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17

Servants and Co-Creators

The Washing of Feet.
Drawn by Rudolf Koch.
Courtesy of Arion Press.

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We can learn about true stewardship and co-creation from the Bible. We are called to first appreciate God's gifts in creation. Then with grateful thanks, we can be better stewards (servants) and "caretakers" (Gen 2:15). We need to "take care" of our families, communities, homes, and the earth. The people of the Bible tell us about God and life from their experience living close to the land and sea as shepherds, farmers, fishermen, and as members of families and tribes. Shepherds guided their sheep to new pastures and fresh water. They guarded their flocks. Jesus is the Good Shepherd who leads us. Farmers plowed, planted, fertilized, cultivated, weeded, and harvested the fields. God plants the seed of faith, hope, and love in our hearts. Fishermen repaired nets and spent long days fishing from their boats. Jesus called his apostles to be fishers of men, to gather other persons to follow Him. Parents raised their children and leaders took care of their people.

God chose Abraham and led His people to the Promised Land where they learned how to take care of the land for farming and how to fish in the sea. During their Exodus from captivity in Egypt, the Israelites survived in the desert. Although they wandered, Moses trusted in God Who provided them with water to drink, and manna and quails for food. John the Baptist lived on locusts and wild honey. Jesus fasted in the desert for 40 days. Jesus and his disciples walked many miles.

What about us? Do we trust in God's Providence? Are we grateful for our blessings of water, shelter, and food? What do we do to help others survive the elements and hunger? Do we "wash one another's feet" (Jn 13:14) by being charitable to those in our charge, our families and communities? Do we donate non-perishable food, clothing, and money? Do we make an effort to live close to the land? Do we walk and use public transportation when possible? Do we conserve water and energy? Do we support alternative forms of energy such as solar, wind, tidal, wave, hydroelectric, and geothermal power? Do we recycle paper, plastic, glass, and metal? Do we preserve natural habitats in the wilderness, and create gardens and parks in our cities? Do we take care of the land, sea, and the air, and the flora and fauna that depend upon them?

Do we cooperate with God's Plan for creation? Do we acknowledge the beauty of creation, and His own designs in nature? May we remember both the unitive and pro-creative aspects of marriage. May God bless our homes and families. May we be life-giving people. May we cherish life from the moment of conception until natural death. May all people realize that in-vitro fertilization, cloning, and embryonic stem cell research are wrong because tiny human lives are destroyed in the process. May we encourage adoption of children in need of homes and provide better care of our infirmed and aged seniors.

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Genesis 3:17–19
The LORD said to the man, "You listened to your wife and ate fruit from that tree. And so, the ground will be under a curse because of what you did. As long as you live, you will have to struggle to grow enough food. Your food will be plants, but the ground will produce thorns and thistles. You will have to sweat to earn a living; you were made out of soil, and you will once again turn into soil."

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Genesis 43:24
The servant took them into Joseph's house and gave them water to wash their feet. He also tended their donkeys.

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2 Samuel 17:28
Here is a list of what they brought: sleeping mats, blankets, bowls, pottery jars, wheat, barley, flour, roasted grain, beans, lentils, honey, yogurt, sheep, and cheese. They brought the food for David and the others because they knew that everyone would be hungry, tired, and thirsty from being out in the desert.

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Job 31:38
I have never mistreated the land I farmed and made it mourn.

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Isaiah 28:24
Farmers don't just plow and break up the ground.

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Amos 7:14
I answered: I'm not a prophet! And I wasn't trained to be a prophet. I am a shepherd, and I take care of fig trees.

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Matthew 13:3 (NIV)
Then he told them many things in parables, saying: "A farmer went out to sow his seed..."

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Matthew 13:24, 30 (NIV)
Jesus told them another parable: "The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. ... Let both grow together until the harvest. At that time I will tell the harvesters: First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned; then gather the wheat and bring it into my barn."

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Mark 1:16
As Jesus was walking along the shore of Lake Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew. They were fishermen and were casting their nets into the lake.

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Luke 2:8
That night in the fields near Bethlehem some shepherds were guarding their sheep.

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Luke 12:17
... and he said to himself, "What can I do? I don't have a place large enough to store everything."

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Luke 13:8
The gardener answered, "Master, leave it for another year. I'll dig around it and put some manure on it to make it grow..."

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John 13:14
And if your Lord and teacher has washed your feet, you should do the same for each other.

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Acts 20:28 (NIV)
Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers. Be shepherds of the church of God, which he bought with his own blood.

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1 Timothy 5:10
She must also be well-known for doing all sorts of good things, such as raising children, giving food to strangers, welcoming God's people into her home, helping people in need, and always making herself useful.

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2 Timothy 2:6 (NIV)
The hardworking farmer should be the first to receive a share of the crops.

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James 5:7, 18
My friends, be patient until the Lord returns. Think of farmers who wait patiently for the spring and summer rains to make their valuable crops grow. But when he did pray for rain, it fell from the skies and made the crops grow.

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Dost thou wish to receive mercy?
Show mercy to thy neighbor.
—St. John Chrysostom (ca. 347–407), Homily XIII:7

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Oh, Adam was a gardener, and God who made him sees
That half a proper gardener's work is done upon his knees.
—Rudyard Kipling. The Glory of the Garden [1911], st. 8.

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The Knight of Immaculata does not confine his heart to himself, nor to his family, relatives, neighbors, friends, or countrymen, but embraces the whole world, each and every soul, because without exception, they have all been redeemed by the blood of Jesus.
—St. Maximilian Kolbe. Aim Higher!: Spiritual and Marian reflections of St. Maximilian Kolbe. Prow Books / Franciscan Marytown Press.

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...Who are we? Who is man? Who are we who are capable of so much? It is good for us also to reflect on progress. Today humanity's scientific and operative development has reached goals that seemed unattainable. How much further can man's thought and action go? Admiration, enthusiasm, a passion for instruments, for the products of man's intelligence and hands—all these fascinate us, perhaps to the point of madness. And herein lies the danger; we must be careful not to idolize these instruments. Undoubtedly they multiply man's efficiency beyond all limits, but is this efficiency always in his favor? Does it make him good? More a man? Or, perhaps, could these instruments not make man, who produces them, a prisoner and ... a slave of the system of life the instruments impose on their master in their production and use? Man's heart must become even more free, more good, and more religious as the power of machines, arms, and the instruments man puts at his disposition grow greater and more dangerous.
—Pope Paul VI, 20 July 1969 (VIS—Vatican Information Service). With permission.

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Faced with the widespread destruction of the environment, people everywhere are coming to understand that we cannot continue to use the goods of the Earth as we have in the past ... a new ecological awareness is beginning to emerge ... The ecological crisis is a moral issue.
—Pope John Paul II, The Ecological Crisis: A Common Responsibility, nos. 1, 15, 8 December 1989 (VIS—Vatican Information Service). With permission.

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The rising concern for preservation of the environment is one of "signs of hope" which the Holy Spirit provides for our times. Today, mankind has discovered—largely in reaction to the indiscriminate exploitation of natural resources which has often accompanied industrial development—the significance and the value of an environment which remains a hospitable home for man, where mankind is destined to live. Environmental dangers forced world leaders in science, industry, and government to find new ways to use the earth's resources responsibly. The key challenge is not only to limit the damage which has already been done, and apply remedies, but especially to find approaches to development which are in harmony with respect and protection for the natural environment. For believers, preservation of the environment takes on a special importance insofar as the world is seen as the design of the Creator. Mankind was commissioned by God to act as steward for the earth's resources, and guardian of God's "creative work."
—Pope John Paul II, 18 November 1998 (VIS—Vatican Information Service). With permission.

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The promotion of human dignity is linked to the right to a healthy environment, since this right highlights the dynamics of the relationship between the individual and society. A body of international, regional and national norms on the environment is gradually giving juridic form to this right. But juridic measures by themselves are not sufficient. The danger of serious damage to land and sea, and to the climate, flora and fauna, calls for a profound change in modern civilization's typical consumer life-style, particularly in the richer countries. Nor can we underestimate another risk, even if it is a less drastic one: people who live in poverty in rural areas can be driven by necessity to exploit beyond sustainable limits the little land which they have at their disposal. Special training aimed at teaching them how to harmonize the cultivation of the land with respect for the environment needs to be encouraged. The world's present and future depend on the safeguarding of creation, because of the endless interdependence between human beings and their environment. Placing human well-being at the centre of concern for the environment is actually the surest way of safeguarding creation; this in fact stimulates the responsibility of the individual with regard to natural resources and their judicious use.
—Pope John Paul II, 8 December 1998. (VIS—Vatican Information Service). With permission.

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Everyone has the moral duty to preserve the environment and all of God's creation. We know that it is not just a matter of what is nowadays called ecology. It is not just enough to seek the cause of the world's destruction only in excessive industrialization, uncritical applications in industry and agriculture of scientific and technological advances, or in unbridled pursuit of wealth without concern for the future effects of all these actions. Although it cannot be denied that these actions do case great harm, it is easy to see that their source is deeper: It lies in man's very attitude. It appears that what is most dangerous for creation and for man is lack of respect for the laws of nature and the disappearance of a sense of the value of life. Is it really possible to oppose the destruction of the environment while allowing, in the name of comfort and convenience, the slaughter of the unborn and the procured death of the elderly and infirm, and the carrying out, in the name of progress, of unacceptable interventions and forms of experimentation at the very beginning of human life? When the good of science or economic interests prevail over the good of the person, and ultimately of whole societies, environmental destruction is a sign of a real contempt for man. All followers of Christ ought to examine their own life-style, to ensure that the legitimate pursuit of prosperity does not suppress the voice of conscience which judges what is right and what is truly good.
—Pope John Paul II, 12 June 1999 (VIS—Vatican Information Service). With permission.

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A human ecology will render the life of creatures more dignified, protecting the radical good of life in all its manifestations, and preparing an environment for future generations that is closer to the plan of the Creator. ... (Humankind's role in Genesis I) ... is not the mission of an absolute and uncensurable master, but of a minister of the Kingdom of God, called to continue the work of the Creator, a work of life and peace. If one looks at the regions of our planet, one realizes immediately that humanity has disappointed the divine expectation. Man has unhesitatingly devastated wooded plains and valleys, polluted the waters, deformed the earth's habitat, made the air unbreathable, upset the hydrogeological and atmospheric systems, blighted green spaces, implemented uncontrolled forms of industrialization, humiliating—to use an image of Dante Alighieri—the earth, that flower-bed that is our dwelling. Given this situation, it is necessary to stimulate and support an ecological conversion, which over the last few decades has made humanity more sensitive when facing the catastrophe toward which it was moving. Not only is a physical ecology at stake, attentive to safeguarding the habitat of different living beings, but also a human ecology that will render the life of creatures more dignified. (Quoting a passage from the Jewish Hasidim tradition): "You are wherever I go! You are wherever I stop ... wherever I turn, wherever I admire, only You, again You, always You."
—Pope John Paul II, 17 January 2001 (VIS—Vatican Information Service). With permission.

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This sentiment for a human ecology based on human solidarity was repeated in a Vatican Document in Preparation for a Summit on Sustainable Development (13 June 2002). Ecology is the study of interrelationships between organisms and their environment; thus, human ecology provides a way to understand how we interact with the earth and all of God's creatures that share this space with us. Because human society is founded upon the family, it is in the context of our families, that we learn about the goodness of God's gift to us of this earth and how we should respect and care for the world's resources, air, water, and land, flora, and fauna.

Archangel Raphael.
Drawn by Rudolf Koch.
Courtesy of Arion Press.

(c) 2002. Anthony R. Brach