s worthiness to baptize Jesus. John thinks Jesus should be baptizing him, not the other way around. Jesus tells him that in order to fulfill all righteousness, John must baptize him. So John relents and does as Jesus asks.
As Jesus comes out of the water, the heavens open and the Spirit descends like a dove. Then a voice from heaven claims Jesus as God’s son. Immediately, the Spirit drives him into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. Jesus fasted in the wilderness for forty days and forty nights.
There are several connections in this story not only to creation but also to the salvation stories of the Hebrew people. Jesus' passage through the water calls to mind both the waters of creation as well as the Hebrews’ passage through the Red Sea. The descending dove calls to mind the animals that God created as well as the dove in the flood story. Jesus’ time in the wilderness calls to mind the wild places that God has created as well as the Hebrews’ forty years in the wilderness.
And though we could go any of these directions as we consider God’s creation, it is to the wilderness we will travel today.
When you hear the word wilderness, what is the first thing to come to mind for you? What does wilderness mean to you?
Regardless of how we might define wilderness, the wilderness figures prominently in many Bible stories. As already mentioned, the Hebrew people spent forty years wandering in the wilderness. The prophets Elijah and Elisha spent time wandering in the wilderness. The ministry of John the Baptizer took place in the wilderness.
For the Hebrew people we encounter in the Bible, as with many ancient cultures, wilderness would have referred to a desolate or isolated place away from settlements. While the words of C-3PO when he looks on the sands of Tatooine and utters, “What a desolate place this is” may be the first thing to come to mind, wilderness is not necessarily devoid of plant and animal life. But it would be a place sufficiently far from settlements to be beyond easy access to food and aid in the event of danger. It is a place where people might expect to become prey, either to wildlife or to criminals. It is a place that is not necessarily hospitable to human life.
In many of the Bible stories, just as we find here in Matthew, the wilderness is a place of wandering and preparation. It is a place of cleansing and of discovery. For the Hebrew people who escaped Egypt, the wilderness was a place where they were cleansed and prepared for entry into the Promised Land. For the desert mothers and fathers of the early Christian tradition, the wilderness was a place of isolation where they strengthened their faith and reliance on God. In our story today, for Jesus, the wilderness is a place of temptation and preparation for the ministry that he had been called to.
For those of us living in the world today, many of us speak of times of isolation, longing, and growth as wilderness times. Like Jesus, we still seek isolation and solitude as an avenue to “find ourselves.” We may go into times of temptation in order to strengthen ourselves for greater trials to come. For many of us today, this is not a journey into a literal wilderness, but a journey into a social or spiritual wilderness. In some cases, a silent retreat might take on this role. It becomes a time when we strive for silence even as we might be tempted to talk that teaches us to rely more heavily on God. Or, for those who practice a Lenten fast, the temptation of participating in the activity or food that is being given up teaches us to rely more heavily on God.
But in other times it may be a time for retreat into a physical wilderness. Each year, thousands of people attempt to hike the 2,000 mile Appalachian Trail. This is out of the millions that hike some portion of it each year. Across the United States, other similar trails lead hikers through isolated areas in all sorts of terrains. Speak to any of these people, and they will likely talk about the experience in spiritual language. They are places of personal and spiritual growth where the beauty of God’s creation can be at once dangerous and inspiring.
For the peoples of Europe and the native peoples of North America, wolves were a very real threat for much of history. In other parts of the world, bears, tigers, and crocodiles still pose a regular threat to people today. In Jesus’ time, an encounter with dangerous animals was a very real threat while traveling through the wilderness. The further away one gets from human settlements and regular human travel, the more dangerous it becomes.
At the same time, the idea of wilderness evokes a sense of beauty, of nature untouched and untamed by human hands. For many of us today, this may be what we think of when we hear the word wilderness. We think of places like the Cohutta wilderness here in Georgia or the Gates of the Arctic wilderness in Alaska. These are places of protected lands and creatures where development is restricted, places that are allowed to live and grow with limited human interference. These tend to be some of the most naturally beautiful places we can imagine.
We see this type of beauty as well in our protected park lands, such as Yosemite or Yellowstone National Parks. While regularly managed and controlled by humanity’s touch, these areas are still places of wild lands and wild creatures, of great beauty and a touch of danger. They are places where we can see the beauty of God’s creation first hand, in some cases thoroughly removed from the creations of people.
These wilderness areas are places where we can often leave behind the vestiges of civilization for a time. We can turn off our phones and the other distractions we carry with us on a daily basis and allow ourselves to be inspired by the beauty of God’s handiwork. They are places where we can refresh our souls and renew our spirits. They are places where the pace of life slows down from the hustle and bustle of the lives that many of us lead.
As the most significant signs of God’s handiwork left to us, it is important to preserve and protect these areas. In an age where too many people only value a place’s monetary worth, our wilderness areas are in danger of becoming polluted and broken. The search for resources such as lumber, oil, and gold put these areas at risk. But once they are destroyed, it could take millennia for them to heal.
As we learned two weeks ago as we looked at the creation of the Garden, God values beauty. God created all the beautiful trees. God wants us to enjoy that beauty as well. There is a value in beauty, in wilderness, that no price tag can ever capture.
This is one of the reasons why still today, people go out into the wilderness. They go into the wilderness seeking beauty. And in the process, many people return from the wilderness with a better understanding of themselves.
It is this idea of journeying through the wilderness searching for ourselves that inspires the song choice this week. In the song, “A Horse With No Name,” the band America considers a man on a journey to find himself. He finds a land full of life and other things even as it is a place of isolation. It is a place where one can finally hear themselves without the interruptions and distractions of life we find in the center of civilization.
And it is easy to hear this song in connection with the scripture today and imagine the changes that Jesus went through on his own journey in the wilderness. Yes, Jesus went seeking spiritual growth, but there would have been physical consequences as well. In the song, we see the physical changes that the narrator goes through over nine days.
First he takes notice of the wildlife that exists; this place is not empty. But he also notes the heat and the lack of clouds in the sky. By the second day, his skin has begun to burn under the onslaught of the sun. On the third day he discovers a river bed that has long been dry that brings to mind the death that all will experience eventually. By the ninth day, it sounds as if the narrator has begun to hallucinate, whether from heat or exhaustion we can’t be sure. Nine days in the wilderness and this man is burned by the sun, reminded of death, and begins to hallucinate.
And then we look to Jesus’ story and realize he spent forty days in the wilderness. What would this have been like? How would he have been changed by that experience? While we know the three temptations that concluded Jesus’ journey in the wilderness, we don’t know what the daily temptations looked like. All we really know is that the text says after forty days and nights, he was hungry
As you listen to the song below, consider what the wilderness means to us today. What is to become of the remaining areas of unspoiled beauty? What is to become of these reminders of God’s work in the world? Where are those places in our world today that you can go to refresh your soul and renew yourself for the call that God has placed on your life?
