Repent!

Remember the first words spoken by Jesus in Mark's Gospel:

"The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news." [Mark 1:15].

What does that say to us about the man-made disaster in the Gulf?

These days we think "repent" means feeling bad about things, but in the Gospel sense it rather means "change your path" or "turn aside from the failed road you are on". How better to describe our stewardship of God's creation?

We need to choose paths which are sustainable. I don't know anyone with even a smattering of scientific knowledge who believes that fossil fuel resources are infinite. Whether the date on which we use them up is 25, 50, 100, or 500 years from now, the day will come. Also, most uses of fossil fuels have negative environmental impacts, primarily through creation of greenhouse gases. Fossil fuels have done great things for us, but we have let them take us down the wrong road (pun intended).

Does that mean Christians must call for the immediate cessation of the use of fossil fuels? No. Without regard to whether it would really happen (and it won't), there aren't today sufficient alternatives to allow for it without huge economic devastation that would, as always, be most heavily inflicted on the poor.

Does that mean we do nothing? Again, no. There are things we can do, both personally and as members of a community, that reduce our reliance on non-renewable fuels. Where we can, take mass transit. When we purchase vehicles, factor fuel efficiency into our decisions. Do things in our homes that reduce the power and water that we use, as well as the impact generally on the environment. Support actions by all levels of government which reduce our use of these non-sustainable energy sources.

How does all this play into the unfolding disaster in the Gulf of Mexico? In a recent article, the Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church, Katharine Jefferts-Schori, wrote

The still-unfolding disaster in the Gulf of Mexico is good evidence of the interconnectedness of the whole. It has its origins in this nation's addiction to oil, uninhibited growth, and consumerism, as well as old-fashioned greed and what my tradition calls hubris and idolatry. Our collective sins are being visited on those who have had little or no part in them: birds, marine mammals, the tiny plants and animals that constitute the base of the vast food chain in the Gulf, and on which a major part of the seafood production of the United States depends. Our sins are being visited on the fishers of southern Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida, who seek to feed their families with the proceeds of what they catch each day. Our sins will expose New Orleans and other coastal cities to the increased likelihood of devastating floods, as the marshes that constitute the shrinking margin of storm protection continue to disappear, fouled and killed by oil.

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There is no place to go "away" from these consequences; there is no ultimate escape on this planet. The effects at a distance may seem minor or tolerable, but the cumulative effect is not. We are all connected, we will all suffer the consequences of this tragic disaster in the Gulf, and we must wake up and put a stop to the kind of robber baron behavior we supposedly regulated out of existence a hundred years ago. Our lives, and the liveliness of the entire planet, depend on it.

It's easy to point fingers at BP and they deserve some of the blame. It's easy to point fingers at the Federal Government for allowing BP to drill in deep water without a clear method to deal with disasterous consequences. While we're pointing fingers, let's examine our own complicity through our insatiable thirst for cheap oil, large cars, trucks and SUVs. While we're demanding that BP and the Government repent and change their paths, what about us?

A prayer for the Gulf:

Creator God, author of life, source of all meaning, you made a universe of infinite complexity and beauty and entrusted us humans with the care of a tiny jewel called Earth.

With the passing of time we came to believe we were owners, not fellow creature dwellers, of this bountiful planet and its extravagant web of life. We have used God’s creation without regard for the impact our rapacity had on the other creatures with whom we share our earthly home. We have acted with craven disregard for complex ecosystems we barely understand. Our self-deception has led us to assume we have the capacity to manage environments we exploit to sustain lifestyles that defy the intrinsic interdependence of all life. Now we face the consequences of our idolatry. We thought we were gods; but our recklessness has brought us to our knees, to ask for your mercy and forgiveness for the chaos we have brought about. We pray for the oceans and all the creatures that dwell in it. We pray for the forests and the abundance of life they nurture. We pray for the very air we breathe, now laden with the toxic gases we produce. We pray for our children whose earthly home we have so imperiled. Loving God, have mercy on us, grant us forgiveness and the strength to make amends.

[Photograph by Mathew Hinton, New Orleans Times-Picayune]