Not As the World Gives: Plastic on the River

A Sermon by Andrew Colman based on John 10:22-30

I saw a short video documentary piece this week about how a group of scientists had come up with an idea for cleaning up plastic in the water—in parts of the world where there is no waste management, landfills, or recycling plants. Green processing sites, that kind of thing. Places where garbage is just put in a river because it’s got to go somewhere other than where you live.

The long and short of it is this: they go to the most polluted part of the river, use a ship that scrapes the layer of plastic off the top of the water, and then take it to a recycling plant that they retrofit into an old building. There, they sort, bale, and sell the bales of plastic to processing plants. Not only does the river start to get cleaned up, but the community gains new job opportunities and sources of income.

The local scientist of this clean-up project had spent his childhood on the beaches of that river. He knew it long before it had the plastic problem it has now. He knew and fell in love with these beaches as God created them. And now, it is his calling to be part of the work to bring them back to their original glory.

As I was reading this week's Gospel and thinking about the different kinds of peace Jesus spoke of, this amazing project came rushing back. Jesus said, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives.”

This project contains within it both kinds of peace:

The peace that comes from embodying Jesus’ new commandment—“Love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another.”

And the peace the world gives—which always has a fleeting nature to it.

We find the peace of the world here, because even though it is a brilliant project doing fantastic work—cleaning up ecosystems and developing new and sustainable models—it still depends on fragile systems and human will.

That’s not to take away from the beautiful work it is doing. But it’s a reminder that vulnerability and fragility are built into basically all of our systems. But then there is the other side to this peace—the one that comes from love. And in this case, love was being poured out on groaning rivers and streams.

Instead of despairing at polluted, corrupted creation—all the literal garbage that covers up the beauty of God’s creation—these scientists are working to peel back the layers of corruption to find again the handiwork of God.

Whether or not they name it this way, what they are doing is a kind of discipleship. It is loving as Jesus showed us when he washed his disciples’ feet—

Love poured out not just on people but on creation itself.

It's the belief that even when things look ruined, the goodness of God’s creation is still there. That is the work of the Gospel.

And that’s the kind of love Jesus invites us into when he says, “Those who love me will keep my commandments.”

But here’s the thing: the first step is to love Jesus—not to keep his commandments.

The commandments come after the love. They follow love—not the other way around. And we all have different ways of falling in love with God. Maybe it’s through the Psalms, or in quiet prayer. Maybe it’s at the Communion table.

Maybe it’s by looking at the stars, or hearing birdsong, or hiking into the wild and remembering we are small. Maybe it’s in our families and the way we care for each other.

Maybe it’s through words—through story, through poetry or Scripture. This is the “first book of Revelation” again: the created world pointing us back to the Creator.

But creation isn't the only place we see God's handiwork. The rivers and streams of this world are beautiful—yes.

But so are our neighbors. Every person is made in the image of God. And to love God is also to love the image of God in one another. That’s where Jesus’ commandment leads us:

“Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another.”

And loving God—doing unto others as Jesus has done unto us—means learning to see through the layer of garbage the world puts on everything, to the very thing God created in the beginning and called good.

There’s something here about Jesus washing his disciples’ feet. They had been walking in sandals. Their feet would have been sweaty, dirty—maybe not smelled very nice.

But underneath the sweat and dust were feet blessed by God—feet that carried them through their days, that brought the Good News. Just because their feet were dirty didn’t mean they were not good.

In cleaning them, Jesus wasn’t just offering hospitality—he was preparing them. He was loving them in the most tangible way possible. He was making them ready for what came next.

Jesus says, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.” That’s not a prescription—it’s a description. When we love deeply, we want to draw close, to listen, to care. It’s not a transaction—it’s a relationship.

Think of someone you love. You care about their words, their desires. Their happiness matters to you. It’s not because you’re told to care—it’s because you love.

In the same way, Jesus invites us not into bean counters way of checks and balances, but into a relationship where love becomes the motive for how we live. Like the scientist with the river: his work didn’t start with obligation—it started with love. And love called him into action.

But it’s not just that love leads to following. Following also steels our love. By washing each other’s feet, in all the ways that can happen: By bearing each other’s loads when we can. By showing up when we need each other

We offer help when it’s inconvenient. Or stretch in ways that we never thought we would And in doing so, something in us changes. A littel bit at first but then a little more each time.

We don’t just follow because we love—we grow in love by following. His way slowly re-shapes our hearts.

But of course, Jesus knows that this is all but impossible for us to do on our own. Which is why we hear that “The Advocate, the Holy Spirit, will teach you everything and remind you of all I have said to you.”

This isn’t a life we live alone. The Spirit is our companion and guide. When the projects that were so full of promise and life don’t pan out exactly how we’d hoped, or our capacites deterioriate in ways that we just don’t expect when we’re unsure what the next right thing is—the Spirit is always right be our side - is right within us giving us. And the more that we give the Shepherd of our soul the space to guide our thoughts, words, and deeds the more we find our Love of God and our Neighbour grows.

The scientists didn’t fall in love because they started working. They started working because they were in love—and then the work made them love the river even more.

The video is called “We finally cracked the code on ocean plastic” from Planet Wild and you can find it on Youtube.

There is so much going on in this world from senseless wars, cruelty and starvation on an industrial scale, and just the smell of smoke and haze over the blue sky that it can be hard to see that good things are happening. Love is being poured into the darkness.

I commend that video it to you. It is a story of hope and a beautiful example of what it looks like to Love what we know. A beautiful story of what keeping the commandments of God can look like - Love one another - love creation - and you will, dare I say it, by reflex - Follow the voice of the Good Shepherd - and keep the commandment of God.