Today is often known as Creation Sunday and in the Church in Wales this year as you’ve heard it has been designated as FairtradeSunday. The Church in general has increasingly become involved in the campaign to promote Fairtrade and our Bishop has been very active in this work.
In this parish we have the opportunity to purchase fairtrade products each Sunday at coffee in the hall and of course there’s the chance to enjoy some fairtrade wine next Friday too, but many people still wonder why fairtrade is anything to do with the church.
And our readings today go some way towards answering that – firstly the long creation reading (Gen.1:1-2:3) reminds us of the wonderful gifts that God has prepared for us all in his creation. a world of beauty, a world of challenges certainly but a world crammed full of resources and gifts to be used by all his people.
It is a world where men and women are created equally in God’s own image – where every man and every woman has a right to enjoy the resources we are given.
Many very good people wonder what good our support can do in a world where so many others seem so committed to greed and selfishness, but every small amount of good can help people in need.
In the psalm (136:1-9,23-26) again we focused on creation and the need to give thanks for God’s mercy endures for ever. Our treatment of creation and our respect, concern and love for others, is part of our thanksgiving to God for the life and opportunities he gives to us. Saying thank you is good and important but living out our thanks is even more important.
And that involves us making choices – it involves us making a stand for those less fortunate than ourselves… Last week I mentioned at the 8 o’clock service about a small boy’s definition of conscience – that is ‘something that makes you tell your mum you’ve done something wrong before your sister does’ ! Conscience is about choice – do we follow what’s good and right or do we follow the easypath ? Do we follow what we know to be just however hard it may be or do we turn a blind eye to an injustice ?
Day after day we are faced with challenges as to how we live – and fairtrade is about justice. It’s about recognising that all of us are born in God’s image, created equally to enjoy his gifts, and because of that all of us have a duty to try and share our gifts.
In his letter to the Romans (8:18-25) Paul spoke of the suffering he was having but that his current suffering was nothing compared to the glory he was seeing in God… He talks of a future hope but he doesn’t limit his thoughts to a future hope. Hope in the future offers hope now – it offers inspiration, it offers comfort and peace.
As Christians sharing good news we are to be hope in the world – hope for our families, for our neighbours and friends, but hope also for everyone… Fairtrade is about offering hope to people who struggle day by day, so fairtrade is about sharing peace and ultimately sharing God’s love.
And then our gospel reading (Matt.6:25-34) which at first sight seems to suggest we shouldn’t worry about anything because God will look after people in the end. And read in isolation perhaps what this passage is saying – and we certainly can be confident of God’s care and protection and his love always. But read in conjunction with the rest of the Bible which stresses the equality of humanity, which stresses the need to love one another as God loves us, it is clear that we are to be agents helping people not to worry.
By sharing a message of hope and peace, we are saying don’t worry – and our words are great, and those who encourage and comfort have wonderful gifts, but we also need to be doers. There’s a story of a young child who went to bed and had a bad dream one night – her mother comforted her and put her back to bed, and then went to leave the bedroom.
The little girl asked her mother to stay but the mother told her daughter not to worry about being alone because God was always with her, and the daughter replied, ‘I know that, but I want someone with skin on as well’.
God is always enough and God always provides but sometimes it is good to know the comfort of another person. As we promote and support fairtrade we are saying that everyone is important, that everyone is cared for and loved.
The creation is for us to enjoy and for all to enjoy – as we care for the needs of others we are crying out a message of justice, hope, peace and love for all. The message begins from each of us and how we live but the message can stretch many miles and over many continents. //////////
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