In the story of the great flood that is our first reading for this Sunday, we are reminded of the covenant in which God promises that God will never again destroy creation. Sadly, it is now the human family that is destroying God’s great gift of creation through our sinfulness.
When God gave the human family dominion over the earth, God expected that we would be responsible stewards of the gift with which God entrusted us. God blessed this world with a superabundance of resources that should be more than sufficient to meet the needs of all persons now and for all generations to come. It is our responsibility as responsible stewards to insure that the resources of this world are used wisely so that all may benefit fairly from the bounty with which God has blessed this world and so that these resources might be available to future generations as well. Sadly, we have not exercised our stewardship of the resources of this world with great wisdom. It is accepted science that global climate change is having an adverse impact on our planet and that human activity directly contributes to the climate changes that we are now experiencing. It is our responsibility, therefore, to change our behavior so as to reduce the adverse impact our human activity is having on the global environment. As Pope Francis has said, “On climate change, there is a clear, definitive and ineluctable ethical imperative to act …”
In Lent, we are asked to reflect on our sins –on our failure to live in faithfulness to what God expects of us. Our misuse of the gift that is creation is a sin. How have we contributed to this sin? Do we recycle regularly? Do we seek to reduce the amount of disposable bags that we use? Do we conserve water? Do we accept the need to reduce our dependence on fossil fuels – coal, oil and gas? Do we support international efforts to provide assistance to poorer nations that are already being impacted by global climate change or that need help in addressing their contribution to climate change?
Yes, the misuse of creation is a sin. How have I participated in this sin?