Sabbath and Stewardship: Ecological Relationship
Introduction
Humanity is going through four of the most culminating
crises in its history : terrorism, racism, Covid-19 pandemic and climate
change. Regarding the climate change, the universe is currently facing a series of
disastrous ecological crises and destruction of ecosystems, the results of what
many now call the Anthropocene era, the era of human modification of planetary
systems in Canada. Earth. These crises such as global warming, altered weather
conditions, species extinction, threats of various types of toxic pollution,
proliferation of waste and fuels, soil erosion, desertification, depleted water
supplies soft, etc… constitute an absolutely real and imminent threat to the
future.
Therefore, the multiplicity of these crises requires multiple solutions: political, economic, technological, psychological, ethical, behavioral and above all spiritual.[1] It is equally necessary to understand how we arrived at this calamitous situation and how we will avoid it in the future. Given their widespread influence, biblical religion and its ramifications offer a particularly compelling and promising solution: Shabbat, the Sabbath day of rest. A weekly ritual, both primarily spiritual and symbolic and with real impacts, widespread observance of the Shabbat well done could reduce environmental damage by about a seventh in much of the world and provide a platform for continued meditation. about our environmental sins and their consequences.
Sabbath and
Stewardship: Ecological Relationship
Sabbath rest was instituted as a symbol of the true
rest to come in Christ. The entire purpose of the Bible and the working
of God in human history have one theme: bringing humanity back into His rest. So,
as stewards, we are to live as witnesses to the God we serve, which means we
must exert a powerful influence on those around us, our environment.
Stewardship here is the act of prospering while managing God's call to live a
godly life.
At creation, God gave and committed the earth to man's hands for him to
rule. The man in turn should keep him healthy and take care of herself. He has
to maintain it. The maintenance here is not only to cultivate the land, draw
its resources and the like, but it is also sabbatical. Man must cease all
activity on earth: the rest of creation. So man must keep creation by ceasing
all these activities weekly or annually. His good management of creation
requires the rest that he offers to creation. So, when creation is at rest, he
himself is also at rest. It is about relational rest. By letting the earth
rest, man also rests
Benefit of the Sabbath for the Ecology
The Sabbath restores creation to its original intention to commemorate the creation of the world - zekher lema'aseh bereishit (Genesis 2: 1-3; Exodus 20: 7-10). Its establishment is first of all the referent or the memory of creation. Rabbi Micha Odenheimer notes that the only concrete Biblical Sabbath prohibition other than refraining from work is refraining from burning fires (Exodus 35: 3), which he half-reads as a warning against the show. of carbon dioxide and greenhouse gases on the Sabbath. While some seek eco-salvation in expensive and unproven new technological solutions such as biofuels, carbon capture, or geoengineering, the Sabbath offers a spiritual remedy that addresses the root cause of our climatic problems.
[1] Père Duarte da Cunha and Père Duarte da Cunha, ‘’Les Eglises face au Changement Climatiques’’, Eglise Catholique em France https://eglise.catholique.fr/sengager-dans-la-societe/ecologie-integrale/pollution-climat/370832-les-eglises-face-au-changement-climatique/ (Accessed November 4, 2020).
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Jacob Aguimesheo
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