Erl Purnell Sermon

cEpiphany Last ~ February 18, 2007 ~ A sermon preached by The Rev’d Erl G. Purnell at Old St. Andrew’s Church, Bloomfield, CT

Exodus 34.29-35; Psalm 99; 1 Corinthians 12.27-13.13; Luke 9.28-36

Jesus and Moses on mountain tops. Something BIG happens. Moses gets the Tablets and a divine tan; Jesus gets a dazzling white robe and the verbal support of God, “This is my Son, my Chosen; listen to him.”

You know about those times when something BIG happens and then everything is different from that moment on. You’ve had them, I’m sure. I have. One minute what you know, who you are, how you live in the world is set and familiar. And then, in an instant, wham, everything has changed. Lots of times these life-changing experiences bring elation and joy beyond measure—like seeing a child born or getting that new red bike at Christmas. At other times, the big change may be a disappointment or an incalculable loss—perhaps not getting the new job or the death of a loved one.

Usually, when I’ve had these kinds of experiences, my old world seems so distant. ‘How could life have been like that?’ I wonder. ‘Were things ever the way I remember them?’ What ever the new reality is, it leaps into my sense of Being and then slowly invades the whole of me. I work to be convinced I’m not in a dream and that my revised world view really does need to be taken seriously.

You know what the word epiphany means, don’t you? The dictionary definition begins with “the manifestation of a divine being.” Then, the second definition says “a sudden intuitive leap of understanding, especially through an ordinary but striking occurrence.”

For me, all moments of epiphany do signal a divine presence. Again, whether the awakening is to something very, very good or something painful, Spirit is there. In that sudden leap—no matter how ordinary or extraordinary, how expected or unexpected—our breath is taken away. The new understanding is not so much cognitive as it’s a cloud of knowing that envelops the heart.

Back, for a moment, to the meaning of epiphany: “a sudden intuitive leap of understanding, especially through an ordinary but striking occurrence.” Epiphanies are Ah Ha! moments divinely inspired. There is something new to know … something new to understand … and it presents itself.

So it is, we are discovering, with the changes that are underway in our global climate systems. The Ah Ha! of global warming is dawning on us in the United States, Europe, and else where. Soon the hundredth monkey will “get it” about too much carbon dioxide heating up the atmosphere resulting in global climate change. Do you know about the Hundredth Monkey Theory?

Back in the ‘50s, some Japanese scientists were doing research on Koshima and some other islands in northern Japan. They would throw sweet potatoes onto the beach for the macaques, the local monkeys, to eat. The monkeys liked the potatoes in spite of a condiment of gritty sand. A young monkey, however, began to wash her potatoes to get rid of the sand. Not only that, but she taught other young monkeys to wash theirs, too. Oddly, the older monkeys didn’t seem as interested in getting the sand off.

Then, quite suddenly one day, all the monkeys on Koshima started to wash their sweet potatoes. It was as if one more new convert to washing the potatoes (the 100^th monkey) joined the others in the usual way and that single addition pushed the troop across a threshold of critical mass so that all the monkeys washed their potatoes. Most profoundly, not only did all the Koshima monkeys wash their potatoes, but all the monkeys in all the colonies on the other islands and in a mainland troop at Takasakiyama began washing their potatoes, too.

Is this an urban myth? I don’t know and I’m not sure it matters. What the Hundredth Monkey Theory demonstrates is a phenomenon that is real. When a critical mass of people share a particular understanding or point of view, a huge shift occurs. Some examples: Smoking in the United States was once quite chic. Now, a critical mass of people believe smoking is just plain bad all the way around. The civil rights movement in the ‘50s and ‘60s was hardly popular at the time. Yet, today, while there are still pockets of racism, for the most part prejudice is unacceptable. The critical mass of Americans is becoming colored blind.

So, what about the issue of global climate change, also known as global warming? As I mentioned last week, the United Nations Inter-governmental Panel released its fourth report Climate Change 2007: The Physical Science Basis on February 2^nd. In it, scientists agreed with over 90% certainty that the current pattern of climate change was being caused by human activity. This seminal report is like the 96^th monkey washing her sweet potatoes. Slowly but surely a critical mass of converts here in America is agreeing that immediate action is not just necessary but required on a massive international and global scale.

For a growing number of Christians, care of Earth is a theological issue. I agree. God’s Creation is the entire universe, including, to use the words from Eucharistic Prayer C, “this fragile Earth, our island home.” We are rightly concerned about valuing human life and even about animal rights. Yet, to neglect other living, breathing entities is immoral. What I mean, of course, are all animals—amoeba, starfish, bugs and beetles, worms, birds, whales and the plankton they feed on, as well as the animals that sustain us as food or pets. What I mean, of course, are trees and forests, the great grassy plains, the Amazon, the Nile River delta, lily pads and coral, lichen, corn fields, green beans, beats, flowers and weeds. What I mean, of course, is water, our air, and the earth itself—rivers, lakes, oceans and the sea floor, mountains, shore lines, islands, the soil and sub-soil, etc., etc., etc.

But I actually mean something even more, something else truly living and breathing. It’s BlueBeauty, Gaia herself. In Greek mythology, Hesiod teaches that after chaos, Gaia came into being as the place of the Gods and everything else. In the 1960s, scientist James Lovelock, through his work with NASA, developed the Gaia hypothesis. In 1979, he published Gaia: A new look at life on Earth. Since, Gaia has emerged as an ecological theory supported by many experiments and predictions which have proven true. In a single sentence, the Gaia Theory contends that Earth functions like a single organism. In other words, Gaia, the Earth itself, is alive.

The extent to which we are alert to Gaia as a creature of God has everything to do with how we love God and love Gaia. A cynic might say the theory is foolish—just a theory—and that the Earth is here for humanity to use. A cynic might also care first and foremost about short term material profit. A cynic might not believe in God at all.

On the other hand, what if Gaia really is alive? What if we human beings act on the assumption that, as Gaia lives, so we live; as Gaia is healthy, so we are healthy? What if our current situation vis à vis global warming is our big test? Or, what if humanity has become a cancer on Planet Earth? Can we become a benign force rather than a malignancy? What if we have only one chance to set things right? What if we don’t do the right thing?

Following the service this morning, you are invited to gather in the Parish Hall for coffee and pastries as usual. You are also invited to participate in a parish-wide conversation about what we might do here to become better stewards of Gaia and also OSA. We want to learn what you think we can and should do to cut energy costs and be more energy efficient. We want to know if you think this is important. We want to find out if you are willing to help make the changes happen. We want to know if you agree that better stewardship is a theological concern. We’ll start by telling you a bit about what’s happening at some other places in our community.

The Book of Common Prayer has a prayer for the joy of God’s Creation. Perhaps you’ll notice that it is the very first prayer in the section Prayers and Thanksgivings. I think that says a lot about the stewardship of the Earth being a theological concern, at least in the Episcopal Church.

Let us pray. “O heavenly Father, who has filled the world with beauty: Open our eyes to behold your gracious hand in all your works; that, rejoicing in your whole creation, we may learn to serve you with gladness; for the sake of him through whom all things were made, your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.”

Amen.