VIII.

Theological Reflection

Problems are continuously increasing and getting serious in different parts of the
world every day. Pollution, drought, flood, hunger, and wars are being experienced
because of man’s pride, greediness, and lack of concern for others.
All Christians affirms the biblical faith stance that God is the creator of heaven
and earth and that the earth and all that is in it is the Lord’s. However, how those
biblical proclamations are interpreted depends largely on how actual Christian
communities and theologians understand the role of human beings. That is why there
are differences in how Christian ethicists understand the biblical notion that God
created human beings in God’s own image.
After God created man, He entrusted him a special mission when He said, “Be
fruitful and multiply, fill the earth and rule it. Have dominion over the fish of the sea, and all
living things live on earth. See, I gave you every seed-bearing fruit on it to be your food.”(Gen.
1: 26-30) This theological theme of stewardship implies a renewed human sense of
moral responsibility. Humans are to care for God's creation and they are obliged to try
to heal the wounds of creation and to restore a sense of eco-justice by overcoming the
human tendency to exploit and dominate the earth to the point that ecological damage
is irreparable and now endangers all forms of life. This theme of stewardship is
interpreted in different ways, yet stewardship always points to the responsibility and
the dangers implicit in using the earth without concern about the impact of human
actions on the future of all life forms.
The second theological theme is that human beings are "created co-creators."
Humans owe their life to God, but have the responsibility to "build the earth" and to
share earth's resources equitably, for the earth is destined for the common good of every
living being. This theme maintains a strong recognition of the limits to human
responsibility and demands that humans manifest a deep respect for their co-creatures,
both animate and inanimate. It incorporates a high regard for eco justice and reverence
for all forms of life. Implicit in the theme is an awareness of the global common good
and a sense of solidarity with other human beings, regardless of their culture,
nationality, religion, social status or any other differences.
It is already late in the day and so much damage has been done. No one can
pinpoint the precise moment when the damage becomes so irreversible that our living
world will collapse. But we are rapidly heading in that direction. Even now there are
signs of stress in every corner of our land. As we look at what is happening before our
eyes, and think of the horrendous consequences for the land and the people we would
do well to remember that God, who created this beautiful land, will hold us responsible
for plundering it and leaving it desolate. So will future generations of Filipinos.
Instead of gifting them with a fruitful land, all we will leave behind is a barren desert.
We, the students of our University, call on all Filipinos to recognize the urgency of this
task and to respond to it now.
As Filipinos we can and must act now. Nobody else will do it for us. This is our
home; we must care for it, watch over it, protect it and love it. We must be particularly
careful to protect what remains of our forests, rivers, and corals and to heal, wherever
we can, the damage which has already been done.
The task of preserving and healing is a daunting one given human greed and the
relentless drive of our plunder economy. But we must not lose hope. God has gifted us
with creativity and ingenuity. He has planted in our hearts a love for our land, which
bursts forth in our songs and poetry. We can harness our creativity in the service of life
and shun anything that leads to death.
We will not be successful in our efforts to develop a new attitude towards the
natural world unless we are sustained and nourished by a new vision. This vision must
blossom forth from our understanding of the world as God intends it to be. We can
know the shape of this world by looking at how God originally fashioned our world
and laid it out before us.
As Christians we also draw our vision from Christ. We have much to learn from
the attitude of respect which Jesus displayed towards the natural world. He was very
much aware that all the creatures in God's creation are related. Jesus lived lightly on the
earth and warned his disciples against hoarding material possessions and allowing their hearts
to be enticed by the lure of wealth and power (Matt. 6:19-21; Lk. 9:1-6). But our meditation
on Jesus goes beyond this. Our faith tells us that Christ is the center point of human
history and creation. All the rich unfolding of the universe and the emergence and flowering
of life on Earth are centered on him. (Eph. 1:9-10; Col 1:16-17). The destruction of any part
of creation, especially, the extinction of species defaces the image of Christ which is
etched in creation.
As we use the SEE-JUDGE-ACT framework we realize that all of us have the
mission to take care of our earth. Maybe, as we students, we are too young to speak out
what’s on our minds but we are aware on how we feel about the destruction made by
the pollution that causes by many of us who were called the steward of earth and
brought much destruction to our nature that also leads to more problems.
The Goal Oriented Project Plan had given us the opportunity to realize our
visions of our goals. This vision is also grounded in our Faith. The relationship which
links God, human beings and all the community of the living together is emphasized in
the covenant which God made with Noah after the flood. The rainbow which we still see
in the sky is a constant reminder of this bond and challenge. (Gen. 9:12). This covenant
recognizes the very close bonds which bind living forms together in what are called
ecosystems. More and more we must recognize that the commitment to work for justice
and to preserve the integrity of creation are two inseparable dimensions of our
Christian vocation to work for the coming of the kingdom of God in our times.