CONSERVATION IS A LUXURY …
On arrival
in 1905, Fr Joseph Moreau, the first Jesuit to settle in Zambia, defended his
insistence on farming before preaching by saying, ‘a hungry stomach has no
ears’. He brought a bible but he also
brought a plough. I heard a modern
version of these words this past week, again in Zambia, relating to our efforts
to promote the use of sources of energy that do not lead to global warming:
‘Conservation is a luxury when you can’t feed your children’.
This
powerful pause for thought arose in connection with a formerly protected
forest, close to Lusaka, which is now being pillaged by developers – and by
charcoal burners. The forceful and scientifically supported arguments, warning
of looming catastrophe, carry little weight if a poor man cannot put food on
the family table.
Governments
have a problem. Many of them genuinely
want to address the issue but first they have to educate people about the
urgency of acting now. And if they are
able to convince them they have to provide alternative sources of energy which
are ‘green’. But they also have to work
in solidarity with other governments otherwise those lagging behind will drag
the others down.
All the
science is available. What is lacking is
the will. In his letter on ‘Care for our Common Home’ (Laudato Si’), Pope Francis analyses the human roots of the
ecological crisis. ‘A certain way of understanding human life and activity has
gone awry, to the serious detriment of the world around us’ (#101). He describes this in detail but ends on a
positive note; ‘there is reason to hope that humanity at the dawn of the twenty
first century will be remembered for bravely shouldering its responsibilities’ (#165).
This will happen if we heed the call for ‘a selfless ecological commitment’ which
can show itself even in ‘little daily actions’ such as where ‘a person who
could afford to spend and consume more heating regularly uses less and wears
warmer clothes’. This may seem a small thing but it shows ‘the kind of
conviction and attitude which help to protect the environment.’ (#211)
So the only
problem we really have is a moral one: are we willing to act wisely now so that
we save our common home for our descendants? When the Pharisee and the tax
collector went to the temple, the former saw no need to ask himself questions
about his way of life. The tax
collector, on the other hand, was conscious of his failure to live up to what
his heart told him was the right way to live. Jesus praised him for his
awareness and honesty. The man knew he could
not make it on his own.
The
ecological crisis we face today calls us to realise that we are not so smart
after all. We need help to make the
right decisions and carry them through. And the One who made our planet in the
first place is ready and willing to provide that help.
27 October
2019 Sunday 30 C
Sira
35:12…18 2 Timothy
4: 6…18 Luke
18: 9-14
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