Prayer – Page 4 – The Green Tau

Proper 12

24th July 2022

Reflection (and readings below)

I am still shocked when I hear of climate activists who risk sitting in roads to highlight the emergency, or sit on oil tankers to prevent them moving, or blockade Amazon warehouses because of their casual treatment of workers, or break the glass doors of banks that support the fossil fuel industry, or of news agencies which obscure the truth. I am heart broken when I hear of them being arrested and imprisoned. Yet I see that they are following in the footsteps of the prophets of old, standing up against injustice, speaking truth to authority, and doing so in deeds just as much as in words.

How can we not be shocked by today’s reading from Hosea. What bravery and self abasement did it take for Hosea to go and find and marry a prostitute? And not even a ‘reformed’ prostitute. Read carefully and you will notice that the first child Jezreel is certainly Hosea’s son, but are the next two children? And what of Gomer? Are we not shocked that she should be in such a position that prostitution is a viable and acceptable way of making a living? We wonder what choices she had had in life.

Through this lived narrative, God is pointing out to the people that they have behaved like a prostitute. They have not been faithful to God but have sought out other bodies to satisfy their needs and give them direction, to worship and imitate. They have spurned integrity and uprightness to follow whims and fancies, to chase after the illusions of wealth and happiness. God pulls no punches as to the severity of the consequences of their choices.

Whilst the passage from Hosea tells us of humanity’s inclination to stray away from God and from God’s way, the letter to the Colossians describes human lives rooted deep in God, built up and bound in place by a whole hearted faith in God through Jesus Christ, that allows for no deviation from the ways of God. It is a way of life that makes one fully alive! This sounds so amazing, I puzzle that we find it so difficult to live out in our own lives and to share with others – but I know that we do struggle.

Last Saturday I took part in a Christian Aid event called Talking Climate Justice. During the two plus hours of talk, questions and conversation, we focused on two issues: the climate crisis and climate justice. Both are integral to the Christian calling: the climate crisis because we humans have caused what is damaging the world God created, and climate justice because the effects of the crisis are disproportionately affecting those who contributed least to it, and because the distribution of resources is such that these same people have a disproportionately small share and are – financially – ill equipped to cope with the crisis. As those called to love God with our whole being and to love our neighbour as ourself, we are failing big time. We are like the people Hosea is addressing, whereas we want to be like the people Paul is addressing! How do we achieve the turn around we desire, both for the climate and for our neighbours across the globe?

The gospel gives us the answer: prayer and action. The Lord’s Prayer invites both. We are to hallow God, to declare God’s holiness in prayer. We are to seek God’s kingdom, to live according to that regime. We are to pray everyday for what we need – and be satisfied. We are to both seek forgiveness, and forgive, and make good where we are indebted. We are to ask, to search and to knock. When we knock, let us knock on the doors of businesses and institutions, corporations and governments. Let us keeping on knocking until they listen, until they open their doors to change and restitution. And when people demand change of us, we too must be willing to turn our lives round, binding them to the ways of God.

Hosea 1:2-10

When the Lord first spoke through Hosea, the Lord said to Hosea, “Go, take for yourself a wife of whoredom and have children of whoredom, for the land commits great whoredom by forsaking the Lord.” So he went and took Gomer daughter of Diblaim, and she conceived and bore him a son.

And the Lord said to him, “Name him Jezreel; for in a little while I will punish the house of Jehu for the blood of Jezreel, and I will put an end to the kingdom of the house of Israel. On that day I will break the bow of Israel in the valley of Jezreel.”

She conceived again and bore a daughter. Then the Lord said to him, “Name her Lo-ruhamah, for I will no longer have pity on the house of Israel or forgive them. But I will have pity on the house of Judah, and I will save them by the Lord their God; I will not save them by bow, or by sword, or by war, or by horses, or by horsemen.”

When she had weaned Lo-ruhamah, she conceived and bore a son. Then the Lord said, “Name him Lo-ammi, for you are not my people and I am not your God.”

Yet the number of the people of Israel shall be like the sand of the sea, which can be neither measured nor numbered; and in the place where it was said to them, “You are not my people,” it shall be said to them, “Children of the living God.”

Psalm 85

1 You have been gracious to your land, O Lord, *
you have restored the good fortune of Jacob.

2 You have forgiven the iniquity of your people *
and blotted out all their sins.

3 You have withdrawn all your fury *
and turned yourself from your wrathful indignation.

4 Restore us then, O God our Saviour; *
let your anger depart from us.

5 Will you be displeased with us for ever? *
will you prolong your anger from age to age?

6 Will you not give us life again, *
that your people may rejoice in you?

7 Show us your mercy, O Lord, *
and grant us your salvation.

8 I will listen to what the Lord God is saying, *
for he is speaking peace to his faithful people
and to those who turn their hearts to him.

9 Truly, his salvation is very near to those who fear him, *
that his glory may dwell in our land.

10 Mercy and truth have met together; *
righteousness and peace have kissed each other.

11 Truth shall spring up from the earth, *
and righteousness shall look down from heaven.

12 The Lord will indeed grant prosperity, *
and our land will yield its increase.

13 Righteousness shall go before him, *
and peace shall be a pathway for his feet.

Colossians 2:6-15

As you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, continue to live your lives in him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.

See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the universe, and not according to Christ. For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily, and you have come to fullness in him, who is the head of every ruler and authority. In him also you were circumcised with a spiritual circumcision, by putting off the body of the flesh in the circumcision of Christ; when you were buried with him in baptism, you were also raised with him through faith in the power of God, who raised him from the dead. And when you were dead in trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive together with him, when he forgave us all our trespasses, erasing the record that stood against us with its legal demands. He set this aside, nailing it to the cross. He disarmed the rulers and authorities and made a public example of them, triumphing over them in it.

Luke 11:1-13

Jesus was praying in a certain place, and after he had finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples.” He said to them, “When you pray, say:

Father, hallowed be your name.
Your kingdom come.
Give us each day our daily bread.
And forgive us our sins,
for we ourselves forgive everyone indebted to us.
And do not bring us to the time of trial.”

And he said to them, “Suppose one of you has a friend, and you go to him at midnight and say to him, `Friend, lend me three loaves of bread; for a friend of mine has arrived, and I have nothing to set before him.’ And he answers from within, `Do not bother me; the door has already been locked, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot get up and give you anything.’ I tell you, even though he will not get up and give him anything because he is his friend, at least because of his persistence he will get up and give him whatever he needs.

“So I say to you, Ask, and it will be given you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you. For everyone who asks receives, and everyone who searches finds, and for everyone who knocks, the door will be opened. Is there anyone among you who, if your child asks for a fish, will give a snake instead of a fish? Or if the child asks for an egg, will give a scorpion? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”

Green Tau reflection: prayer and hope

25th May 2022

Over the last 24 hours I spent about 6 hours supporting the Christian Climate Action vigil outside the Methodist Central Hall, the venue for this year’s Shell AGM. I didn’t stay overnight as some brave souls did but came and went in stints. My companions were deeply committed to the environmental cause: that we humans need to wake up to the damage we are causing to the wonderful creation God has provided and of which we are an integral part: truly we are brothers and sisters, kith and kin with every other living thing. Yet our human unabated consumption of fossil fuels is producing carbon dioxide in such quantities that we are changing the climate, wiping out plant and animal species, melting ice caps and glaciers, and consigning our fellow humans to poverty, ill health and death.

Our presence, as well as being peaceful and prayerful, was intended to raise people’s awareness of the climate crisis and the role that large oil companies, such as Shell, play. To put this in context, CO2 emissions for the entire globe in 2021 were 36.3 bn tonnes, and of this Shell contributed 1.299 bn tonnes. To avert the worsening affects of climate change, CO2 emissions need to be reduced by 43% by 2030, and to zero by 2050. This is a huge challenge for us all but one which will be hard to achieve if the fossil fuel industries continue to invest in expanding oil and gas production rather than shifting to the production of renewable energy.

As I prayed, I admit I had little hope that my prayers were going to effect an about-turn on the plans that Ben van Beurden, the Shell CEO, has for the company. However I did have a slither of hope that our prayers and our presence might influence the hearts and minds of the shareholders. Perhaps there might be a stirring in their conscience about the effects that fossil fuel are having on the planet. Perhaps they might begin to ask questions about the sense of pursuing profits from oil if it results in a world that becomes uninhabitable. Perhaps they might question why the company was not protecting their future by investing in renewable energy. Perhaps they would question the leadership being offered when such a large CO2 producer choose not to follow the global strategy agreed at COP26?

So I prayed. In my mind I envisaged the Holy Spirit like a dove flying around above the heads of the shareholders in the Methodist Central Hall, perhaps pausing to whisper in someone’s ear. I envisaged a scene similar to that of Pentecost, of the room where all the disciples were gathered, with the wind of the Spirit inspiring and energising those present. I imagined little flames might hover above people’s heads and that they might have the experience of the disciples on the road to Emmaus, of something warm burning within them.

Outside the building drums and the call and reply of protestors rose and fell like a storm. Inside the hall, the sound would, I guess, be deadened and I thought of the still small voice in the storm encounter by Elijah. And I thought of the story of Jonah and the storm he encountered and which manhandled him (with the help of a whale) to the shores of Nineveh. There to his surprise and chagrin, the people listened to the message and repented.

And I prayed. I envisaged the call of the evangelists, repent and believe. Repent – a change of heart, a turning around of the way we think, a conversion of the way we do things – and believe. Believe that there is a better future, that we can look forward to a new and brighter future, where things will be green and beautiful, just and fair, where we will live in peace together. As well as seeking a new way of living – repentance – we need to offer a vision of the better world in which we can all live: the kin-dom of God.

Easter Day Intercessions – the egg

17th April 2022

Can I invite you to cup your hands,

and imagine that in them you are holding an egg.

Feel the smoothness and the hardness of the shell. It is there to protect the young chick inside.

Let us pray for those people and situations who need protection. For the people of Ukrainian living with the dangers of war and especially for young children and those who have been separated from their families. For the people of the Philippines living with the dangers of flooding and mudslides in the aftermath of Storm Megi, and for the people of South Africa suffering from storm force rains and floods. For the Javan rhinoceros threatened with extinction by trophy hunting, poaching and habitat loss. We pray for the climate which needs protection from our human stupidity.

Lord in your mercy: hear our prayer.

Now imagine that you can hear a small tapping sound as the chick in your egg uses its beak to break open the shell.

Let us pray for those places and situations where people are trying to free themselves. For refugees and asylum seekers. For people trapped by poverty. For people in abusive relationships. For people working in unsafe environments. For the work of Tree Aid planting trees to free communities from the worst affects of the climate crisis. For the people of Shanghai trapped by rising covid infection rates. For Just Stop Oil trying to free us from our dependency on fossil fuels.

Lord in your mercy: hear our prayer.

Now imagine that the shell is breaking open and out struggles a small damp and floppy chick,

needing warmth and comfort to gain its strength.

Let us pray for those who need care and comfort and healing. For ecosystems struggling to cope with the climate crisis and the pressures of human consumption. For those who are lonely, for those in pain. For those who feel anxious and afraid. For those who are sick.

Lord in your mercy: hear our prayer

Now imagine that the chick perched in your hands is all fluffed up and warm, with a beady eye and a happy cheep.

Let us give thanks for the wonder and joy of life, for the beauty we see around us and the love we encounter day by day, for the resilience of nature.

On this day of resurrection we remember those who have died recently,

And those whose year’s mind occurs now,

Let us give thanks for the hope and reassurance that God gives us through the resurrection of his Son, Jesus Christ.

Merciful God accept these prayer for the sake of your Son, our Saviour, Jesus Christ. Amen.

Prayers for the ecosystems of North America

Friday 8th April 2022

Happy are those who do not follow the advice of the wicked. They are like trees planted by streams of water, which yield their fruit in its season, their leaves do not wither. In all that they do, they prosper. Ps 1:1a,3

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 Proverbs 22:16-18

Oppressing the poor in order to enrich oneself, and giving to the rich, will lead only to loss. The words of the wise: Incline your ear and hear my words, and apply your mind to my teaching; for it will be pleasant if you keep them within you if all of them are ready on your lips.

Each Friday during Lent we will focus on a different continent; this week North America

North America extends from the tiny Aleutian Islands in the northwest to the Isthmus of Panama in the south. The continent includes the enormous island of Greenland in the northeast and the small island countries and territories that dot the Caribbean Sea and western North Atlantic Ocean. In the far north, the continent stretches halfway around the world, from Greenland to the Aleutians. But at Panama’s narrowest part, the continent is just 50 km across. North America can be divided into five physical regions: the mountainous west, the Great Plains, the Canadian Shield, the varied eastern region, and the Caribbean. Mexico and Central America’s western coast are connected to the mountainous west, while its lowlands and coastal plains extend into the eastern region. Within these regions are all the major types of biomes in the world. https://www.nationalgeographic.org/encyclopedia/north-america-physical-geography/

Glory to God

Creator of successions of mountains ranges:

We praise you for the awe and wonder of these regions,

their reminder that we are but humans.

We marvel at the power of water to carve out canyons

and the power of water to generate energy.

Glory to God

Creator of forests and plains:

We praise you for the richness of their biodiversity, for tall prairie grasses and even taller trees;

for the smallest grasshoppers to the mighty bison,

for the whistling marmots and black bears that huff and grunt.

Glory to God

Creator of rivers, lakes and wetlands:

We praise you for the Great Lakes and the fresh water they contain,

for the Mississippi River and the fertile soil it nurtures,

and for the wetlands of the Everglades, the 360 plus species of bird

and the plump grandeur of the manatees.

Glory to God,

Creator of tundra and ice:

We praise you for the ingenuity of life that adapts to the extremes of climate and geography.

We marvel at the diversity of life – lichens and moss, polar bears and caribou,

and the many migrating birds such as the Arctic tern.

Merciful God,

Creator of human kind,

Forgive our greed that has mined land and sea for fossil fuels, jeopardising our future.

Forgive our greed that industrialises farming, destroying soils and draining lakes.

Forgive our greed that turns animals into commodities and disregards their sentient nature.

Forgive our greed for consumer goods that strips the earth’s reserves.

Merciful God,

Creator of our brothers and sisters:

Forgive the casualness with which we let the rich grow richer

and the poor poorer.

Forgive the casualness with which we let the rich break the laws

and yet still penalise the poor.

Forgive the carelessness with which we discard what we buy

ignoring the meagre pay of those who labour.

Guiding God,

Source of all wisdom,

Transform our hearts and minds, turn the direction of our hands and feet

so that with alacrity and commitment we will reform our lives

and live only in harmony with your creation.

Amen.

The Grace

Prayers for the ecosystems of S America

Friday 18th March

The desert and the parched land will be glad; the wilderness will rejoice and blossom like the crocus Isaiah 35:1

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: Daniel 4: 10-12

Upon my bed this is what I saw; there was a tree at the centre of the earth, and its height was great. The tree grew great and strong, its top reached to heaven, and it was visible to the ends of the whole earth. Its foliage was beautiful, its fruit abundant, and it provided food for all. The animals of the field found shade under it, the birds of the air nested in its branches, and from it all living beings were fed.

Each Friday during Lent we will focus on a different continent; this week South America. South America, the fourth-largest continent, extends from the Gulf of Darién in the northwest to the archipelago of Tierra del Fuego in the south. South America can be divided into three physical regions: mountains and highlands, river basins, and coastal plains. Mountains and coastal plains generally run in a north-south direction, while highlands and river basins generally run in an east-west direction.
South America’s extreme geographic variation contributes to the continent’s large number of biomes. A biome is a community of animals and plants that spreads over an area with a relatively uniform climate. Within a few hundred kilometres, South America’s coastal plains’ dry desert biome rises to the rugged alpine biome of the Andes mountains. One of the continent’s river basins (the Amazon) is defined by dense, tropical rain forest, while the other (Paraná) is made up of vast grasslands.
The diversity of animal life in the Amazon rain forest is unsurpassed in the rest of the world. There can be as many as 100 different tree species on a single acre. The rain forest is perfectly suited for arboreal, or tree-living, animals. More than 2 million species of insects are native to the region, including hundreds of spiders and butterflies. Primates are abundant—howler monkeys, spider monkeys, and capuchin monkeys—along with sloths, snakes, and iguanas. Thousands of native birds include brightly coloured macaws, parrots, toucans, and parakeets. https://www.nationalgeographic.org/encyclopedia/south-america-physical-geography/

Glory to God

Creator of rivers and oceans:

We praise you for the Amazon, 1725 miles long!

Glory to God,

Creator of mountains and valleys:

We praise you for the Amazon Basin, all 2.7 million squares miles.

Glory to God,

Creator of trees and plants:

We praise you for the 40,000 plants species of the Amazon.

We praise you for biome that supports 350 millions tonnes of life per square kilometre.

Glory to God,

Creator of all that crawls and swims and flies.

We praise you for wildlife of the Amazon –

2 million species of insect, 2000 birds and mammals, 800 amphibians and reptiles.

Merciful God,

Creator of human kind,

Forgive us for the destruction of the Amazonian rainforest, 18% lost and counting.

Forgive our greed that replaces trees with cattle ranches, with soy crops for their fodder.

Forgive our greed that replaces trees with sugar cane, for sweetmeats and bio fuel.

Merciful God,

Creator of air and space,

Forgive our foolishness in destroying the source of 20% of the world’s oxygen.

Forgive our greed that gobbles up the living space of others, endangering survival of jaguars and blue macaws, poison dart frogs and river dolphins.

Merciful God

Creator of climates and seasons,

Forgive our foolishness that creates droughts and heat waves.

Forgive our greed that fills the air with carbon dioxide and destroys carbon sinks.

Guiding God,

Source of all wisdom,

Transform our hearts and minds, turn the direction our hands and feet

so that with alacrity and commitment we will reform our lives

and live only in harmony with your creation.

Amen.

The Grace

Sunday Reflection

First Sunday of Lent

6th March 2022

Deuteronomy 26:1-11

When you have come into the land that the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance to possess, and you possess it, and settle in it, you shall take some of the first of all the fruit of the ground, which you harvest from the land that the Lord your God is giving you, and you shall put it in a basket and go to the place that the Lord your God will choose as a dwelling for his name. You shall go to the priest who is in office at that time, and say to him, “Today I declare to the Lord your God that I have come into the land that the Lord swore to our ancestors to give us.” When the priest takes the basket from your hand and sets it down before the altar of the Lord your God, you shall make this response before the Lord your God: “A wandering Aramean was my ancestor; he went down into Egypt and lived there as an alien, few in number, and there he became a great nation, mighty and populous. When the Egyptians treated us harshly and afflicted us, by imposing hard labour on us, we cried to the Lord, the God of our ancestors; the Lord heard our voice and saw our affliction, our toil, and our oppression. The Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, with a terrifying display of power, and with signs and wonders; and he brought us into this place and gave us this land, a land flowing with milk and honey. So now I bring the first of the fruit of the ground that you, O Lord, have given me.” You shall set it down before the Lord your God and bow down before the Lord your God. Then you, together with the Levites and the aliens who reside among you, shall celebrate with all the bounty that the Lord your God has given to you and to your house.

Psalm 91:1-2, 9-16

1 He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High, *
abides under the shadow of the Almighty.

2 He shall say to the Lord,
“You are my refuge and my stronghold, *
my God in whom I put my trust.”

9 Because you have made the Lord your refuge, *
and the Most High your habitation,

10 There shall no evil happen to you, *
neither shall any plague come near your dwelling.

11 For he shall give his angels charge over you, *
to keep you in all your ways.

12 They shall bear you in their hands, *
lest you dash your foot against a stone.

13 You shall tread upon the lion and adder; *
you shall trample the young lion and the serpent under your feet.

14 Because he is bound to me in love,
therefore will I deliver him; *
I will protect him, because he knows my Name.

15 He shall call upon me, and I will answer him; *
I am with him in trouble;
I will rescue him and bring him to honour.

16 With long life will I satisfy him, *
and show him my salvation.

Romans 10:8b-13

“The word is near you, on your lips and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith that we proclaim); because if you confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For one believes with the heart and so is justified, and one confesses with the mouth and so is saved. The scripture says, “No one who believes in him will be put to shame.” For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; the same Lord is Lord of all and is generous to all who call on him. For, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

Luke 4:1-13

After his baptism, Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness, where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing at all during those days, and when they were over, he was famished. The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become a loaf of bread.” Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘One does not live by bread alone.'”

Then the devil led him up and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. And the devil said to him, “To you I will give their glory and all this authority; for it has been given over to me, and I give it to anyone I please. If you, then, will worship me, it will all be yours.” Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him.'”

Then the devil took him to Jerusalem, and placed him on the pinnacle of the temple, saying to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here, for it is written,

‘He will command his angels concerning you, to protect you,’ and ‘On their hands they will bear you up,
so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.'”

Jesus answered him, “It is said, ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.'” When the devil had finished every test, he departed from him until an opportune time.

Reflection

“You are my refuge and my stronghold, my God in whom I put my trust.”

What does it mean to put our trust in God? What effect does it have?

The reading from Deuteronomy tells of the richly rewarded life being enjoyed by those who once been wandering Arameans, who had been subject to slavery and oppression a foreign land, but who had slight help from God. But our knowledge of the Book of Exodus would suggest that the people’s trust was not always 100%, that there were times of wavering and doubt. Certainly the teaching that comes from Jesus whilst in the wilderness, is that trusting in God is not about expecting or demanding material gain.

Today’s psalm from which the opening quote comes, also gives praise to God for the protection and deliverance from evil. It is also the psalm from which the devil quotes as he tries to persuade Jesus to parade God’s power. But trusting God is not about expecting or demanding God to shield us from either danger or our own recklessness.

The passage from Paul’s letter to the Romans reminds us God’s concern for us is affected by neither our nationality, nor our background. Rather there is but one Lord whom we should honour and who will save us. The divisions of nationality which the devil claims to control, are a false diversion.

To put our trust in God, is not to expect everything to magically come right in our favour. It is not to expect that what we want will fall into our laps. To trust in God is not to act carelessly or selfishly, and then expect God to pick up the pieces. To trust in God is not to have predetermined the answer, nor is it to force the issue. To trust in God is to want what God wants – what God wants for our neighbours, what God wants for creation, as well as what God wants for us.

How do we know what God wants? Prayer; studying the Bible; studying the book of nature; listening prayerfully with others; paying attention to what builds up the community, to what enhances life, to what allows creation to flourish. To love God with all our being, and to love our neighbours as ourself.

“You are my refuge and my stronghold, my God in whom I put my trust.”

Where does all this find us today?

How do we reconcile the conflict, the suffering and the destruction we are seeing in Ukraine, with the assertion that God is a refuge, a source of strength and trust? Our hearts ache with concern for the people and whilst we can send aid, we feel helpless. We urgently hope for an end to the hostilities but can so no way of resolution, no quick or easy way of establishing peace. We harbour the fear that this conflict will spill out beyond Ukraine’s borders and that our way of life too will be in peril. How can we pray if we cannot imagine how our prayers can be answered?

Above we noted that trusting in God is likely to be separate from knowing the answer to the problem. Trust is about continuing to hope without knowing. We noted that trusting is not about testing God, nor trying to force a particular solution. But is is about aligning our selves with God, of endeavouring to want what God wants, to act the way God wants. God wants us to love our neighbours. So we should pray for them. We should give consolation to one another, listen to one another, give each other support. We should give practical support. For the wellbeing of Ukrainians practical support in this instance is best provided through financial donations to charities who can provide the aid they need. Later we may be able to offer more direct help when Ukrainian refugees come into our communities.

The Green Tau: preparing for Lent

1st March 2022

Lent is the forty day season of preparation for Easter; preparation for the new life that we share with Christ through his resurrection.

Lent is marked by Christians as a time of self examination, penitence, self denial and moderation, spiritual discipline (usually involving prayer and study/ reading) and alms giving. More generally it is seen as a time for giving up on a luxury we enjoy or giving up on a vice which has become an unwanted habit. The climate crisis has prompted some to use Lent as a season for fasting from carbon.

Lent begins with Jesus in the wilderness, where with nothing to eat, he is totally reliant on his relationship with God. We might also think of other wilderness. The wilderness that lay outside the Garden of Eden, where Adam and Eve faced the challenge of tending and filling the earth so that it might bloom and flourish as it had in the garden planted by God. The wilderness between Egypt (where the prevailing system had been one of slavery and oppression) and the Promised Land. Here too the exiles had to learn to trust and learn from God how they should live, how they should adapt to a new environment.

Lent can therefore be the time when we should focus on how we tend and care for the environment, on how we pay attention and respond to God’s will, so that we can flourish in harmony with God’s gift of creation.

Jesus’s time in the wilderness occurs straight after he has been baptised by John in the Jordan. John too had chosen to locate himself in the wilderness, knowing its symbolic status as a place of encounter with God and a place of repentance. John called on the people to own up to their sins, to change the way they lived, to transform their lifestyles, and to prepare the ground for the new era – the new creation – that the Messiah was bringing. John’s challenge was tough: the rich were to share their wealth, officials were not to cheat, and soldiers were not to abuse their power. Every tree that did not bear good fruit would be chopped down and burnt!

Should we too see Lent as the time to call truth to power? To point to both what is wrong in the way we live and to what the dire consequences will be? Is it time to stand up in the wilderness calling on everyone to prepare for a new way of life, a new beginning, a fresh start? John and Jesus were charismatic activists. They spoke out, they told stories, they acted out their message. They spoke the truth. They healed and consoled people. And they showed people the right way.

This Lent we need to be up front and open in talking about the climate crisis. We need to talk about it with our friends and neighbours. We need to both console and inspire. We need to show in our daily lives how we can live differently. We need to repeatedly demand change from those in power, MPs and local councillors, business leaders and investors, local businesses, manufacturers and retailers. We need to be vocal in our churches and in the streets (a poster in your window or on your gatepost). Now is the time to repent and change if we are to avert great disaster and instead to welcome in a new age of hope.

Jesus answered, ‘The first is, “Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God, the Lord is one; you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.” The second is this, “You shall love your neighbour as yourself.” There is no other commandment greater than these.’ Mark 12:29-31

Keep these words that I am commanding you today in your heart. Recite them to your children and talk about them when you are at home and when you are away, when you lie down and when you rise. Bind them as a sign on your hand, fix them as an emblem on your forehead, and write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates. Deuteronomy 6:6-9

At core the message is simple: Love God, love your neighbour. Learn these words, teach them to your children, talk about them, repeat them at home and abroad, know them you sleep and when you rise, imprint them on your heart, display them on your gate post and door post, wear them on your sleeve.

Second Sunday before Lent

20th February 2022

Genesis 2:4b-9, 15-25In

In the day that the Lord God made the earth and the heavens, when no plant of the field was yet in the earth and no herb of the field had yet sprung up—for the Lord God had not caused it to rain upon the earth, and there was no one to till the ground; but a stream would rise from the earth, and water the whole face of the ground— then the Lord God formed man from the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and the man became a living being. And the Lord God planted a garden in Eden, in the east; and there he put the man whom he had formed. Out of the ground the Lord God made to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food, the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to till it and keep it. And the Lord God commanded the man, ‘You may freely eat of every tree of the garden; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall die.’

Then the Lord God said, ‘It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper as his partner.’ So out of the ground the Lord God formed every animal of the field and every bird of the air, and brought them to the man to see what he would call them; and whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name. The man gave names to all cattle, and to the birds of the air, and to every animal of the field; but for the man there was not found a helper as his partner. So the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and he slept; then he took one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh. And the rib that the Lord God had taken from the man he made into a woman and brought her to the man. Then the man said,
‘This at last is bone of my bones
and flesh of my flesh;
this one shall be called Woman,
for out of Man this one was taken.’
Therefore a man leaves his father and his mother and clings to his wife, and they become one flesh. And the man and his wife were both naked, and were not ashamed.

Psalm 65

To the leader. A Psalm of David. A Song.
Praise is due to you,
   O God, in Zion;
and to you shall vows be performed,
   O you who answer prayer!
To you all flesh shall come.
When deeds of iniquity overwhelm us,
   you forgive our transgressions.
Happy are those whom you choose and bring near
   to live in your courts.
We shall be satisfied with the goodness of your house,
   your holy temple.

By awesome deeds you answer us with deliverance,
   O God of our salvation;
you are the hope of all the ends of the earth
   and of the farthest seas.
By your strength you established the mountains;
   you are girded with might.
You silence the roaring of the seas,
   the roaring of their waves,
   the tumult of the peoples.
Those who live at earth’s farthest bounds are awed by your signs;
you make the gateways of the morning and the evening shout for joy.

You visit the earth and water it,
   you greatly enrich it;
the river of God is full of water;
   you provide the people with grain,
   for so you have prepared it.
You water its furrows abundantly,
   settling its ridges,
softening it with showers,
   and blessing its growth.
You crown the year with your bounty;
   your wagon tracks overflow with richness.
The pastures of the wilderness overflow,
   the hills gird themselves with joy,
the meadows clothe themselves with flocks,
   the valleys deck themselves with grain,
   they shout and sing together for joy.

Revelation 4

After this I looked, and there in heaven a door stood open! And the first voice, which I had heard speaking to me like a trumpet, said, ‘Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this.’ At once I was in the spirit, and there in heaven stood a throne, with one seated on the throne! And the one seated there looks like jasper and cornelian, and around the throne is a rainbow that looks like an emerald. Around the throne are twenty-four thrones, and seated on the thrones are twenty-four elders, dressed in white robes, with golden crowns on their heads. Coming from the throne are flashes of lightning, and rumblings and peals of thunder, and in front of the throne burn seven flaming torches, which are the seven spirits of God; and in front of the throne there is something like a sea of glass, like crystal.

Around the throne, and on each side of the throne, are four living creatures, full of eyes in front and behind: the first living creature like a lion, the second living creature like an ox, the third living creature with a face like a human face, and the fourth living creature like a flying eagle. And the four living creatures, each of them with six wings, are full of eyes all around and inside. Day and night without ceasing they sing,
‘Holy, holy, holy,
the Lord God the Almighty,
   who was and is and is to come.’
And whenever the living creatures give glory and honour and thanks to the one who is seated on the throne, who lives for ever and ever, the twenty-four elders fall before the one who is seated on the throne and worship the one who lives for ever and ever; they cast their crowns before the throne, singing,
‘You are worthy, our Lord and God,
   to receive glory and honour and power,
for you created all things,
   and by your will they existed and were created.’

Luke 8:22-25

One day Jesus got into a boat with his disciples, and he said to them, ‘Let us go across to the other side of the lake.’ So they put out, and while they were sailing he fell asleep. A gale swept down on the lake, and the boat was filling with water, and they were in danger. They went to him and woke him up, shouting, ‘Master, Master, we are perishing!’ And he woke up and rebuked the wind and the raging waves; they ceased, and there was a calm. He said to them, ‘Where is your faith?’ They were afraid and amazed, and said to one another, ‘Who then is this, that he commands even the winds and the water, and they obey him?’

Reflection

The small fishing boat caught in the midst of a storm is at risk of capsizing and its crew of drowning. At Jesus’s word the storm is calmed and the danger averted. His disciples are astonished. They had not expected this outcome: perhaps in waking Jesus they had been hoping for some words of comfort before they drowned. Or may they had woken him so that he too might have time to prepare for his death. ‘Who is this,’ they ask, ‘that he commands even the winds and the water and they obey?’

The control of the elements belongs to God. Yet as this story reminds us, Jesus, as much as he is of human flesh, he is also of God.

All our readings today remind us that God is the creator, the one who created the earth and all life that flourishes therein. And it reminds us of our role as humans and God’s expectation of us. The story from Genesis tells us that God specifically created humans to till and keep the earth, to ensure its continuing flourishing. Gods has created a regenerative earth that abounds with life such that it is self sustaining providing food and nourishment for all.

The psalm exhorts us that to God is due both praise and the performance of vows. This is balanced by the reminder that God is the source of our hope and salvation – and then describes the wonder and bounty of nature with which Gods has endowed the world. This is a world of joyful abundance .

Even the passage from Revelation extols the wonders of God’s creation. Seen through the lens of a spiritual vision, the writer sees heaven as a place where God is endlessly praised by and for all that is created.

So what of our world in the 21st century? Destructive winds and storms we certainly know about even here in London. Earlier this month Boston, USA, received a record snowfall of over 60cm with gusting winds that brought temperatures down to -28C. In Australia monsoon rains resulted in 381mm falling over night in Queensland. Tropical Storm Ana caused nearly 80 deaths in Madagascar, Mozambique, and Malawi as well as displacing 160, 000 people. Whilst this week heavy rains in Brazil caused a landslide that has killed at least 94 people. In California 66 of the state is now affected by severe drought, and the risk of further wild fires.

All around we are seeing the affects of human-made climate change. We cannot control the wind and the waves, but we can wreak devastation. Where is God in this? Does God hear our cries that we are perishing?

Yes, God does here our cries, and the cries of creation. God knows the fear and pain being suffered. God does not will storms or destruction, floods or droughts. God does not override the wind and the waves. God does not control humans as if we were automatons. Rather God desires that we tend and care for the world around us, that we learn from and understand the workings of creation, that we cease those activities that cause harm and damage. Scientists have been studying the causes of climate change over the last 50 plus years. They have been modelling future effects of human activity and how we can alter our behaviour to constrain the worsening effects of the crisis. International groups, even governments, have accepted the validity and necessity of achieving net zero carbon emissions by 2050 – not to stop extreme weather events but to keep them within such limits that those who are vulnerable can be protected. God is certainly there at the heart of these endeavours.

‘Where is your faith?’ Jesus asked his companions. And today that is still his question: Where is our faith? Do we place our faith in God, in the wisdom of creation, in the knowledge discerned by scientists? If so, then why are we not taking all necessary steps to reduce our carbon emissions, to achieve net zero? Why are we not providing the finances to enable everyone to take part, whether that is those in this country who cannot meet the cost of insulating their houses, or buy sustainably produced food, or afford the cost of rail travel? Why are we not providing the finance marginalised countries who don’t have the capital to switch to renewables, who are ill-equipped to cope with storms and floods, who can’t meet the cost of adaptation, who can’t afford to develop new farming techniques?

Or is it that we place our faith in human ego, in human independence? Is it that we place our faith in the motivation of profit? Is it that we find ourselves trapped in the iniquity of systems? Systems that promote short term gain over long term well being? Systems that trap the poor and the vulnerable? Systems that can’t envisage change?

Let us resolve to place our faith in God. God created the world, and as part of it, humanity. By studying how the world works, how ecosystems develop and thrive, we learn how to live sustainably and in harmony with creation. We learn how to live as God desires. Continuing to live lives that destroy habitats, that diminish the world’s biodiversity, that consume resources faster than they can be renewed, is to live in opposition to God’s will. Where we struggle is that as individuals, however much we try to live sustainably and in harmony with God, we cannot outweigh the contri effects of those who choose not to live sustainably, who choose to ignore God’s will. Often these are not individuals but are companies, governments and systems.

We need to pray for these situations, to pray for for a softening of hearts and a change of disposition. To pray for those who are suffering. To pray for the strengthening of those who strive to do what is right. We need to be prophetic, to call out the wrong where we see it, to challenge misplaced convention and tradition, to raise awareness of what is right and what is wrong. We need to join forces one with another to make our voices heard and make our message credible. And for this we need faith. Like yeast in dough, like the mustard seed in the soil, faith can grow and work miracles.

Epiphany 3

23rd January 2022

Nehemiah 8:1-3, 5-6, 8-10

All the people of Israel gathered together into the square before the Water Gate. They told the scribe Ezra to bring the book of the law of Moses, which the Lord had given to Israel. Accordingly, the priest Ezra brought the law before the assembly, both men and women and all who could hear with understanding. This was on the first day of the seventh month. He read from it facing the square before the Water Gate from early morning until midday, in the presence of the men and the women and those who could understand; and the ears of all the people were attentive to the book of the law. And Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people, for he was standing above all the people; and when he opened it, all the people stood up. Then Ezra blessed the Lord, the great God, and all the people answered, “Amen, Amen,” lifting up their hands. Then they bowed their heads and worshiped the Lord with their faces to the ground. So they read from the book, from the law of God, with interpretation. They gave the sense, so that the people understood the reading.

And Nehemiah, who was the governor, and Ezra the priest and scribe, and the Levites who taught the people said to all the people, “This day is holy to the Lord your God; do not mourn or weep.” For all the people wept when they heard the words of the law. Then he said to them, “Go your way, eat the fat and drink sweet wine and send portions of them to those for whom nothing is prepared, for this day is holy to our Lord; and do not be grieved, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.”

Psalm 19

1 The heavens declare the glory of God, *
and the firmament shows his handiwork.

2 One day tells its tale to another, *
and one night imparts knowledge to another.

3 Although they have no words or language, *
and their voices are not heard,

4 Their sound has gone out into all lands, *
and their message to the ends of the world.

5 In the deep has he set a pavilion for the sun; *
it comes forth like a bridegroom out of his chamber;
it rejoices like a champion to run its course.

6 It goes forth from the uttermost edge of the heavens
and runs about to the end of it again; *
nothing is hidden from its burning heat.

7 The law of the Lord is perfect
and revives the soul; *
the testimony of the Lord is sure
and gives wisdom to the innocent.

8 The statutes of the Lord are just
and rejoice the heart; *
the commandment of the Lord is clear
and gives light to the eyes.

9 The fear of the Lord is clean
and endures for ever; *
the judgments of the Lord are true
and righteous altogether.

10 More to be desired are they than gold,
more than much fine gold, *
sweeter far than honey,
than honey in the comb.

11 By them also is your servant enlightened, *
and in keeping them there is great reward.

12 Who can tell how often he offends? *
cleanse me from my secret faults.

13 Above all, keep your servant from presumptuous sins;
let them not get dominion over me; *
then shall I be whole and sound,
and innocent of a great offence.

14 Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my
heart be acceptable in your sight, *
O Lord, my strength and my redeemer.

1 Corinthians 12:12-31a

Just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. For in the one Spirit we were all baptised into one body–Jews or Greeks, slaves or free–and we were all made to drink of one Spirit.

Indeed, the body does not consist of one member but of many. If the foot would say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. And if the ear would say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would the hearing be? If the whole body were hearing, where would the sense of smell be? But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose. If all were a single member, where would the body be? As it is, there are many members, yet one body. The eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need of you,” nor again the head to the feet, “I have no need of you.” On the contrary, the members of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, and those members of the body that we think less honourable we clothe with greater honour, and our less respectable members are treated with greater respect; whereas our more respectable members do not need this. But God has so arranged the body, giving the greater honour to the inferior member, that there may be no dissension within the body, but the members may have the same care for one another. If one member suffers, all suffer together with it; if one member is honoured, all rejoice together with it.

Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it. And God has appointed in the church first apostles, second prophets, third teachers; then deeds of power, then gifts of healing, forms of assistance, forms of leadership, various kinds of tongues. Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? Do all possess gifts of healing? Do all speak in tongues? Do all interpret? But strive for the greater gifts.

Luke 4:14-21

Jesus, filled with the power of the Spirit, returned to Galilee, and a report about him spread through all the surrounding country. He began to teach in their synagogues and was praised by everyone.

When he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, he went to the synagogue on the sabbath day, as was his custom. He stood up to read, and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written:

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,

because he has anointed me
to bring good news to the poor.

He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives
and recovery of sight to the blind,
to let the oppressed go free,

to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour.”

And he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant, and sat down. The eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him. Then he began to say to them, “Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”

Reflection

Nehemiah, an important official (Cup Bearer to king Artaxerxes I of Persia) had been tasked with re-establishing the city of Jerusalem. He did this physically: rebuilding its walls and thereby asserting its role as a city on the same level as cities of other peoples in the region, such as the Samaritans and the Ammonites. And socially: rebuilding the people there as one community shaped by and bound together by the mosaic law. These residents of Jerusalem were a mixed bunch. There were those who were decedents of those who had not been exiled to Babylon but had remained in Judea. There were those who had over recent years returned from Babylon. And there were others who lived there but had no connection to the God of Moses. There had been tension between the groups and examples of some bullying and prejudice. And there had been examples of people marrying outside the faith and loosing their allegiance to God.

In today’s passage, the priest Ezra is reading the Law of Moses to the assembled people. It is as if they are hearing it for the first time. They weep as if suddenly aware of their failings, their sinfulness, and are now penitent. They understand now that there is one law that defines the one way in which they are to live if they are to be one people. They leave blessed and restored, united as the people of God.

We in the United Kingdom are a divided, mix bunch of people. We know that great inequality exists between the different regions of the country, between different ethnic groups, between rural and urban communities, and between those whose incomes and wealth are growing and those who incomes and wealth are dwindling. We know that divisions exist between those who can afford food, heating, cars, private health care, and those who cannot. We sense that these divisions diminish life for all of us, that they are unsustainable, and will ultimately be destructive of the lives we lead.

In 2020 as the first wave of covid struck, we suddenly realised how important were the people who stacked the supermarket shelves, who drove trains and buses, who emptied the bins and cleaned the streets. We realised how much we relied on child care and teachers, and how very important were the medics in our hospitals and the research scientists in the labs. We clapped and praised them.

We realised how very important our local communities were, how we could help one another, how good it was to know the people in our streets. We discovered what we could achieve when we all became good neighbours. We realised how important it was to have access to green spaces, to have places where we could walk, or run or cycle or just sit. And we rediscovered the pleasure of breathing fresh air, of hearing birds singing, and seeing the landscape clearly without the fog of pollution.

That was two years ago. Do we still remember how it felt? Do we still think that those people, those relationships, those places are important? Or has it all been caught up and lost in the mists of time as more pressing matters have come along?

What might we learn from today’s reading that could be useful? The passage from Nehemiah tells us of the importance of rules held in common, of a shared sense of what is right and wrong, a shared sense that there is such a thing as the common good. In a multi cultural, multi faith society it might be hard to find a set of commonly held religious rules, yet can we not all find agreement in the idea of loving our neighbour as ourself, in the importance of justice and fairness and equality? Can we not do all we can to encourage community groups, community focused neighbourhoods, community gardens, community centres and community shops? Can we not all agree that we should level things up so that everyone is on a level playing field and that everyone has equal opportunities? And can we not agree that laws and economic policies and taxation should be designed for the wellbeing of all and not just a few, and that in working for wellbeing this should include the environment?

The exert from Paul’s letter to the Corinthians gives us an apt image for respecting each other as equals. The CEO cannot say to the shelf stacker, I don’t need you, and the banker cannot say to lorry driver, I don’t need you. If we were all pension fund managers, who would clean the streets? If we were all politicians, who would nurse the sick? In all our difference we are equally important, and need to be valued and respected as such. In a world which often equates value with pay, we need to bring a much greater equality in pay – ie to reduce the Gini coefficient. And overhaul our tax system so that it is both fair and so that it rebalances wealth.

The reading from Luke’s gospel gives us the words of Isaiah as Jesus’s manifesto. Empowered by the Spirit, he declares his ambitions for:-

bringing good news to the poor – good news that must surely include relief from food poverty and fuel poverty;

release for the captives which must surely include release from impossible debts both here and across the world, both for households and for essential organisations such as the NHS and the educational system, for the BBC and the Environment Agency;

sight for the blind which must include vision and clarity for administrators and politicians, business leaders and investors;

freedom for the oppressed which must include freedom from individual and institutional racial prejudice, religious prejudice, sexual and gender-based, and prejudice against those with physical and mental disabilities;

a year of the Lord’s favour which must surely include enshrining kingdom values at the heart of society.

Today’s readings can inspire our vision for a far better world, and being inspired, we should remember that we have been given the gift of the Holy Spirit in various forms so that we can achieve this vision.

Counting on …. Day 53

6th January 2022

Today is the Feast of the Epiphany, the celebration of the visit by the wise men to the infant Jesus. Given the large number of traditional foods we have on Christmas Day when the shepherds visited to the Christ Child, we have very few for the Epiphany. The French have their Gateau des Rois which is something I copy in a simpler form – ie a cake made by sandwiching a layer of marzipan, flavoured with madeira, between two rounds of puff pastry. All the constituent parts can be made with plant-based ingredients.

We also mark the day by chalking a blessing over the lintel of our front door – https://greentau.org/2022/01/06/marking-epiphany/