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MAKING A COAT (MATTHEW 3:1-10)

Making a coat is the theme for our reflection. A coat is an outer garment worn on the upper body and varying in length and style according to fashion and use. One of the basic necessities of life is clothing. From time immemorial human beings have relied on both plants and animal hide or skins for coats or clothing. We are told in Genesis 3:21, “The LORD God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them.” Animal hide or skins are particularly useful in the leather industry. To continue making coats or clothing from animals, we must properly conserve and care for God’s creation as good stewards.

Beloved in the Lord, we are told that “John’s clothes were made of camel’s hair, and he had a leather belt around his waist.” (Matthew 3:4). A camel is a four-legged animal that bears distinctive fatty deposits known as “humps” on its back. Camels have long been domesticated and, as livestock, they provide food, and textiles and serve as means of haulage and transport. Research has shown that Bactrian camels are critically endangered in the wild due to hunting and competition with other livestock for food. There are fewer than 1,000 individuals remaining in their native range in the Gobi Desert in northern China and Mongolia – making them the eighth most endangered large mammal in the world.

Camels and other animals which are beneficial in many ways to human existence or usage are becoming endangered because of poor policies and attitudes towards animal conservation. God has made us beneficiaries and stewards of His creation. We are told Genesis 1:28-30, “God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground. ” 29 Then God said, “I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. 30 And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds in the sky and all the creatures that move along the ground—everything that has the breath of life in it—I give every green plant for food. ” And it was so.” In as much as we depend on animals such as camels for clothing, we must be interested in how they are conserved in the ecosystem together with animals that continue to sustain the human race. Even if we do not directly use camels and other endangered animals, we must be concerned about their conservation and protection.

The Church and for that matter believers are called to lead the stewardship campaign of responsible and sustainable use and care for God’s creation through our homilies, Bible studies and practical interventions such as community engagements and education on the importance of wildlife conservation. In Africa, some animals are extinct or have become critically endangered because of indiscriminate bushfires caused by hunters and farmers and the unsustainable destruction of our forest reserves for mining and timber. We are required to be good stewards in the care of God’s creation so that we can leave a safe, balanced and sustainable ecosystem for the next generation.

PRAYER

Dear God, we are grateful for Your love and care in entrusting us with a creation that provides all our needs. Help us to be good stewards in the conservation and sustenance of Your creation for our mutual benefit. Amen.