Many years later, I discovered the work of Matthew Fox, Brian Swimme, Thomas Berry, and Sally McFague. Like Teilhard, these writers are eclectic in the perspectives they bring to the study of creation as a basic text, a primal scripture, which illuminates the mystery of life and the mystery of God. While each of these writers deserves a paper in their own right, I will simply state here some of the broad strokes of understanding I have received from them.

Our universe is some thirteen billion years old. Of that unfathomable duration of time, humans have been on the planet for about 70,000 years, which means that about 98% of evolutionary “time” unfolded without any assistance – or any interference – from us humans. The expanding cosmos, from within its own creative potential, produced the first and second-generation stars, the galaxies, the planets. On this garden-planet earth, it distilled gases and chemicals, produced the single celled bacteria, the plants and animals. Finally, late in the cosmic day, humans emerged from the processes of earth.

Given this swoop of time and space, the theological, ecclesiological and missiological reflections of human beings seem like today’s breaking news. In “earth time” the several formal religions and philosophical systems we know of have existed for about 4,500 years. However, the weight of their reiterated norms, and the resistances to those norms, have brought human consciousness and planet earth to our present situation in these first years of the 21st century. It is a situation of unprecedented ecological devastation, and enormous human suffering.

Earth is a unique “garden planet” that constitutes the common home of all earth creatures. All life on earth will flourish or diminish together. While planet earth may survive ecological devastation, humans will not. And if humans do survive on a much-damaged planet, it could be argued that it is not possible to have healthy persons on a sick planet. Whether we like it or not, whether we know it or not, we are fundamentally related to this planet and its many life-forms. In our day, theology has to be concerned with this elegant, intelligent, complex and chaotic universe. We need to learn from it, and to care for it. Without the diversity and beauty of our planet home, we lose the incredible context within which our soulfulness and our religious imagination are born, nurtured and supported. It is on this planet that Jesus became incarnate, and any faith community that gathers in his name, needs to cherish earth and cherish embodiment as Jesus did.”

-Veronica Dunne rndm