For
Sunday, October 22, 2017, 2nd Sunday in the Season of Creation, Readings: Tell the World*, Psalm 104: 1-5, 14-15, 24-27, 31-33;
Job 12:7-10, Matthew 6:25-34
Job 12:7-10, Matthew 6:25-34
In
the Lakota way, everything is connected. In days past you could see it in the
rustling of the leaves or the swift rushing of a waterfall. Now you can see it
in more obvious ways. The worms tunnel below the Earth, searching for food
while at the same time helping the plants collect oxygen through their roots.
This insight is fading from the general population, and because of this we are
no longer taking care of the Earth....In our tradition, you respect everything.
This idea was lost with the European colonization of the Americas and I’m
trying to bring it back. [*Dorian
Sage]
Bless
the Lord, O my soul. O Lord my God you are very great. You are clothed with
honor and majesty, wrapped in light as with a garment...how manifold are your
works, in wisdom you have made them all; the earth is full of your creatures. [Psalm
104:1-2, 24]
But
ask the animals, and they will teach you; the birds of the air...the plants of
the earth...the fish of the sea...Who among all these does not know that the
hand of the Lord has done
this? [Job 12:7-9]
And
can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your span of life? ...Consider
the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toil not spin yet I tell
you, even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these...But
strive first for the kingdom of God and all these things will be given to you
as well. [Matthew 22:27, 28b-29, 33]
Welcome to The Season of Creation, week two. This liturgical season originated
in the Anglican Church of South Africa and was formalized in 2008. It is
designed for us to explore our faith from a Creation perspective. The
overarching theme for 2017 is Environmental
Justice inspired in part by the Youth Principles from the Second National
People of Color Environmental Leadership Summit in Washington, DC in 2002, the text of which and a fuller
explanation of the Season can be found here: http://prayersofthepeople.blogspot.com/2017/10/prayers-of-people-in-beginning-1st.html
We
use Biblical and other readings that pertain to the specific theme of each of
the 7 weeks of the Season. Alternate readings used will follow the
prayers on this page.
Week Two's Theme is: Our Planet Earth
We wake in the
morning and we do whatever it is we do on any given day. Work, school,
vacation, overload on electronics or broadcast, rush to do this or that, catch
the news and gloat or swear, or just shake our heads and move along to the next
appointed activity; repeat. Do many of us ever stop, think, and say to ourselves or to
another, "Wow, can you believe we are just floating around in space on
this planet?" Um, well, no, not really - at least, I'll admit, I haven't thought about it quite that way, until now. Take a breath and a moment and ponder:
C
R E A T I O N, and for this week, specifically Earth. Here's a thought
that I have enjoyed wondering about since reading some information on the late Kenyan Professor
Wangari Maathai, winner of the 2004 Nobel Peace Prize for her work in
sustainable development. She suggested that we all re-read the story of
Creation in Genesis, paying particular attention to the order in
which God created. After all, 'If we had been created on Tuesday,' she
said, 'There would have been nowhere for us to stand! God, with infinite
wisdom, waited until the last day!'
Many of us, especially in western culture, take our planet for
granted. We have much to learn about how to live here from
the many indigenous cultures that inhabit this world with us. There is
much to celebrate yet there is much to bemoan. Today, as we recognize the
God-given bounty of Earth, our hearts are full and heavy. It isn't until
our attention is wrenched from habit and routine, that we are faced with a true
sense of "the real" reality. Untold millions of our fellow
humans, other creatures, and living space that God has made, are suffering
through the unfathomable environmental destruction of their lives through
storms, floods, earthquakes, and fires, not to mention willful neglect of water
systems, air quality, the crumbling infrastructure, wars, and too many other
potential threats to name. There is a continuing stream of exceedingly bad
news, of the dreadful and terrible kind, just about the condition of
our planet that requires our attention, our action, and, our God-ordered
stewardship. Why does this turn of cataclysmic events seem so sudden and
unexpected to so many? Perhaps we've all just left things to others to care and
fix - maybe the government, the scientists, those "environmentalist"
types? And in the midst of all of this, Jesus tells us do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring worries of its own. Today's trouble is enough for today. Where is Alfred E. Neuman when you need him? Apologies if the reference is too obscure. He's a fictitious cartoon/comics character whose tag line is "What, me worry?" And then there's W. Clement Stone [1902-2002], a very successful American businessman, who once said, Thinking will not overcome fear but action will. Fear is definitely a big part of worry. So perhaps it can be said that the proverbial "wake-up" has arrived and it's time to act. Your Mother
called, she wants to know what you’re doing to help.
LET US, GOD’S
PEOPLE, PRAY
Leader: ~ God of Honor and Majesty, deliver us
from distraction and neglectful disrespect that we may again experience wonder
and amazement at the beauty of the birds of the air and the lilies of the
field, the seas, and mountains, and sky. Strengthen our faith, our trust, and our
hope to strive first for Your Kingdom to weaken our worry, and energize our
will to do Your Work in this World.
Creator of Heaven and
Mother Earth
RESPONSE:
Let
Your breath within us create worthy action
~
God
of Honor and Majesty,
grant
us abundant and vigorously convincing words and actions that will enlighten and
animate the leaders of our Planet, our Nation, and our Community, to care for
and protect Your glorious Creation, this fragile Earth, our island home. We pray
especially for: add your own petitions
Creator
of Heaven and Mother Earth
Let Your breath within us create worthy
action
~ God of Honor and Majesty, soothe and heal all
who live in chronic pain, worry, and hopelessness, and rejuvenate those who
give love and care.
We now join our voices to pray aloud for those in need…
Creator
of Heaven and Mother Earth
Let Your breath within us create worthy
action
~
God
of Honor and Majesty,
our hearts are full of love and thanksgiving for all You have called home to glory
and rejoicing in new life through Christ. We pray especially for: add your own petitions
Creator
of Heaven and Mother Earth
Let Your breath within us create worthy
action
~
God of Honor and Majesty, we pause in
this moment to offer You our other heartfelt thanksgivings, intercessions,
petitions, and memorials, aloud or silently…
Creator
of Heaven and Mother Earth
Let Your breath within us create worthy
action
~
God
of Honor and Majesty,
magnify Your presence in and through all who teach us Your Word, hear our
needs, preside at the Eucharist, and whose life work is to walk with us toward
You. We
pray especially for:
Creator
of Heaven and Mother Earth
Let Your breath within us create worthy
action
The Celebrant
adds: O Lord of Creation, fill us again with
conscious awareness of Our Planet, Earth, our many living companions seen and
unseen, the habitats, the resources, and the complex life systems without which
we will all simply cease to exist. Enlighten, animate, and urge us to respect,
repair, and re-connect with the Work of Your Hands. We ask this through our Jesus, our Savior Christ,
and the Holy Spirit, the Energy of our Souls, who together with You, reign as
One God now, always, forever. Amen.
*Reading #1: Tell the World
In the Lakota way, everything is connected. In days
past you could see it in the rustling of the leaves or the swift rushing of a
waterfall. Now you can see it in more obvious ways. The worms tunnel below the
Earth, searching for food while at the same time helping the plants collect
oxygen through their roots. This insight is fading from the general population,
and because of this we are no longer taking care of the Earth. In the past, the
Lakota people would migrate so that the Earth had a time for cleansing. The
area that we lived in would never be forgotten so much that it would die. We relied
on the Earth, but it did not rely on us.
Aspens
are a unique kind of tree because they sprout from the roots of another Aspen,
which is why you often see them growing in groves. If one of these trees gets
sick, the rest of the trees usually get sick too because they rely on the same
food supply. It is much the same with us. If one of our food sources had an
unexpected shortage in production, the majority of human life would be
affected. This is just one of the reasons it’s good to be self-reliant, and to
have your own energy source if possible.
Everything is too connected in the modern world. There is no longer
privacy, and your information is there for everybody to see. If something
happened in the world, like an outbreak of some sort, our food supply could be
cut off, and it could affect our water because we don’t focus on renewable
sources of food and energy.
Human
life is too destructive, and it is ruining the Earth’s natural cycle.
Eventually humans are going to bring about their own downfall, and there will
be nothing there to stop it. This is why I encourage our great people to start
living off the grid, and to start relying on themselves for sustenance. In our
traditional ways, we would always let the Earth replenish itself. We relied
directly on the animals and on the signs from nature for survival.
One
tribe in Africa even relies directly on a certain species of bird to help them
find beehives. The bird helps the tribe so that in return they will give them
part of the honey store that the bee hive holds. The bird will fly in the
direction of the hive, showing the humans where to get it, and then will
whistle when nearby. The bird will then wait on a tree somewhere near until the
people leave a piece of the honeycomb somewhere within the bird’s line of
sight.
If the
idea of these short paragraphs is not yet obvious, what I am trying to get at
is everything is connected, even us. We need to start relying more on ourselves
for our food, and taking better care of the environment which takes such good
care of us. In our tradition, you respect everything. This idea was lost with
the European colonization of the Americas and I’m trying to bring it back.
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