As it’s environment sunday this weekend, I thought I’d post something of a more spiritual nature. I kind of ended up writing a bit of an essay on Jesus as an environmentalist. Rather than put the whole thing up here in one go, it’s in a six part series. Feel free to explore at leisure.
Jesus and his environment – introduction
I’ve been thinking a lot about the environment recently, and so I’ve been reading the gospels with a slightly different eye, and the striking thing is just how important the earth is in the gospels. Creation plays a huge role in the gospel stories, with examples from nature coming up time and time again, demonstrating Jesus’ unique relationship with the world around him. We might think of the healings, or of Jesus calming the storm, as clear evidence of this unique relationship, but there’s far more to see than the big events. Jesus is a real man of the earth. He understands it in its details and in its larger significance. He loves it, and it loves him back.
Matthew seems to record more environmental details than the other gospel writers. Perhaps Matthew was a nature lover as well as a tax collector. Here are some observations about Jesus and his environment, from Matthew’s gospel.
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