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Many miles above our heads, a satellite is circling the earth, taking pictures of oceans. NASA built this satellite called PACE, which stands for Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, and ocean Ecosystem. From NASA’s press release,
“PACE data will allow researchers to study microscopic life in the ocean and particles in the air, advancing the understanding of issues including fisheries health, harmful algal blooms, air pollution, and wildfire smoke. With PACE, scientists also can investigate how the ocean and atmosphere interact with each other and are affected by a changing climate.”[1]
The images are amazing—you can view them online—and they look to me like rainbow-colored abstract art, but these represent many people partnering together to learn about water and how and where it moves, even individual colonies of plankton! Karen St. Germain, NASA’s Earth Science Division Director, said of this satellite,
“First light from the PACE mission is a major milestone in our ongoing efforts to better understand our changing planet. Earth is a water planet, and yet we know more about the surface of the moon than we do our own oceans.”
Here in Missouri, we have no view of the ocean, but we have plenty of water—the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers flow right around us, providing all the water we need. But already people are wondering about the future. Just last week St. Louis Public Radio reported about a state representative introducing legislation to ban most exports of water from Missouri, anticipating the need to protect water access in a climate that is changing. Who will get the water in the river—people who live upstream, or people who can afford it, or people who hold political power? How can we ensure the rivers keep flowing and everyone has access to water?
How will God save creation? How will waters break forth in the wilderness? How will God use us and our efforts to care for the earth? Even if the problem feels too big, far beyond our sphere of influence, our faith encourages us that our actions still matter. We are a people of hope.
Ancient prophets like Isaiah delivered words of warning, but these warnings were not a guarantee of destruction—there remained the opportunity to make changes.
Lisa Davison, Hebrew Bible professor at Philips Theological Seminary, writes this:
“…most of the biblical prophets were really optimists (like the Holy); they believed that people could change and that the future had not yet been determined.
“By sending prophets, the Divine was always providing a way for people to make different choices and to return to the covenant they had with the Holy. Prophets were the equivalent of the Divine tossing humanity a life-preserver, an opportunity for them to save themselves from a future of feeling exiled from the Divine. Even when that exile became a reality, the Holy would hold out an invitation to come home.”[2]
Do we still have the possibility to change, to decrease the harm that might come? What happens if we do work together? What happens if we look out for the needs of all people, everyone who needs water, not just the wealthiest communities who can afford to transport the water? What if we don’t show partiality, as the Scripture from James suggests?
Lutherans tend to dismiss the wisdom of the Scripture writer James. It’s no secret that Martin Luther himself was not a fan of James. Luther called the book of James “the epistle of straw,” meaning it had no substance. Luther was heavy into grace, and he basically thought James skewed too far toward action, as though a person’s actions can save them. It’s God who saves.
But James is talking about a mature, grounded faith that bears witness to the God who saves. Our faith can inform our actions, and our actions can, in turn, strengthen our faith. Or some look at faith and action as two sides of the same coin. In Bible study this week, someone mentioned that if you only have one side of a coin, it’s not really a coin, is it?
Both faith and action are needed. And the action doesn’t come from compulsion or force. Our actions won’t save us; it’s still God who saves us. We cannot earn God’s favor. But faith informs our actions, and our actions then strengthen our faith, like a cycle.
What if we lean so hard on faith that we take no action? That would be like having all the information about the climate crisis but declining to take action, instead persisting in denial or hopelessness or despair. It’s like living in the despair of Christ’s death without ever awakening to his resurrection.
Salvation is about God restoring life, ability, and freedom in a way that’s life-giving for everyone. No one has to lose so that some can win. All creation can flourish together.
We are a people of hope. We believe God will bring forth waters in the wilderness and streams in the desert. What’s the next step? God is always inviting us to take a step toward home. What’s the smallest step you can take?
It helps to have partners around you, because none of us makes this journey alone. The waters of baptism unite us and indeed those waters are bringing life to all creation! Look around. It does matter!
Later this morning, we have a Ministry Fair, to learn about the ministries of this congregation, all the ways we take action to care for people, to care for the earth, to learn God’s Word. We’re not doing this because someone made us do it! We’re not doing this because we’re scared of God or how we might be punished. We’re doing this for the joy of serving, for the privilege of witnessing what God is doing in the world. We get to be part of it!
I encourage you to consider where God is calling you into action, where you are invited into God’s work of healing in the world. Where is water being delivered to refresh your own soul? What’s the smallest step you can take toward healing, toward home? As the psalm says, Happy are they…whose hope is in God.[3]
Amen.
Pastor Cheryl
[1] Erica McNamee, “NASA’s PACE Data on Ocean, Atmosphere, Climate Now Available,” April 11, 2024. News release: https://www.nasa.gov/earth/nasas-pace-data-on-ocean-atmosphere-climate-now-available/ Data can be found at: https://pace.oceansciences.org/access_pace_data.htm
[2] Lisa Davison, “Commentary on Isaiah 35:4-7a,” September 8, 2024, Working Preacher, https://www.workingpreacher.org/commentaries/revised-common-lectionary/ordinary-23-2/commentary-on-isaiah-354-7a-6
[3] Psalm 146:5, paraphrased
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