All Saints’ And The Anthropocene

Last updated on: November 5, 2021 at 10:26 pm by Clint Schnekloth

All Saints’ And The Anthropocene 2021-11-05T22:26:54-05:00 Clint Schnekloth

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

On All Saints’ Sunday the church recognizes the strong spiritual bond between those who have died and now rest with G-d, and those of us, the living, who remember them. We remember them as saints not because they were perfect, but because in the Spirit we saw Christ in them, just as we see Christ and the face of G-d in our neighbor.

We have many promises in Scripture that nothing can ultimately separate us from those who have died. Romans 8: “And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. 39 No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

On this All Saints 2021, we are especially mindful of the 753,000 who have died from Covid-19 in the United States, and the 5 million globally. So we mourn not only our losses of family and friends, but we mourn with a world that grieves the loss experienced during this pandemic.

And this week, as world leaders gather for the UN Climate Summit, we are also reminded we have entered a planetary era in which humans now make more of an impact on planetary life than any other cause. And not just an impact on life, but on the planet itself, the Anthropocene understood as a geological era dating from the start of major human impact on Earth’s geology and ecosystems, including climate change.

The number here is 1.5 degrees celsius. We are trying, and failing, to commit with real action to not raising the planetary temperature more than 1.5 degrees Celsius.

All of this having me pondering All Saints’ Sunday as not simply an anthropocentric day to highlight our human connection to other humans who have died, but also our connection to creation itself, and in particular those parts of creation we have lost who now also rest with G-d. Extinct species. Wrecked habitats. Ozone. Lost islands.

All of this is to say, might we consider creation itself as part of the communion of Saints. Clearly, Paul imagines creation itself somehow related to G-d’s overcoming of death in Christ. And if we believe Christ existed as a real human body and was raised from the dead in the body, this means those parts of his body that were raised are now also in G-d—from the water in his cells to the heavy metals in his bones, heavy-metals that were themselves originated in the heart of exploding stars.

Nothing in all of creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus.

Nor will all of creation be separated from that same love. So on this All Saints’ Sunday we are invited to remember those who died in the past year, and grieve, and look for the light of Christ in their lives. And we are invited to consider all the saints in light, over long periods of time, the whole history of G-d’s relationship with G-d’s people and the saints created in that relating. And we are invited to remember the species who have died, the groanings of creation, and make use of these commemorations as inspiration to live as the still remaining saints now, amongst the saints, and amongst saintly creation.

See you in worship Sunday morning, 9 or 11 a.m. at GSLC. And I invite those of other churches to join us as faith sanctuaries committed to going net zero GHG carbon emissions by 2030 (https://www.2030climatesanctuaries.org). For all the saints.

Uncategorized

Previous Post

November 3, 2021

Ways To Love G-d That Will Blow Your Mind

Next Post

November 7, 2021 Post-Pandemic: When Moderate Pastors Reap What They Sow

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category #blacklivesmatter advocacy Avengers baptisms Capitalism church growth clergy silence corporate ethics Creation Care Donald Trump elections Evangelicals Evangelism Friendship hermeneutics Immigration Intersex introverts Jesus Labor Liturgy Lutheran MLK Jr. New urbanism Pentecost philanthropy Poem political theology Post-program church Prayer private devotion Reformation Refugees sacraments Scripture Secularity Sin small church social media Sovereignty Trauma-Informed Theology travel Trump Uncategorized wealth white supremacy Workers worship Youth

Select a Month January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 January 2016 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 May 2014 March 2014 June 2013 January 2013 December 2011 December 2010 February 2005 February 2004

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

True or False: Paul instructs the Philippians to do everything without grumbling or arguing.

Select your answer to see how you score.

TRUE FALSE

Books by This Author Books by Clint Schnekloth

See All Titles »