The Groaning Of Creation, Romans 8: 19- 25: A Sympathetic Listening With St. Paul.
Date
2001-02-07
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Tangaza University College
Abstract
Nature is the gospel speaking to us of God (cf. Wis. 13: 5). To contemplate creation is to
listen to a paradoxical and silent voice; the heavens telling the glory of God and the firmament
proclaiming his handiwork (cf. Ps. 19:1-5). "Ever since the creation of the world, God's
invisible nature, namely, his eternal power and deity, has been clearly perceived in the things
that have been made" (cf. Rom. 1:20). This capacity for contemplation and knowledge, this
discovery of a transcendent presence in created things must lead us to discover our kinship with
the earth, to which we have been linked since our own creation (cf. Gen. 2:7). In contemporary
society, people become indifferent not for lack of wonders but for lack of wonder.
St. Paul believes that a right relationship of human beings to God entails a constructive
relationship to the world. His popular concept of "Righteousness" carries with it a whole pattern
of association concerned with the enhancement and preservation of social order in the context of
human relationship with God.' Our Christian hope springs entirely from fidelity of God and
from an awareness in faith of his will to bring the world to its proper fulfilment.' Glory is lost
and won in relationship to both Creator and creature.' In the Wisdom Literature of the Old
Testament, it is the divine Wisdom personified that brings forth the universe, carrying out the
plan God has in mind (cf. Prov. 8: 22- 31). In Word and Wisdom Paul saw the foretelling of the
action of Christ "from whom are all things and for whom we exist" (cf.1 Cor. 8: 6).
Becoming more appreciative of creation in my spiritual life as a Franciscan Friar, I have
come to the understanding, in my theological studies, that theology is necessarily ecological. Of all the passages in the Bible that refer to the world of nature, none is surely so profound, so
relevant to today's ecological crisis as in Paul's letter to the Romans, 8: 19 - 25. This is why I
have chosen this Pauline text for my Long Essay research. St. Paul is perhaps the most
important and creative figure in the history of the Church.
From what I hear and feel about creation today, creation certainly is robbed of the peace
and perfection which God intended for it. Creation is groaning! Called to tend and keep the
garden of the world (cf. Gen. 2:15), humanity has a specific responsibility towards the living
environment, not only for the present but also for the future generations. It is my hope that
humanity of the year 2000 and beyond be reconciled with creation and find the ways for
harmonious and sustainable development; respecting and appreciating creation.
In this Long Essay research work, I will use the text, Romans 8:19-25, as my major
pericope. The entire work shall cover four chapters. In the first chapter is a presentation of
Pauline teaching in Romans, 8: 19 - 25. I shall delve into the text with much leaning towards
Paul's view of creation and our human relationship to creation. Chapter two focuses on St. Paul
as an heir of Jewish thought of creation. The third chapter answers the question, "Why bother at
all about creation?" It pictures the groaning creation. Chapter four is our Christian theological
response to the apparently frustrating ecological situation. Are there some truths that may open
up a way of healing our earth and its community of life? Is St. Paul's metaphor of the Body of
Christ for the Christian Church (cf. 1Cor 12:12-27) a way out? The conclusion is an exhortation
to all that all is not lost. The terms such as "creation", "cosmos", "earth", "nature" and "world"
are used interchangeably in this essay unless otherwise indicated.
Description
Keywords
Creation, paul