Worship Him

This week I have been working on two sermons – one for Good Friday and the other for Resurrection Sunday, otherwise known as Easter.

Then, on Thursday, I was informed by my younger son that Good Friday coincides with Earth Day. Furthermore, that school children will be taking field trips to his place of work for Earth Day. He didn’t say it, but it is doubtful any public school will be commemorating the death of Christ on Good Friday.

We call it “Good” because it was good for us and the cosmos, not Jesus. It was by His death that our personal sins were forgiven and, according to Romans 8:22 – 23, all of creation will be redeemed. Good Friday is a day when Christians reflect upon the sacrifice of Christ and express sorrow for their sin.

I know what Earth Day means, and I know how it is sometimes celebrated. I know it was promoted by Senator Gaylord Nelson and environmentalists and first held in 1970. It is not a coincidence that Earth Day was placed on the calendar in such close proximity to the most important Christian holiday. By the way, “holiday” comes from “holy day” and is derived from Christian holy day observances.

Earth Day is a pagan holiday for some – a time to worship earth. For others it is a day to reconsider their roles in taking care of earth. For promoters of Earth Day It is the time to express worry about Mother Earth. Is Mother warming too fast? Is Mother having too much difficulty with carbon dioxide? You will observe that the typical participant in an Earth Day rally is a privileged person whose basic needs are met. People who worry about earth are people who have the luxury to worry about earth. It is easier to worry about earth when pressing personal needs are met. Have you noticed that people who live in underdeveloped countries where sanitation measures are lacking and disease is rampant or where famine is stalking don’t seem to celebrate Earth Day? Earth Day is a creation of the affluent and those with too much time on their hands.

I wish everyone in North America would read The Skeptical Environmentalist by Bjorn Lomborg. Lomborg details in his work the environmental problems that have been overcome in recent years. He then considers the more radical concerns of present day environmentalists, doing a cost versus benefits analysis of their agenda. He puts things into perspective. Disaster, my friend, is not around the corner.

Here is the point: as American culture has abandoned its Christian heritage, it has grabbed at ideals and false gods to fill the void. Mankind is religious. If Good Friday demands I repent of my personal sin and I don’t want to do that, then I will substitute something for it. In this case, I replace Christ with Earth. I will not speak of a Heavenly Father, but of a planetary Mother. I will disregard the stories in the Bible, and replace them with legends of the pre-industrial, pristine past. I will ignore the possibility of living in a perfect heaven and I will attempt to create a perfect earth – by my standard of what is perfect, of course, not yours.

We should work together for clean water and air, healthier environments and lifestyles. This we should be doing as good citizens of the planet – 365 days a year. But while doing this, let’s never forget that it was Christ who gave us this earth in the first place. He owns it and He will redeem it. He visited this planet to show His love for it and for mankind.

Worship Him.