2 February 2025 #Candlemas #BetheLight

I would be remiss if I ignored the recent climate catastrophes. Fires in L.A.? Frost in Phoenix? Snow in Florida? And of course, our own precipitation void. We Christian souls live firmly in the created world, and as a theologian, I try to see everything “in light” [pun intended on this Feast of the Presentation, aka Candlemas] of the faith.

First, hell hath no fury like a woman scorned, and Mother Nature is ticked off. Yep. You read that right. You see, nature does as nature does. In the garden of Eden, Adam and Eve and the rest of the animal and plant kingdom worked together in perfect harmony of nurturing. But then, well, Satan whispered into the ears of Adam & Eve planting seeds of delusions of grandeur and suddenly nothing was the same. In a heartbeat we went from the mutual respect of “tending and keeping” the world’s flora and fauna (Gen 2:15) to a “dominion” mindset (Gen 1:26) of using and abusing. Like mankind, nature is also created by God with an instinct to survive (thank you, Mr. Darwin). So here we are today, broken people in a broken world.

Second, when things are broken, it gets messy. It doesn’t matter if it’s a marriage or a corporate culture or a justice system, broken things don’t follow the rules, and without rules it all descends into chaos. The Good Lord via Moses gave us rules for a reason, and they are for our benefit and not our woe (Jeremiah 29:11). 

Remember that Jesus said he came not to abolish the law but to fulfill it. There’s a reason that nature and man each have laws to follow and consequences exist when laws are broken (see Adam & Eve). We’ve broken the original harmony between nature and man and are living the consequences.

Third, I did my undergraduate thesis on “social sin” – aggregate actions or a buy-in of said actions that are harmful to the flourishing of humanity. Things like deforestation or the tainting of waterways or the pollution of our air ways. None of these are you and I particularly responsible for. We aren’t running Dole or Dow or Duke Energy; we don’t even work for them. But we do buy cheap bananas, use household cleaners, and pay our utility bills without thinking twice about where they came from, how they’re made, or the costs of doing business. 

So. What of these climate catastrophes then, on the feast of the Presentation? The episode of Mary and Josph’s presentation of Jesus to the Temple is the fourth decade of the Joyful Mysteries. It’s my habit here to meditate here on the presentation of my actions to Jesus; what I have done and what I have failed to do. When my hour arrives and I stand before Jesus, what will my action towards his beautiful creation – all things living - say to Him? What will yours? 

#Candlemas #BetheLight