An Earth Day Meditation: April 22, 2012
On Earth Day in the midst of Eastertide, we continue to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ and what this great good news means for the entirety of creation. As resurrection people, we seek to follow Christ’s example of sharing the good news of hope and salvation throughout the world, and of caring for all of God’s good creation.
We hear the groan of the earth as global climate change fundamentally alters our planet’s environment and weather systems. We hear the earth’s cry as our insatiable taste for fossil energy poisons the water and air we all depend on. We grieve as more species of animal and plant disappear from the earth because of the decisions we make that fundamentally change their habitats and challenge their survival. As our eating habits have moved farther away from the processes of tilling, planting, and harvesting, so also have our lifestyles become increasingly unsustainable.
We trust that, only with God’s help, we can begin to change the choices we make as individuals and as a society, placing less emphasis on the accumulation of things and unsustainable lifestyles that over-burden our created environment.
We praise God that, even in the midst of these grave concerns, God never lets us go. We know from Pentecost that God’s Spirit enlivens us for ministry and equips us to care for that which we are responsible. The energy we consume and share equitably with all peoples and creatures is a gift from God. We are called to live it out in the world responsibly and to spread it faithfully, so that God’s creation experiences the care and love appropriate for a resurrection people.
On this Earth Day and beyond, we can work to make our relationships right with God’s creation, to prepare ourselves to receive God’s ongoing movement and guidance in our lives, and to make good choices that responsibly affect the world around us.
May the One who creates, redeems, and sustains all of life bless us in our efforts, on this day and every day.