The Earth Cries Out: Maundy Thursday
By Gary Garrett
Today, we enter Maundy Thursday with a reflection on care for God’s Creation. The theme of our Lenten devotional 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.
1 Corinthians 11:23-26:23
For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, 24 and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me.”25 In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.” 26 For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.
Meditation:
Young parents, early thirties. Three young sons, ages 8,6, and 3. One nicely planned hike up Mt. LeConte in the Smoky Mountains in early spring, mid 1980s. In fact, Easter week. And off they went, exploring the beauty of God’s creation, planning for night-time stars ablaze, cool spring skies and plenty of hike through the luscious forest. Except. Ten minutes in, the soft spring drizzle turns to a rather serious rain. Already they had shimmied over a log spanning a by-now roaring creek; rain gear out and on. Determined to make this happen.
So up they went. Higher, deeper into the forest and, for those who have made the same trip, farther away from transportation out and closer to the home hearth that is Mt. LeConte, where the food and supplies are brought in by llama or mule. Higher and higher. A little stoic family understanding began to be born. The youngest son, hoisted onto dad’s gerrypack, began to complain of cold and the almost freezing rain that was now coming down at a more steady pace. The middle son asking of the mom, ‘what is dad trying to do to us?’ and finally, the decision to skip lunch, and snacks, and water breaks, and make a bee line for the top. Mom and oldest son continue the trudge which has now turned to snow; creeks and low areas now with ice-water running down them. Dad, youngest son on his back, and middle son take to the trail in almost a sprint. Fast forward. Strangers, sitting inside the lodge, by the fire, holding the young boy close, trying to renew his body temperature and his spirits. The kind of community we envision when thinking of Jesus and the last supper: breaking the bread, drinking from the cup, all connected, all restored to one another, the God of creation filled each with the beauty, majesty, yet the reality of that creation and the awe it deserves. Micah exhorts us, as Christ reminds us through the bread and the wine, to Do Justice, Love Kindness and walk humbly with the Lord.
We can take a cue from Bob Dylan’s tribute in his “Last Thoughts on Woody Guthrie”, the epic, rambling poem closes with the following:
…You can either go to the church of your choice,
or you can go to Brooklyn State Hospital
You’ll find God in the church of your choice
You’ll find Woody Guthrie in Brooklyn State Hospital.
And though it’s only my opinion
I may be right or wrong
You’ll find them both
In the Grand Canyon
At Sundown.
Source: https://genius.com/Bob-dylan-last-thoughts-on-woody-guthrie-annotated
Today, may we embrace the awesome, awe-inspiring God who gives us creation and an intimate relationship with Christ as we partake of the bread and cup.
Reflection Questions:
How do we continue the presence of Christ in the world- in caring for God’s creation and acting upon that care- as a response to the communion table?
How, then, do we live, knowing of the love of Christ for all creation, all peoples, all things created? How do we move from Creation Chaos to Creation Care?
Midnight Oil, Aussie rock band, asks, “How do you sleep while the beds are burning?”, a question we might pose each time we take of the communion elements. What acts of remembrance of the communion table do we take actively into the world?
How can we celebrate Communion together, as a worldwide community, and fail to recognize the anguish and separation of climate injustice? We share tonight; on worldwide communion Sunday; on every occasion of communion; and yet we miss in the moment the opportunity to be in solidarity with those for whom creation lies askance.
Prayer: (from St. Augustine)
“Some people, in order to discover God, read books. But there is a great book- the very appearance of created things. Look above you, look below you, note it, read it, God, whom you want to discover, never wrote the book with ink. Instead God set before your eyes the things that God made. Can you ask for a louder voice than that?” On this sacred Maundy Thursday, fill us with the hope of Christ through the bread and the wine; make us one with you and with one another; and send us into our daily lives with a renewed sense of our ability to be a part of God's creation.
About the Author: Gary Garrett is a member of the GIPL Board and is committed to environmental care. He has served on boards of the Wylde Center, Creation Care teams at Decatur First UMC and Kirkwood UCC, the Decatur Environmental Sustainability Board and United Way campaigns in DeKalb County and Chattanooga, TN. He and wife Patti have three sons, eight grandchildren, living in Washington, DC; Asheville; and Nicaragua. His professional career has been in Integrated Resource Planning at TVA and Oglethorpe Power, and as energy policy advisor at the Southern States Energy Board. He has BS and MSEE degrees from U. Texas-Arlington and MS Urban Policy Studies from Georgia State. An ardent supporter of Atlanta United soccer, he also enjoys biking, hiking, travel and rock music.