"Creation flavored" thoughts on the lectionary texts
Date: November 16, 2008 (Yes, I know - it's almost after
the fact. But watch for next week's EarthWords in just an hour or two!)
Text: Psalm 123 Our eyes look to the Lord
Thoughts
"We have endured the contempt and scorn of those who are at ease and proud." I would expect that as you look at
the world's population, North Americans are about as much "at ease" as anyone, at least with regard to material goods and
"creature comforts". (It could be that others with less are more at ease in their environment!) Hopefully we can
learn to have compassion and not contempt for those living in more difficult settings, and perhaps even begin to adjust our
lifestyles accordingly. Hopefully others can come to experience us as "humble and just".
Flip flopping this one, we have had more than enough of the prideful contempt of those who think Creation is here for
them to use and abuse; and who look with scorn on those who take Global Warming and Climate Change seriously!
Text: Judges 4.1-7 Deborah
Thoughts
The Palm of Deborah - I'd like to have "The White Pine of Charlie", or perhaps "The Cedar...", "The Maple...",
or "The Tamarack...." It would be hard to choose!
Beyond that, the whole book of Judges calls into question the link between people and God and gods
and the land.
And beyond that, war is just an environmental disaster - both from the point of spreading pollutants and
destruction around, and of using up resources that could be better used elsewhere (or even left unused!) One writer
notes that the stories in the book of Judges are all stories of God saving us from ourselves (they all start off with the
people turning away from God). Maybe from that perspective we can look for ways that God is even now trying to save
us from what we are doing to the Creation.
Text: Matthew 25.14-30 Three Servants
and their Master's Money (and "I wish you would have just buried it in the ground!!!")
Thoughts
What are we hiding in the ground - and what is that doing to the ground!
William Herzog suggests a reading from the perspective of an oppressed people, in which the third servant (slave, employee)
who calls the whole economic system unjust is really the hero. Would people who start to reject the idea of "having
any food item you want from any country on earth in any season of the year" be similarly heroes?
What is the economy of heaven based on - dollars? healthy relationships? healthy biosystems? (Hey - I've been reading
Dune - it's spice! I had forgotten that Dune has a certain environmental slant. Or maybe I wasn't
concerned enough to notice when I first read it - 40 years ago?)
Prayer
God of all Creation,
help us see ourselves as one with all Creation -
human and non -
and particularly with those who live more closely to the land,
and are more immediately dependent on it than we are.
Teach us to respect the Creation more than the money we can extract from it. Amen.
One Thing to Do This Week
Let's start thinking about Christmas. How could we simplify this year; how could we have less stuff and more reverence,
more meaning? Check
$100 Holiday by Bill McKibben. Check the revitalized Alternatives at
www.SimpleLiving.org. (This year's version of "Whose Birthday Is It Anyway?" is full of reflections and activities.) Check
www.NewDream.org (free 14 page downloadable booklet). There's got to be one thing in all that you (and I) could do.
