The Key Question:
Why Do We Care For God’s Creation?
Key Points:
The Magnificence Of Creation:
Imagine of seeing the Earth as a whole from a distance as the Apollo astronauts did. The picture on the last page is from the first manned mission to orbit the moon, Apollo 8 on December 24, 1968. The crew aboard the mission read Genesis 1:1-10 because of how moved they were at seeing the Earth (Click here for the audio of this reading). The Earth is beautiful and it reflects the beauty of its creator. God’s creation is magnificent – in the first chapter of Genesis we learn that God creates from nothing. Think of the intricacies of the human body alone! The eye that allows sight, the ear that allows hearing, the brain that allows us to think, explore, and understand the world, our skin, our heart, our fingers,…. the list could go on forever. Think of the sunrise, the sunset, the mountains, the ocean, the wonder of the stars, the microscopic beauty of a paramecium’s motion, the incredible diversity of plants, animals, and creature that inhabit the Earth. All of this beauty was given to us by God as a reflection of his own beauty.  |
| This photo of "Earthrise" over the lunar horizon was taken by the Apollo 8 crew in December 1968, showing Earth for the first time as it appears from deep space. Astronauts Frank Borman, Jim Lovell and William Anders had become the first humans to leave Earth orbit, entering lunar orbit on Christmas Eve. In a historic live broadcast that night, the crew took turns reading from the Book of Genesis, closing with a holiday wish from Commander Borman: "We close with good night, good luck, a Merry Christmas, and God bless all of you -- all of you on the good Earth." (http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/imagegallery/image_feature_102.html) |
339 - Each creature possesses its own particular goodness and perfection. For each one of the works of the "six days" it is said: "And God saw that it was good." "By the very nature of creation, material being is endowed with its own stability, truth, and excellence, its own order and laws." Each of the various creatures, willed in its own being, reflects in its own way a ray of God's infinite wisdom and goodness. Man must therefore respect the particular goodness of every creature, to avoid any disordered use of things which would be in contempt of the Creator and would bring disastrous consequences for human beings and their environment.
340 - God wills the interdependence of creatures. The sun and the moon, the cedar and the little flower, the eagle and the sparrow: the spectacle of their countless diversities and inequalities tells us that no creature is self-sufficient. Creatures exist only in dependence on each other, to complete each other, in the service of each other.
2415 - The seventh commandment enjoins respect for the integrity of creation. Animals, like plants and inanimate beings, are by nature destined for the common good of past, present, and future humanity. Use of the mineral, vegetable, and animal resources of the universe cannot be divorced from respect for moral imperatives. Man's dominion over inanimate and other living beings granted by the Creator is not absolute; it is limited by concern for the quality of life of his neighbor, including generations to come; it requires a religious respect for the integrity of creation.
“The dominion granted to man by the Creator is not an absolute power, nor can one speak of a freedom to ‘use and misuse’, or to dispose of things as one pleases. The limitations imposed from the beginning by the creator himself…shows clearly enough that, when it comes to the natural world, we are subject not only to biological laws but also to moral ones, which cannot be violated with impunity.” -Pope John Paul II, On Social Concern (Sollicitudo Rei Socialis), no. 34
356 - Of all visible creatures only man is "able to know and love his creator". He is "the only creature on earth that God has willed for its own sake", and he alone is called to share, by knowledge and love, in God's own life. It was for this end that he was created, and this is the fundamental reason for his dignity:
What made you establish man in so great a dignity? Certainly the incalculable love by which you have looked on your creature in yourself! You are taken with love for her; for by love indeed you created her, by love you have given her a being capable of tasting your eternal Good.357 - Being in the image of God the human individual possesses the dignity of a person, who is not just something, but someone. He is capable of self-knowledge, of self-possession and of freely giving himself and entering into communion with other persons. And he is called by grace to a covenant with his Creator, to offer him a response of faith and love that no other creature can give in his stead.
Man Is Called By His Creator To Give Creation Back To Him
358 - God created everything for man, but man in turn was created to serve and love God and to offer all creation back to him:
What is it that is about to be created, that enjoys such honor? It is man that great and wonderful living creature, more precious in the eyes of God than all other creatures! For him the heavens and the earth, the sea and all the rest of creation exist. God attached so much importance to his salvation that he did not spare his own Son for the sake of man. Nor does he ever cease to work, trying every possible means, until he has raised man up to himself and made him sit at his right hand.Questions for Discussion:
- What is man’s role in creation? What does God tell man that he is to do in the Garden?
- What does the creation story in Genesis tell us?
- Why is important that we remember that man is the height of creation?
- How can we respect and protect God’s creation?
- How do we fulfill our roles as caretakers of God’s creation to today?
Take Home Message:
God created the Earth in all its beauty for man, and appointed man its caretaker.
