Eco-Discipleship: Shrewdness

This week, Scott Hill shared about his dad, one of his role models in “eco-discipleship”. I wonder who modeled this for you, how to love and care for creation?

In our scripture passage this week, Luke 16: 1-14, we find an unlikely role model—a dishonest manager who after losing trust with his employer by cooking the books, was about to lose his home. Like the dishonest manager, the collective human preoccupation with getting and keeping more money has led to the squandering of God’s creation. We too are at risk of losing our home.

In the parable, the manager realizes the plight he is in and acts quickly to save himself. He showed foresight, using the resources at his disposal to right the wrong, connecting relationally with folks who could help set things right, and acted urgently in hope he could change the trajectory of the situation.

Jesus described this man as shrewd. We have many shrewd Jesus-loving eco-discipleships right in our midst. Our friends at A Rocha are some of these. They recognize the collective plight we are in and understand that making peace within creation will require resourceful action. They shrewdly understand the power of relational networks and reach out to God, people, and creation, building new alliances and collaborating in a spirit of love. They shrewdly understand the urgency— the time is now to make change—and the hope: God is with and for this earth.

Jesus ended his parable by making a comment about money: we can’t love two masters – money and God. What if, instead of serving and loving money, humans used money in the service of love? Perhaps this is part of the shrewdness Jesus was suggesting to his disciples.

If worldly people can be so shrewd in securing their future through money, even in shady ways, then how much more can Jesus followers be shrewd, leveraging our money with foresight and creativity in the name of Divine Love to make peace with God, people and creation, cultivating kinship on this earth.

Each of us are role models to someone. How are you modeling love, care, and ecological shrewdness in the service of love to the next generation? If you want a practical next small step, A Rocha is raising money to renovate their barn and you can follow this link to find out more: Barn Reno.

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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