Why do we care about climate change?
After all, if we follow Christ,
we will be with Him
for Eternity
in the New Jerusalem.
Surely, we don't have to worry
about patching up
the old Creation
but just sit and wait for the new one
to descend from Heaven
just as St John sees happen.
Of course,
you see the problem with this attitude,
don't you?
[PAUSE]
Jesus is standing,
looking out over Jerusalem
and He weeps.
He weeps for
the coming destruction,
for the razing of the temple
and its reduction to rubble.
He weeps that
Jerusalem has missed Him,
has ignored Him,
has mocked Him,
and will crucify Him.
If He has any confidence
in His own ability
to save,
to create,
to release from slavery,
then surely
He would not need
to weep
over Jerusalem.
Why weep?
[PAUSE]
The fact that Our Lord is weeping
shows that what he is weeping about
is affecting Him deeply.
In His human nature,
He weeps
because that is what
human beings do.
We need understand
why Our Lord is weeping
and this is clear from what He says.
The people refuse to hear Him.
He has come
with salvation,
forgiveness,
redemption
and love
for everyone
- precious, precious gifts -
and nobody
wants it.
What the people want
is their own version
of religion
a version in which
the temple of God
is filled up
with junk,
things that don't matter,
and blocking the way
for people to worship God
in the temple
in the simple honesty
of their worship.
Our Lord is weeping
tears of sheer frustration
tears which need to be seen
so that we can know
that our salvation
is dearer to Our Lord
than it is to us.
The trouble is
that we don't know
just how much we need
what Christ is offering us.
He speaks of
the destruction of Jerusalem
as a result of
rejecting Him.
This destruction
is part of the reason
for His tears.
And He weeps
because this destruction
could be avoided
if people will turn to Him
and live.
He weeps because Jerusalem
has chosen her own
snug, comfortable, social version
of God
rather than the true and eternal Christ.
[PAUSE]
Our Lord cares about us
here and now
and wants us to realise
that rejecting Him
will lead to a complete destruction
but accepting Him
will lead to joy.
He wills us to our perfection
and, in His human nature,
it hurts Him when people
reject what is truly good.
These are Our Lord's tears
for what is lost.
His victory in the cross
is that the way to Salvation
is open to everyone single
human being who has ever lived,
just as the veterans
have won the battle
for our rights to be free.
But if the door to our prison
has been opened
then it's up to us to walk out
rather than choose to sit in darkness.
[PAUSE]
Our Lord's tears are not in vain,
for His Church hears His voice
and clears the temple
to receive Him
through repentance from sin
and repentance to Him.
The New Jerusalem
is filled with those
who prefer to receive Christ
than to face ruin.
Our duty is to keep
the Church clear
from worldly matters
that distort and flatten
the truth from above.
We also have a duty
to look after our world,
not for its sake
nor for our sake
but out of respect
and love
for Almighty God
Who created it.
If Our Lord
can weep over Jerusalem
out of love
and yet knowing
its destruction,
then our planet's climate
should matter to us
even if we seek Heaven
rather than Earth.
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