By Rev. Dr. John Chryssavgis
What Can I Do?
There are numerous practical ideas available and readily accessible today for parishes and families that would like to become aware of their ecological impact on the planet and on people. Indeed, some of our Orthodox parishes – and even more of our sister Christian congregations – have already undertaken initial steps or else made considerable progress toward this goal. Seeking their counsel, or offering our advice to others, is undoubtedly a fundamental form of sharing and communion. Alternatively, parishes may consult professional environmental auditors, often freely at the disposal of local communities.
Parishes and parishioners can make a difference by becoming sensitive to what they use (energy-efficient light bulbs and heating/cooling systems), what they can reuse (recycled paper, bags, ink cartridges, glassware and cutlery), what they waste (electricity, water, heat, energy, even cups and plates), and what they do (carpooling or support of local products).
Most importantly, however, we can all learn to do and love with less. In order to alter our self-image, what is required is nothing less than a radical reversal of our perspectives and practices. The balance of the world has been shattered. The ecological crisis will not be solved with sentimental slogans or smiley stickers but by proposing self-denial as a solution to self-centeredness, by learning to exercise self-control, self-restraint, by the ability to say “no” or “enough.”
Here, I think, lies the heart of the problem. For we are unwilling – in fact, violently resist any call – to adopt simpler lives. We have misplaced the spirituality of simplicity and frugality. The challenge is this: How do we live in such a way that promotes harmony – not division? How can we acknowledge – daily – “the earth as the Lord’s” (Ps. 23.1)?
This means that stewardship opens up more than simply our pockets and our hands to charitable institutions and tax-deductible options. It opens up our eyes and our hearts to proper and harmonious relations among all of God’s creatures. Learning to give up in a spirit of self-control implies learning to give in a spirit of sharing. It is learning to live in such a way that communicates gratitude and generosity, not avarice and greed.
Am I Accountable?
While there are numerous passages in the Old and New Testaments that provide insight into the principle and practice of stewardship — intimately relating its social and ecological aspects — it is a message that acquires increasing urgency in light of our ultimate accountability on the day of judgment with Christ’s parable about the faithful and prudent steward in Luke chapter 12, which concludes with the following warning: “Everyone to whom much was given, more will be required; and from those to whom much was entrusted, more will be demanded.” (Verse 48) This is a verse that might not meet with general agreement on a political level; yet it is a statement that deserves close attention on a spiritual level: “Blessed is that servant whom his master will find so doing when he comes.” (Verse 43)
Like the servant in the parable, we too will be asked for accountability by the Master: “What is this that I hear about you? Turn in the account of your management.” (Luke 16.2) We will surely be judged for the abuse of the earth that has been entrusted to us “to preserve,” as for the unjust distribution of its resources to human beings that we are called “to serve” — for the devastation of God’s creation by human beings usurping unjustly the right to control it and presuming arrogantly the right to manipulate it, as for the exploitation of the poor (and the poor nations) by the rich (and the rich nations).
If we open ourselves — avail ourselves and become sensitive — to all people and to the whole creation, then we shall recognize our history as inextricably linked to the destiny of the world. We shall begin to perceive the universe in its unfathomable interconnectedness, and we shall surely feel the spirit of God as a gentle breeze and hear the seal’s heartbeat as the pulse of our own life.
~Reverend Dr. John Chryssavgis, stewardship@GOARCH.ORG. The Rev. Dr. John Chryssavgis is an author and theologian, who serves as advisor to Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew on environmental issues.
Further Reading
For further information on this subject, consult the Orthodox Fellowship of the Transfiguration, a ministry officially endorsed by the Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops: http://www.orth-transfiguration.org/
For details on how to achieve greater awareness and environmental action in your community, see F. Krueger (ed.), Greening the Orthodox Parish: A Handbook for Christian Ecological Practice, CreateSpace Independent Publishing, 2012 (www.CreateSpace.com, book number 3776415). Also available from http://www.amazon.com; and The Orthodox Fellowship of the Transfiguration, c/o 887 Sebastopol Road, Suite A, Santa Rosa, CA 95407-6828.
For a comprehensive list of (over 2000) scriptural passages highlighting creation care and ecological stewardship, see The Green Bible, HarperOne, 2008.
