"Creation flavored" thoughts on the lectionary texts
Date: Sept 11, 2011
(note corresponding EarthWords from 3 years ago archived on the website)
Text: Exodus 15.1b-11, 20-21
Thoughts
"The horse and his rider (God) has thrown into the sea..."
"Pharaoh's chariots and host are cast into the sea, his picked officers sunk into the sea..."
"The floods cover them, they went down into the depths like a stone..."
You get the idea! And undoubtedly the folks in the aftermath of Irene and Katia and Lee are getting the idea as
well. And the folks on the coastlands will get the idea as sea levels start to rise. Mark Hertsgaard in Hot,
Living Through the Next 50 Years on Earth, says The Netherlands has done about the best job of preparing to meet the
rising sea.
And what about vs7b - "Thou sendest forth thy fury, it consumes them like stubble". Sounds like a wildfire
(in the middle of the sea?) to me. Sounds like what's going on in Texas.
These seas backed up and then returned "at the blast of God's nostrils!" vs8, vs10. The seas today are rising as
a result of what humans are doing with the air. We were kayaking on Isle Royale at the head of a long, narrow bay, and
with the wind or the wave action the water rose and fell a good 6 or 8 inches each couple of minutes. It was kind of
fun. But on a worldwide scale, that would be something else.
Text: Exodus 14.19-31
Thoughts
The sea became dry ground, temporarily. As Earth warms, some of our lakes, streams, shipping lanes are in danger
of becoming shallow or even dry ground permanently - at least in the human understanding of "permanent".
Horses - now that would be a way to get around and get work done when the oil and gas run down. I think I'd rather
do electric vehicles myself, but I'd be glad to be neighbors with folks who had horses.
"The people believed" - they were no longer "God deniers"! (Well, you know the story, it didn't take them long...)
What would it take to change the minds of climate deniers? Will this summer do it, or will they just think "historical
aberration"? How many summers will it take?
Text: Matthew 18.21-35
Thoughts
"How many times" - shall the fossil fuel companies obstruct attempts at establishing small scale solar and wind energy
(distributed generation
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Distributed_generation) before we get fed up and do something? (Well, ok, some folks are demonstrating in front of the White House, getting
hauled off and arrested! Maybe I should say "until I do something".)
"When his fellow servants saw (what the forgiven but unforgiving servant had done)..." Just like in this story,
my sense is that it's up to you and me, the people, to do something about climate change and Creation Restoration. Frankly,
governments and big corporations seem too busy making money, too tied up in party politics, to get much done. At least
that's my take on it. Bill McKibben talks about small, local projects. Again, distributed generation! I
think that's the answer. That is at the same time depressing/discouraging and challenging/inspiring! If we don't
do it, no one else will.
Prayer
God of wind and water and fire,
God of horses and host,
thank you for the green of grass and leaf,
thank you for the blue of sky and vast ocean,
thank you for the red and yellow and orange of ripening tomatoes racing autumn leaves.
Teach us to think small,
teach us to see locally available energy sources,
nudge us to act on our beliefs
that Creation might flourish around us.
One Thing to Do This Week
Look at this year's garden with thanksgiving (frost warnings here the past couple of nights). Think about
next year's with anticipation and dedication.
