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We do not own the earth

We have arrived at another turn of the seasons — the summer solstice arrived June 21, and summer is in full bloom.

And as I have done since my childhood summers, standing knee-deep in a local stream with a fishing rod in my hand, today is not much different. Last week, I was kayaking on the Potomac River in Washington, D.C. Today, I’m sitting on a rock on the trout waters of the Spring Creek in Bellefonte.

Rather than angling, I’m contemplating Genesis 1:28 in which God tells the first humans to “have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” (ESV).

This 25-mile-long creek in which I stand once suffered from heavy pollutants. Today, many threats remain, but the trout population thrives. Stormwater runoff carrying pesticides, petroleum and other harmful chemicals hurt not only this ecosystem, but those hundreds of miles away. The Spring Creek runs into Bald Eagle Creek, which is a tributary for the West Branch of the Susquehanna River, feeding into the Susquehanna’s main branch, which flows into the Chesapeake Bay and into the Atlantic. In all, the Spring Creek joins an 878-mile network of rivers and creeks before emptying into the Chesapeake.

I realize the clean water in which I stand today somehow ends up mixed with the polluted water I plied in a kayak just a week ago in D.C. And so I am troubled by this word “dominion” in the Creation account. It’s clear that when we fail to protect and carelessly abuse these valuable ecosystems which thousands of animals call home and also from where we get much of our drinking water, we are abusing God’s creation.

The word “dominion” does not mean that we are free to abuse God’s creation; instead, we are called to be creation’s caretakers. We are stewards, and we are accountable for the good and the bad we do. We could ask what a good king’s dominion would look like. Justice, peace, fairness and care come to mind. We could very easily consider the opposite attributes for a bad king.

We are kings, but we do not own creation; only God does. God tells Moses in Exodus 19:5-6: “Indeed, the whole earth is mine, but you shall be for me a priestly kingdom and a holy nation.” (NRSV)

The dominion God gives us is a gift, but not only for us: our dominion should be a gift for all of creation, as well. Flora and fauna, land and the water.

If we could look at our dominion over God’s creation as a gift, then we would fully experience what it means to care for what has been entrusted us. We could feel satisfaction knowing that we helped to better what God has given us. We could be happy in knowing that we helped not only ourselves, but other creatures of this planet thrive and live wonderful lives because we love God.

And one day, we could hear those words that Jesus speaks in Matthew 25.21: “Well done, my good and faithful servant.”

——

Christopher Passante is the pastor at Trinity United Methodist Church in Bellefonte. Reach him at cpassante@susumc.org.

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