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Prayers for Creation

9th June 2023

The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of her hands. Psalm 19:1

You Lord, are the source of all good things: 

We praise you.

You call us to tend and care for your creation: 

May we strive to do your will.

You have made us as brothers and sisters with all that lives: 

May we live together in peace.

A reading from  Psalm 119: 4-6, 18-19,27: 

You, O Lord, have charged that we should diligently keep your commandments. 

O that my ways were made so direct that I might keep your statutes.

Then should I not be put to shame, because I have regard for all your commandments.

Open my eyes, that I may see the wonders of your law.

I am a stranger upon earth; hide not your commandments from me.

Make me understand the way of your commandments, and so shall I meditate on your wondrous works. 

If  the idea of obeying commandments sounds too authoritarian, too black and white, think of God’s commandments as the instruction manual for the world, the user’s guide, best practices for living – or even as an expanded set of the rules of nature.

A further reading from Isaiah 55: 6-9:

As the rain and the snow come down from above, and return not again but water the earth,

‘Bringing forth life and giving growth, seed for sowing and bread to eat,

‘So is my word that goes forth from my mouth; it will not return to me fruitless,

‘But it will accomplish that which I purpose, and succeed in the task I gave it.’ 

For the sun and moon 

that mete out the seasons,

and measure out the days and weeks:

We thank you, Sovereign Creator.

For chlorophyll and photosynthesis, 

for leaves and phytoplankton,

that turn sunlight into energy: 

We thank you, Sovereign Creator.

For H2O in all its forms,

for evaporation and precipitation that waters the earth 

and quickens life.

We thank you, Sovereign Creator.

For the air we breathe, 

a fluctuating mix of gases 

whose balance must be conserved for life to bloom:

We thank you, Sovereign Creator.

For rocks and mountains,  

erosion and sedimentation, 

that lays out a rich blanket of soil: 

We thank you, Sovereign Creator.

For DNA building blocks 

that see life adapt and evolve, 

reminders of our network of kinship:

We thank you, Sovereign Creator.

For flora and fauna that twist and twine, 

building habitats and 

grounding ecosystems:

We thank you, Sovereign Creator.

As ‘Johnny-come-lately’ to this world,

Holy One, grant us the humility to learn from what is already here, 

to look with awe and wonder at what is happily established, 

to treat with respect ecosystems built up over millennia, 

to study and understand the laws of nature, 

to observe and respond to the natural cycles that maintain life,

to cooperate with others 

and with sensitivity to share this space where all can be at home.

Amen.

The Grace 

Counting on … day 1.137

11th June 2023

Now and then something will make us stop and marvel.

On the window sill in the spare room we have a growing number of cacti, all the offspring of a large cactus that belonged to my grandmother.
As I walked past the door a waft of strongly perfumed scent alerted me that they were blooming. The larger ones may produce one or two blooms a year. They are short lived flowers but make up for that by their vibrancy of the pink petal, their elongated neck, and their overwhelming perfume.

Proper 5 (1st Sunday after Trinity)

11th June 2023

Reflection (readings are below)

God tells Abraham that though him all nations will be blessed. What an amazing prophecy! And would it not be wonderful if through human actions and behaviour – through living righteously – all nations were be blessed? Is this what God is saying? If all Abraham’s descendants are equally righteous in their way of life, then truly all nations will be blessed – and to enact that prophesy we too need to live lives of righteousness!

Psalm 33 highlights for us some of the features of righteousness – ie rejoicing, honouring God,  seeking justice, and regarding God’s creation with awe and wonder. 

Can you legislate for righteousness? Laws can be useful for defining right and wrong, for setting limits – but laws can be inflexible and constraining, and they can be manipulated or misused. Currently there are a number of climate activists who have been found guilty of breaking the law not because their actions were felt to be disproportionate to the dangers they were protesting about, but because their motivation was not discussed. The judge had ruled that they would not be allowed to speak about the climate crisis even though that was the reason that they had undertaken the protest. The defendants were in effect prohibited from speaking the ‘whole truth’.  The jury were not allowed to hear the full facts of case nor were they allowed to determine whether or not the defendants’ actions were justifiable. 

Righteousness is a different kettle of fish. Righteousness – what is right and good – is responsive to the circumstances, is flexible and adaptive, is un-constrained, is life enhancing.

Today’s gospel tells of Jesus calling Matthew to ‘follow me!’. Perhaps initially it was a literal call – follow me to the place where we are going to dine  together. Ultimately it was a call to be righteous, a call to follow the lifestyle, the example, of Jesus. 

Jesus demonstrated in his life his willingness to be disruptive of social norms and traditional expectations. He would eat with sinners, with outcasts, with those who were disrespected, because God’s love is for everyone and  therefore God’s call is that we love everyone. If the social norm is not loving, is not caring of others, then disruptive action is the right response.

We are called by God to follow Jesus, to love our neighbour – whoever or whatever they are – without compromise. And if that means disrupting social niceties,  then that is what we are called to do. It is by being righteous, rather than simply law abiding, that we will be a blessing for all nations.

Genesis 12:1-9

Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”

So Abram went, as the Lord had told him; and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran. Abram took his wife Sarai and his brother’s son Lot, and all the possessions that they had gathered, and the persons whom they had acquired in Haran; and they set forth to go to the land of Canaan. When they had come to the land of Canaan, Abram passed through the land to the place at Shechem, to the oak of Moreh. At that time the Canaanites were in the land. Then the Lord appeared to Abram, and said, “To your offspring I will give this land.” So he built there an altar to the Lord, who had appeared to him. From there he moved on to the hill country on the east of Bethel, and pitched his tent, with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east; and there he built an altar to the Lord and invoked the name of the Lord. And Abram journeyed on by stages toward the Negeb.

Psalm 33:1-12

1 Rejoice in the Lord, you righteous; *
it is good for the just to sing praises.

2 Praise the Lord with the harp; *
play to him upon the psaltery and lyre.

3 Sing for him a new song; *
sound a fanfare with all your skill upon the trumpet.

4 For the word of the Lord is right, *
and all his works are sure.

5 He loves righteousness and justice; *
the loving-kindness of the Lord fills the whole earth.

6 By the word of the Lord were the heavens made, *
by the breath of his mouth all the heavenly hosts.

7 He gathers up the waters of the ocean as in a water-skin *
and stores up the depths of the sea.

8 Let all the earth fear the Lord; *
let all who dwell in the world stand in awe of him.

9 For he spoke, and it came to pass; *
he commanded, and it stood fast.

10 The Lord brings the will of the nations to naught; *
he thwarts the designs of the peoples.

11 But the Lord’s will stands fast for ever, *
and the designs of his heart from age to age.

12 Happy is the nation whose God is the Lord! *
happy the people he has chosen to be his own!

Romans 4:13-25

The promise that he would inherit the world did not come to Abraham or to his descendants through the law but through the righteousness of faith. If it is the adherents of the law who are to be the heirs, faith is null and the promise is void. For the law brings wrath; but where there is no law, neither is there violation.

For this reason it depends on faith, in order that the promise may rest on grace and be guaranteed to all his descendants, not only to the adherents of the law but also to those who share the faith of Abraham (for he is the father of all of us, as it is written, “I have made you the father of many nations”) —in the presence of the God in whom he believed, who gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things that do not exist. Hoping against hope, he believed that he would become “the father of many nations,” according to what was said, “So numerous shall your descendants be.” He did not weaken in faith when he considered his own body, which was already as good as dead (for he was about a hundred years old), or when he considered the barrenness of Sarah’s womb. No distrust made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, being fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised. Therefore his faith “was reckoned to him as righteousness.” Now the words, “it was reckoned to him,” were written not for his sake alone, but for ours also. It will be reckoned to us who believe in him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead, who was handed over to death for our trespasses and was raised for our justification.

Matthew 9:9-13, 18-26

As Jesus was walking along, he saw a man called Matthew sitting at the tax booth; and he said to him, “Follow me.”

And he got up and followed him. And as he sat at dinner in the house, many tax collectors and sinners came and were sitting with him and his disciples. When the Pharisees saw this, they said to his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?” But when he heard this, he said, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. Go and learn what this means, ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have come to call not the righteous but sinners.”

While he was saying these things to them, suddenly a leader of the synagogue came in and knelt before him, saying, “My daughter has just died; but come and lay your hand on her, and she will live.” And Jesus got up and followed him, with his disciples. Then suddenly a woman who had been suffering from haemorrhages for twelve years came up behind him and touched the fringe of his cloak, for she said to herself, “If I only touch his cloak, I will be made well.” Jesus turned, and seeing her he said, “Take heart, daughter; your faith has made you well.” And instantly the woman was made well. When Jesus came to the leader’s house and saw the flute players and the crowd making a commotion, he said, “Go away; for the girl is not dead but sleeping.” And they laughed at him. But when the crowd had been put outside, he went in and took her by the hand, and the girl got up. And the report of this spread throughout that district.

Counting on … day 1.136

10th June 2023

Carry a keep-cup or re-usable coffee (or tea) cup and guard against the waste of single use cups. Whilst many cafes do serve their drinks in reusable, ceramic cups or glasses, others offs single use cups instead. 

A typical single use cup requires 0.58 litres of water to produce and has a carbon footprint equivalent to up to 60.9 grammes of carbon dioxide ( https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/apr/26/why-britains-25-billion-paper-coffee-cups-are-an-eco-disaster) and as few as 1 in 400 are actually recycled with most ending up,in landfill sites. 

NB cups etc labelled as ‘compostable’ will not rot down in a garden compost bin – they need to be recycled via an industrial  composting site. 

Items labelled as biodegradable will break down but the process may take years and may leave a residue of harmful chemicals. (https://www.biffa.co.uk/biffablog/2021/january/recyclable-compostable-and-biodegradable-what-do-these-mean-for-our-planet)

Counting on … day 1.135

9th June 2023

Next Friday, 16th June, is World Refill Day – ‘a global day of action to prevent plastic pollution and help people live with less waste. Together with our partners and supporters around the world, we’re building a global movement, inspiring action and demonstrating that the world is ready for a refill and reuse revolution.’

There are simple ways we can all get involved.

Use a refillable water bottle. The trick is to remember to take it with you!

Why pay for water? Tap water in the UK is safe to drink and largely free – there are water refill points at all mainline railway stations, there are refill points in the streets provided by local authorities (eg Bath, London), and most cafes will happily refill your bottle.
Why pay for a plastic bottle that will be used once and may not be recycled? (About 40% of these bottles are not recycled).

Counting on … day 1.134

8th June 2023

How well is the United Kingdom doing vis a vis climate action? 

The Climate Action Tracker prepares reports on just this thing, nation by nation. With reference to the UK their report (in summary) says: “The UK’s climate action is not consistent with the Paris Agreement. While the UK’s NDC and long-term targets are broadly aligned with cost-effective domestic pathways, they do not represent a fair share of the global effort to address climate change. The UK’s current approach is therefore incompatible with the principles of equity and common but differentiated responsibilities which are central to the Paris Agreement.

“In addition, while the UK government has adopted many new policies in the past two years, critical policy gaps remain in a range of areas such as energy efficiency in buildings, heat pump uptake and agricultural decarbonisation. Without increasing the ambition of the UK’s domestic climate targets, implementing policy to achieve these goals, and providing sufficient climate finance to support emissions reductions in less wealthy countries, the UK cannot be seen as compliant with the Paris Agreement. At the moment, under 40% of the emissions reductions required to meet the UK’s NDC are supported by policies with proven delivery mechanisms and sufficient funding.”

To read more see – https://climateactiontracker.org/countries/uk/ 

Counting on … day 1.133

7th June 2023

A paper published in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B, Invertebrate Biodiversity Continues to Decline in Cropland, reported that insect numbers are still in decline. In particular this is most noticeable in areas of arable farming where pesticides are still widely used.
Is this a reminder to us of the importance of opting for organic produce where we have the choice, as well as campaigning for stricter controls on the use of pesticides.

Counting on … day 1.132

6th June 2023

Savoury drop scones

Mix 2 tablespoons of yellow pea flour and one of flour with enough oat milk to make a thick batter. Add 1/2 teaspoon of baking powder and flavour with black pepper and yeast flakes.

Wilt some spinach leaves or similar. Stir these into the batter.

Heat some oil in a frying pan and cook the drop scones – a tablespoon of the mixture per scone/ mini pancake. Flip when first side is cooked.

This quantity serves 2.

Counting on … day 1.131

5th June 2023

World Environment Day.
The UK is one of the most nature-depleted places in the world. Many plant and animal species are in decline and threatened with extinction. Not only is that a real loss in its own right, it is also a threat to our food and climate security systems. The campaign group Zero Hour is therefore petitioning the Prime Minister to halt and reverse nature loss by 2030, asking for government support for the Climate & Ecology Bill.

As part of this campaign, Zero Hour is inviting people to get crafty and to make an origami model of an endangered species which they can send to their MP.

For further details visit https://www.zerohour.uk/origamiaction/

and here are two nightingales I had a go at making!

Trinity Sunday 

4th June 2023

Reflection (readings below)

Young babies in the early months do not realise that they and their mother are separate beings. Obviously in time they come to realise that their mother is not simply an extension of their body, but that they are each separate beings.

Many mums and dads may expect their role as parents to be time-limited. As their child passes the ages of, say 16 -or 18 or 21 – they realise that being a parent is for life. They will never not be mums and dads!

In fact, as John Donne wrote, ‘No man [no person] is an island’. We are all interdependent beings relying on each other for love, protection, nourishment, purpose, identity etc. The interdependency and interconnectedness of human relationships should not surprise us on this Trinity Sunday. Today is the day when we reflect in particular on the nature of God that has been revealed to us: the one in three and three in one. The one who is both God and Father – a word which we would now understand to include  mother or parent. The one who is both God and Son, who is both human and divine. The one who is both God and Spirit, who was hovering over the waters of creation and is the gift that came at Pentecost. The trinitarian God is the God of relationships, of co-creating, of co-working, of co-inherence (meaning the participation of the three persons in one God).

We see in the Trinity the ideal that we should be showing in our human relationships. Sadly we don’t always manage to create and maintain fair relationships between one another. Our interrelationships are marred by injustice and the abuse of power. We have frequently and repeatedly failed to follow the way of Jesus – of love and compassion, of truthfulness and justice, of healing and restoration. Yet that is our vocation and it is a way of living that we are called to share with the whole world.

The passage from Isaiah reminds us that God is not just the creator of we humans, but of the entirety of the earth. And again it should therefore not surprise us that just as we are interdependent on our fellow humans, so following God’s model of being, we are share an interdependent and interconnected relationship with the rest of creation. 

We are beginning to understand that without a sizeable population of pollinating creatures – insects, birds, beetles – many of the food crops we depend upon will not survive. We are beginning to understand that without a healthy population of worms, beetles, and subterranean fungi, the fertility of the soil will diminish and with it, our harvests. We are beginning to understand that without large and biodiverse woods and forests, the carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere will rise and exacerbate rising temperatures that lead to fatally adverse weather patterns. 

I say ‘beginning to understand’ for just as we have failed in so many of our human relationships, so we have failed in so many of our relationships with creation as witnessed by the climate and ecological crises. We need to learn how to live in active cooperation and harmony with all of creation. We need to observe and learn of the interconnected relationships that exist between all parts of the ecosystems we share. We need to learn where we fit in – how we can actually benefit from being part of these interdependent systems. We need to appreciate that just as in the Trinity we see a pattern for how we should live our lives, so in the Trinity we can see the pattern for how all of creation thrives together.

May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with us all. Amen.

Isaiah 40:12 -17, 27 – end

Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand
    and marked off the heavens with a span,
enclosed the dust of the earth in a measure,
    and weighed the mountains in scales
    and the hills in a balance?

Who has directed the spirit of the Lord,
    or as his counsellor has instructed him?

Whom did he consult for his enlightenment,
    and who taught him the path of justice?
Who taught him knowledge,
    and showed him the way of understanding?

Even the nations are like a drop from a bucket,
    and are accounted as dust on the scales;
    see, he takes up the isles like fine dust.

Lebanon would not provide fuel enough,
    nor are its animals enough for a burnt-offering.

All the nations are as nothing before him;
    they are accounted by him as less than nothing and emptiness. 

Why do you say, O Jacob,
    and speak, O Israel,
‘My way is hidden from the Lord,
    and my right is disregarded by my God’?

Have you not known? Have you not heard?
The Lord is the everlasting God,
    the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He does not faint or grow weary;
    his understanding is unsearchable.

He gives power to the faint,
    and strengthens the powerless.

Even youths will faint and be weary,
    and the young will fall exhausted;

but those who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength,
    they shall mount up with wings like eagles,
they shall run and not be weary,
    they shall walk and not faint.

Psalm 8

O Lord, our Sovereign,
    how majestic is your name in all the earth!

You have set your glory above the heavens.

Out of the mouths of babes and infants
you have founded a bulwark because of your foes,
    to silence the enemy and the avenger.

When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers,
    the moon and the stars that you have established;

what are human beings that you are mindful of them,
    mortals that you care for them?

Yet you have made them a little lower than God,
    and crowned them with glory and honour.

You have given them dominion over the works of your hands;
    you have put all things under their feet,

all sheep and oxen,
    and also the beasts of the field,

the birds of the air, and the fish of the sea,
    whatever passes along the paths of the seas.

O Lord, our Sovereign,
    how majestic is your name in all the earth!

2 Corinthians 13:11-13

Finally, brothers and sisters, farewell. Put things in order, listen to my appeal, agree with one another, live in peace; and the God of love and peace will be with you. Greet one another with a holy kiss. All the saints greet you.

The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with all of you.

Matthew 28:16-20

The eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”