Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a bushel, But on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house.

Transcription

1 1 Dedication of the Solar Panels April 26, 2006 Mt. St. Dominic Honora Werner, O.P. You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hid. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a bushel, Let your light shine before all, But on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. That they may see your good works And give glory to your Father who is in heaven. ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Think for a minute of how you were when you got up this morning? Were you crabby or joyous? Bleary or energetic? Poet Mary Oliver begins her day by greeting the Sun: Hello, sun in my face, Hello, you who make the morning... And spread it over the fields, And into the faces of the tulips... Best preacher that ever was, dear star... You keep us from ever-darkness, ease us with warm touching, and hold us in great hands of light... Watch now, how I start the day in happiness, in kindness.

2 2 She has some wake up caller! Best preacher that ever was! Wow! Impelling her to live in happiness and kindness. Perhaps we find it amusing to think of Sun as a preacher... but wait a minute preachers make a word from God come alive. God s Word? Alive? Sure. In the beginning well, before the beginning, God spoke a Word. In our Christian language, we call that Word the Second Person of the Trinity. And the Word is God! But there came a point when God wanted to communicate outside Godself (if we can even say such a thing!). So God spoke another word and light came to be. Oh that word was spoken some 13.7 billion years ago and there were no ears to hear that word! But as time spun on, the light became focused and centered in new words from God words we call stars. And when those stars collapsed and died, their material came into being in another way as new stars and many of them had planetary satellites. So some 4 ½ billion years ago, our solar system came into being with the star we call Sun at the center. After billions of years of pouring out energy for all its planets to use, a new word was heard

3 3 when creatures like plants and animals came to life on planet Earth. Preacher Sun spoke so many words from the Creator to all these creatures: words like generosity self -giving, expecting no return Beauty constancy faithfulness outpouring of life ---- life-giving energy, light and warmth! Imagine that enormous star shining out in all directions even now pouring energy out in all directions only one-billionth of Sun s output touches Earth and fuels all life here!! Now that s prodigious generosity!! No stingy preacher, this Sun!!! So Sun speaks and preaches all these words from the Creator to any creature who would receive the message. And finally a word becomes flesh in creatures that can reflect on what they know they can wonder yes, gawk stand in awe at what they hear and see, feel and experience! So these creatures, we call humans, begin to realize that the Creator s own goodness is reflected in the goodness of Sun and all other creatures as well. But, sadly, as they grow in numbers and in cleverness about some things, they forget their purpose among the other creatures. So Jesus, the first divine Word of God made flesh comes as a human being, calling people to recognize the goodness of God reflected in all parts of creation. He calls his friends to be like the Sun shining lights for the good of all

4 4 joining with all creatures in giving glory to God. We heard that summons in the Scripture we just read. We here on the Mount are indeed a little city on the hill with neighborhoods (academy, college, nursing home, and several residences for sisters, for students and for seniors). There are several little places of worship, a couple of small shops, places to eat, medical and security personnel, a city works department our wonderful housekeepers, maintenance and grounds workers and of course, a cemetery! Oh yes, there s our city hall the Motherhouse and even a sort of open zoo with rabbits, deer, skunks, all sorts of birds and insects, groundhogs and other creatures sharing life here with us. Yes, we are a little city on a hill. Like Preacher Sun -- this little city can shed light we can speak volumes for all to see and hear. But, what Good News what light shines from this hilltop? We can be light only when our lives are transformed. The Sun s light and energy has become light and heat for us through the transforming action of the solar panels on the roof and the converter in the courtyard. So they stand as reminders to us as sort of sacramentals

5 5 of how we are to be in the household of Earth. We can honor and transform the generosity, the energy, the goodness, the beauty of God pouring out on us through Sun and through so many other channels of grace We can be transformers, human solar panels, sharing those revelations of God with our people, with our world, with all creatures by the way we live. That includes the words we speak but, oh, so much more! Our actions in defense of Earth, in defense of all the fragile and vulnerable creatures of Earth, those whose voices are not heard these transforming deeds proclaim Good News to all!! And these transforming deeds allow all to give glory to God! Today the message goes out: here is a way to welcome Sun s word to us here is a way to diminish the damage to Earth done by relying on fossil fuels! Making fossil fuels into usable energy creates too much carbon dioxide. Of course Earth needs some carbon dioxide to trap the warm air in her atmosphere. But that layer is now so thick it is like a blanket cooking the Earth warming it to dangerously high degrees. Our solar panels are trying to thin that blanket of carbon dioxide by providing some clean energy.

6 6 Another way to put it is we are using the solar panels so that we leave less of a permanent footprint on Earth. So from this city on the hill we proclaim, Here is a way to reverence God s gifts of Sun and Earth. Here is a way to give glory to God! What a difference between this celebration and the violence to Earth represented by the our gas-guzzling cars, the plastic bottles we toss aside, the poisons we pour into the water and the air, by our careless demand for cheap stuff! Yes, this little city on the hill today is a lamp shining in a lampstand. All who live in the house oikos in Greek the root of the word ecology! All who live in the household of this ecosystem can receive the light and give glory to God! Jesus says to each of us today, You are the light of the world. Not you will be, or if you do this you might become but you ARE the light of the world. Light cannot help but shine. Yet shadows can and do obscure the light Around us and even among us clouds of carelessness, waste, and consumeristic greed threaten our shining. Let s put these threats where they belong! The solar panels on the roof transform the words of Sun,

7 7 the energy of Sun, into a form that we can use to live peacefully on earth. Like those solar panels we transform the generosity and energy of God into forms usable for others and the light shines on brilliantly for all to see!! For all to experience!! Truly, Good News from the city on the hill. Truly, a cause for celebration!