EVEN HOUSE-DOGS
Like prisoners and those living with disabilities
the birds of the air are not represented in parliament. Their habitat is
diminished – and they have no redress - when we thoughtlessly light fires the
bush burns and acrid smoke is everywhere. I thought I detected a feverish
protest from the fleeing birds, while on a walk close to where I live, as the
fire spread reaching the edge of my path.
We are told (in the Guardian Weekly July 21) the present worldwide ‘biological
annihilation’ represents a “frightening assault on the foundations of human
civilisation. … Billions of animals have been lost as their habitats have
become smaller each passing year.” Almost 50% of land mammals have lost 80% of
their range in the last century. And the scientists quoted in the article
conclude: “All signs point to ever more powerful assaults on biodiversity in
the next two decades, painting a dismal picture of the future of life,
including human life.”
In the Consolation of Israel – the last books under
the title of ‘Isaiah’ – the prophet calls us to “maintain justice and do what
is right.” If this is to be more than a well-worn mantra we will have to take
note of our responsibility for our environment. There may be no habitat for the
birds today. Tomorrow there will be none for us. Pope Francis, in Laudato Si, and quoting Patriarch
Bartholomew of Constantinople, says “the divine and the human meet in the
slightest detail in the seamless garment of God’s creation” (#9).
A pure scientist might baulk at such a statement but
not if he or she is also a mystic. As our planet hurtles towards its destiny
the scientist become feverish – but so does the mystic. We have to become
convinced of the interrelatedness of everything. Science and technology cannot
persuade the human heart (#113) if that heart, either from carelessness or
perverse selfishness, is set on ignoring the mounting evidence of the damage we
are doing to our planet, our common and only home. More is needed and that
‘more’ can only arise from a chastened heart – one which is prepared to measure
its demands on the planet against the needs of the planet itself to breath and
survive
The good news – in the encircling gloom – is “there
is reason to hope that humanity at the dawn of the twenty first century will be
remembered for bravely shouldering its responsibilities” (#165) and that it
will gradually “generate processes” (#178) that will save us from the follies
we are pursuing which, if not curbed, will lead us headlong over the abyss.
There was once a brave Canaanite woman who broke
through the accepted norms of her time – and even got Jesus to alter his
“strategic plan”. Things had gone seriously wrong and she wanted a solution.
She found one.
20 August 2017 Sunday
20 A
Isaiah 56:1,6-7 Romans
11:13…32 Matthew
15:21-28
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