Sermon

God created this world in diversity and beauty. God’s wisdom is amazing and unparalleled. God not only once created but also has been recreating the world from time to time (Is.65:17-25). After creating everything He entrusted a responsibility to mankind – to till it and keep it or tend it (Gen.2:15). The real tiller and keeper is God the Lord (Ps.121:5). But God took rest after handing over His task of tending, keeping and tilling to mankind. According to Indian religious understanding, God engages Himself in the work of creation, sustain and destruction. He creates, sustains and destroys. Among this triune work, it can be said that, God gave the work of tending or keeping to humanity. This may be the reason the Psalmist revealed that God created human being a little lower than Him and crowned them with glory and honour, gave them dominion over the works of His hands and put all things under his feet (Ps.8). But eventually, mankind forgot his accountability. Instead of keeping the earth he started disturbing and exploiting it. Thus, evil and inequality came to the earth. Here, he should not be ignorant that he spoils himself whenever he exploits and misuses the resourses of the earth.

But, meanwhile, here everyone should understand his Garden of Eden.

For every Grahasti, the one who has and is in the family, his family is the first boundary of the Garden of Eden. Managing the family is his first and foremost responsibility. The second phase of the Garden of Eden is the ‘Family of Families’, the bigger family, ie, the Church at large for the Christians. The tending should be carried out also in the Church. Everyone should grow in Christ through the Church (Eph.4:11-16). Furthermore, the territory of Eden still grows and extends, that is towards the society. We are the stewards of the society as well whereever we are placed.  The terrain of Eden yet again extends, into global environs.  Thus, we have to live with a continuous consciousness of taking care of the whole world as the entire creation of God.

1.    Fall of Creation (Gen.6:1-13)

As mentioned earlier, even though God commanded mankind with clear mandate of their duties and responsibilities, they are engulfed with violence and corruption (Gen. 6:11, 12). Subsequently, God had decided to destroy the earth and commanded to Noah to build an ark (Gen.6-9). Here it is reminded that, the sin or the fault of human being has become the total violation to the very purpose of Creation.

2.    Bear good fruit (Mt.7:15-23)

We have to bear fruit after having a sense of our fall. Jesus said to His Apostles: “You are chosen to bear fruit”(Jn.15:16). The objective of the parable about the ‘fig tree in the vineyard’ was also to convey this same message (Lk.13:6-9) – bear good fruit. St. Matthew gave more thrust in the Sermon on the Mount to bear fruit (Mt.7:15-21). “ Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into fire” (Mt.7:19). Here, Jesus encourages to bear fruit, ie, to do good works.

3.    Fall - Violation of the Purpose (Rom.7:14-25)

St. Paul evaluates his life : “I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate” (Rom.7:14-25). He opens up here the desire of mankind to do evil. Though he intends in his spirit to do only good, he desires in his flesh to do evil. Here, St. Paul challenges the reader to become a spiritual person (Rom.8:1-14). He further says the way to come out of the fall which is the violation to the purpose of Creation is the grace of God received through Jesus Christ. He concludes this by giving an amazing statement, which converges with solutions to all the previous questions: “Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! Therefore, there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Rom.7: 25, 8:1). Let God enable us to understand God’s will which manifests towards our life and thus help to come out of our fall which happen to take place because of not knowing the real purpose of our life on earth. Moreover, let God help us to tend and keep the intact creation of God as good stewards.

Happy are those whose transgression is forgiven and whose sin is covered (Ps.32:1).

Prayer

God of compassion, Who has created us as good trees to bear good fruit. We pray that You grant us the power to resist our inclinations of our wickedness and disobedience, and our desires not to do the good You want us to do, in order that we do Your will alone, bearing good fruit as disciples in Your kingdom and thus preparing ourselves to receive the eternal life - through Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, One God, now and forever more. Amen.