Throughout today’s readings we hear about wilderness.
First, in Joel, it is a lonely and desolate place, barren and forsaken; a place where fields are devastated, seeds shrivel and the animals groan.
And then again in Romans, in a passage that we often hear at funerals because it speaks to how God’s Spirit helps us in our weakness with “sighs too deep for words.”
And finally in the gospel which tells the story of Jesus’ baptism and how the Spirit drove him into the wilderness.
Scripture speaks of the wilderness often. In Genesis, Abraham journeys in the wilderness and in Exodus it is the Israelites who wander in wilderness for 40 years. In other places in the Old Testament, the wilderness refers to the outer edge of what is known to the people; it is the wild or untamed place beyond the towns and settlements. (Numbers, Chronicles, Judges) The prophet Isaiah promises that, when God’s spirit is poured out, the wilderness will become a fruitful field. (Isa. 32:15)
In all three of today’s readings, the wilderness is a place of physical
and spiritual challenge. And yet, in Joel we are told that it is the wilderness
that the prophet calls upon the Lord; in Romans, we are told the Spirit helps
us in desolation; and Mark says that the angels waited on Jesus in the
wilderness.
Returning to Romans, where Paul is writing about the hope found in being children of God, we are reminded that the hope found in Jesus isn’t just about “me and Jesus”. It is a hope for the entire earth and creation, a hope of restoration and new life that goes beyond our human community and includes all creation.
Today and throughout September we at Grace we are joining with other congregations and denominations across the (capital-C) Church in celebrating the work of God the Creator as part of the annual season of creation.
The season invites us to reflect not only on the God we know in Jesus and in the Holy Spirit, but also the God who created the heavens and the earth (Genesis 1:1) and all the living creatures of every kind that are in it (Genesis 1:24).
When we promise at baptism to “care for others and the world God made and work for justice and peace” we are not only promising to care for our human siblings, as important as that is. We are promising to care for the whole world.
In addition to planning a walk at Bullington Gardens later this month, a blessing of the animals on October 1, and sharing educational information in the reception area, Grace’s justice and advocacy ministry has created a calendar for the whole month with creation themes for each week. You can find this resource in the weekly e-news with clickable links to learn more about the different topics, and we have paper copies also. The hope is that as you engage in your own devotion practices this month that these prompts will deepen your own understanding of how caring for creation is one aspect of our faith in action.
Before I was a pastor, twenty years ago, I worked for the Appalachian
Trail Conservancy, a nonprofit that works with volunteers to preserve and
maintain the Appalachian Trail. The longest and skinniest national park, its
mileage changes because the route moves to protect against erosion and other detriments,
but at that time, it was 2,173 miles of trail from Springer Mountain in north Georgia
to Mt. Katahdin in Maine. The idea for the trail came from a forester named
Benton MacKaye more than one hundred years ago. He was appreciative of the
great national parks in the west but believed that we who live in the east
needed a refuge from civilization, which was becoming too mechanized and
pervasive. MacKaye said:
…we need this thing wilderness far more than it needs us. Civilizations (like glaciers) come and go, but the mountain and its forest continue the course of creation's destiny.
Paul describes creation’s destiny in these verses we have today from his letter to the Romans. The imagery Paul employs is first that “creation waits with eager longing” (8:19) for the redemption and hope that God promises. He then says that “creation itself will be set free from its bondage” (8:21). While we often describe bondage to sin as a human condition, its consequences are not only limited to human communities. Paul continues, saying that “the whole creation has been groaning in labor pains”(8:22), waiting for the hope that we have been promised.
As I reflected on Paul’s words, I also heard the encouraging report this week that at its roots, the one hundred- and fifty-year-old banyan tree in Lahaina on Maui has signs of new life after suffering the devastating wildfire there. And I was reminded that in every wilderness story we have in Scripture, God is present and active. There is no place beyond God’s reach or God’s love, and as God’s people, we have the privilege to be invited into life together. We are uniquely equipped to be God’s hands and feet in the world and take action to care for the earth and its creatures.
Let us pray…
Good and gracious God,
Thank you for your abundant love and care for us,
and for giving us this earth and its creatures to care for.
Show us where our actions harm our neighbors and deliver us from our
bondage to sin and self-centeredness.
Help us make our community and world a place where everyone is welcome
and where we acknowledge your grace at work in the ways of one another.
We pray in your Holy Name.
Amen.
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