The Earth Cries Out: Ash Wednesday
Today, we begin our Lenten reflections on the care for God’s Creation. The theme of our series is “The Earth Cries Out: reflections, lamentations, and prayers for the injustices to our earth and our communities.”
Each week contains a short reflection, discussion questions, and a prayer. We hope that you can utilize these devotions with your congregation, friends, and family.
Scripture: Isaiah 58:6-12
“Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke 7 Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter when you see the naked, to clothe them, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood 8 Then your light will break forth like the dawn, and your healing will quickly appear; then your righteousness[a] will go before you, and the glory of the Lord will be your rear guard 9 Then you will call, and the Lord will answer; you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I. “If you do away with the yoke of oppression, with the pointing finger and malicious talk, 10 and if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed then your light will rise in the darkness, and your night will become like the noonday. 11 The Lord will guide you always; he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail. 12 Your people will rebuild the ancient ruins and will raise up the age-old foundations; you will be called Repairer of Broken Walls, Restorer of Streets with Dwellings.
Meditation:
Lent is a season of self-examination, contemplation of our relationship with God, and preparation for the celebration of Easter. This season is traditionally marked with fasting, prayer, and self-sacrifice or self-denial.As we enter into the season of Lent today, this passage from Isaiah helps us understand how our spiritual practices might lead us into a deeper devotion to God in the days ahead. Just as Isaiah cautions the Israelites against false righteousness, we too are called to consider practices that serve the interests of others ahead of ourselves. Is this not what I have called you to do? “To loose the chain of injustice…[to] not turn away from your own flesh and blood.” We are called towards a more radical form of devotion - one that transforms broken systems and brings all of Creation deeper into the folds of God’s grace.Ash Wednesday, which marks the first day of Lent, gives the Christian disciple time to pause and remember who we are, where we came from, and where we are called to go. In the Methodist tradition, during the imposition of the ashes, the pastor says, “remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return.” Made from the dust and dirt of the earth, filled with God’s breath of life, we were placed in the garden of Eden and given our first vocation: to care for the Garden. How far we have fallen from that call. We so quickly traded in our hedge clippers and garden trowels for bulldozers and machines until God’s creation has become unrecognizable. We’ve contaminated the ground with our need for expansion, more electricity, quicker and faster food, and our obsession with consumerism and single-use products. It’s not hard to look around us and see how our failure to live responsibility on this earth, to live into the call to be God’s caretakers, has broken our relationship to the earth and to one another.Now we are called back to the garden; to find ourselves hands and knees in the dirt, repenting of the ways we have sinned against the earth and opening ourselves up to the reconciliation with all of Creation that we know is possible through Christ. During this season of self-examination and repentance, Isaiah reminds us that we are not supposed to stand idly by. We are called to do the hard work of mending our relationship with the earth and changing our practices so that we can better care for one another. From the dust and dirt of the earth, God created us. From the dust and dirt and messiness of our world, we too can create something new. As author and theologian Jan Richardson writes, “Did you not know what the Holy One can do with dust?”
Reflection Questions:
How are you being called to “loose the chains of injustice” that have harmed God’s creation?
What spiritual practices will bring you into a deeper devotion to God this season?
How can you engage your faith community in this work of transformative Creation Care?
Prayer:
God of Heaven and Earth,
We repent of the ways we have fallen from our call to care for and nurture the earth you created. We have participated in the degradation of the planet’s natural resources and our complicity has allowed the harm of creatures and communities who depend on the gifts from the earth. Breathe into us new life so that we may create more sustainable practices and systems. Use us this season to repair and transform as we remember who we are and where we came from.
Amen.
About the Author:
Hannah Shultz is the Program Coordinator at Georgia Interfaith Power and Light. She graduated from Candler School of Theology in 2019 with her Master of Divinity. As the Program Coordinator, Hannah brings GIPL programs and workshops to communities of faith across Georgia to inspire faith-based responses to environmental concerns. She works directly with congregations to assist with developing sustainable spaces and practices, launching a Green Team, or taking environmental action in their communities.