Eco-discipleship: Valuing the Singular and the Small

In Luke 15:1-19, the Pharisees criticize Jesus for eating with sinners. Jesus confronts their value system by telling two parables in which we see that God values the singular, the small, and the seemingly inconsequential—a lost sheep and a lost coin. God placed a greater value on these singular small things than financial gain—the party spent the worth of the coin, and running after one sheep risked losing more.

Jesus came to reveal God’s love and today’s parables show the strange economy of God’s household. God values animals, plants, people, and places not because they are financially profitable or morally pure, but because they are created, loveable and loved. In our season of Creation, this revelation of Divine Love is cause for hope. 

Jesus’ words of interpretation of the parables reveals another layer of God’s value system. God not only values the singular and the small, but also the “sinner”. When just one person repents and comes home to God’s household, the whole neighbourhood of heaven breaks wide open and throws a giant street party. 

It’s easy to put other people in this category of “sinners”. However, what happens if we try putting ourselves in the role of the lost sheep and the lost coin. What if, in the context of creation, we are the lost ones? We are all ecological climate sinners. 

Repentance is our homecoming. This turning point happens when we begin to come to terms with the way we have, wittingly and unwittingly devalued people and places and things and creatures and animals that are highly valued by God.

When we define the value of something not by how much it costs, but by its intrinsic worth, we remember our own worth. We are not intrinsically evil. We are intrinsically good. When we let God’s love have its way in our hearts, and when we begin to value ourselves and others as precious to God, we are learning the economy of God’s house.

Here is an ecological examen on God’s values for your practice this week. You might want to make space, at the end of each day, to move through these steps at your own pace: 

Gratitude. I give thanks for Creation. What singular, small source of delight moved me? 

Awareness. I ask for the grace to see the value of creation as God does—in all its splendour and suffering.

Understanding. I ask for the grace to see how my singular, small actions impacted God’s beloved ones today. 

Repentance. I ask for the grace to turn towards home, valuing and protecting what God values. 

Reconciliation. I ask for the grace to actively value God, people, and creation. and to use my actions to be in solidarity with creation. 

Closing Prayer. Pause to let words or silence flow, as you feel led.

Deep peace and blessing,
Anne

Rev. Anne Baxter Smith
Pastor, Southpoint Church

Sun Oct 5  St Francis Feast Day Rev. Anne Baxter Smith
Eco-Discipleship: Re-wilding our Faith Smith
Luke 17: 5-10
Bring your animals to be blessed!

New to Southpoint?

At Southpoint, it all begins with God’s love. Just as a plant grows, it receives sunshine, so we grow as we receive God’s love. At Southpoint, we are growing in our capacity to love God, ourselves, one another, and Creation.

We seek to be a community of grace that is intentional yet organic, spacious yet authentic, grace-filled yet accountable. * We are fully welcoming. *

We encourage relationships rather than run programs, yet we recognize the importance of intentionality and structure as we nurture life together.

As a community, we seek to put our love in action. We value helping out on Sunday mornings, sharing food, and showing up in hard times. We keep our church life simple so folk have time to build relationships with family, friends, and neighbours. We encourage folk to serve in tangible ways within the wider community. We rent space rather than own a building, allowing us to do more with less, supporting missions at home and abroad.

Curious to know more?

These six slides express what motivates our ministry (best viewed on a monitor). Here’s the bio of our Pastor, Rev. Anne Baxter Smith.

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