Some Thoughts for Earth Week.

We have had quite a week, haven't we? The news has been, and is still, full of accounts about the bombings in Boston. Add to that the terrible explosion in West, Texas, and one begins to wonder if all the world, or at least our corner of it, is headed down a very bad path. It is Earth Week, when we cannot help but be reminded that we have altered the earth's behavior in ways that may be, in fact, irreversible. What are people of faith to do, or think in the midst of all of the bad news? Well, to take a page from our Jewish brothers and sisters, Tikkun olam, or heal the world. The thinking behind this saying is that the world is broken and we all need to work together to fix it. It sounds simple, doesn't it? We can all work together to repair the broken people and places in the world. But it is not easy, because our attitudes get in the way too often. When I arrive at work each day, I park next to the same pickup truck which has a sticker on its rear cab window that states, "Welcome to America. Now, learn to speak English!" Each time I read that, I am troubled, because I think that what lies behind the sentiment of such a statement is, "Be like me, like the rest of us, and you will be welcome." Healing the broken bits and people of the world means learning to look at the world through new lenses. For people of faith, and I will speak of Christianity, since that is my tradition, we are to look through lenses that see the world and its people as objects of God's love. This then causes us to ask ourselves, "How can I hate someone or something that is loved by God?" How can we act carelessly regarding the natural world when we believe that it is the creation of God? How can we harbor prejudices against those who are different from us when the story of our faith tells us that Christ came for all people, not just for some? Earth Week is a good time to remind ourselves that we are guests on this planet, and we should treat it with respect. But we are also hosts, so we should treat all people as honored guests, at least in attitude. The young man who helped set off the bombs in Boston was a college student, the age of the people with whom I have spent most of my professional life. It's too late to turn his thinking from violence, he has killed and destroyed and broken members and parts of God's creation. What am I to think about him? Am I wrong to wonder if someone, anyone, will care about his spiritual needs? After all, he is a terrorist. So, I must struggle with that question as I contemplate Tikkun olam. His life does not fall outside the realm of lives needing healing, does it? Each of us must deal with God's demands upon us in our own way. This Earth Week, what special cares have been laid upon your heart?