Season of Creation

September 26th Sunday IV

Reading from the Book of Ester 7: 1-6, 9-10; 9: 20-22

So the king and Haman went to Queen Esther’s banquet, and as they were drinking wine on the second day, the king again asked, ‘Queen Esther, what is your petition? It will be given you. What is your request? Even up to half the kingdom, it will be granted.’

Then Queen Esther answered, ‘If I have found favor with you, Your Majesty, and if it pleases you, grant me my life – this is my petition. And spare my people – this is my request. For I and my people have been sold to be destroyed, killed and annihilated. If we had merely been sold as male and female slaves, I would have kept quiet, because no such distress would justify disturbing the king.’

King Xerxes asked Queen Esther, ‘Who is he? Where is he – the man who has dared to do such a thing?’  Esther said, ‘An adversary and enemy! This vile Haman!’ Then Haman was terrified before the king and queen. Then Harbona, one of the eunuchs attending the king, said, ‘A pole reaching to a height of fifty cubits stands by Haman’s house. He had it set up for Mordecai, who spoke up to help the king.’ The king said, ‘Impale him on it!’ So they impaled Haman on the pole he had set up for Mordecai. Then the king’s fury subsided.

Psalm  124

If the LORD had not been on our side – let Israel say –

if the LORD had not been on our side when people attacked us,

they would have swallowed us alive when their anger flared against us; the flood would have engulfed us, the torrent would have swept over us, the raging waters would have swept us away.

Praise be to the LORD, who has not let us be torn by their teeth.

We have escaped like a bird from the fowler’s snare; the snare has been broken, and we have escaped.

Our help is in the name of the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth.

Reading from the Letter of James  5: 13-end

Is anyone among you in trouble? Let them pray. Is anyone happy? Let them sing songs of praise. Is anyone among you ill? Let them call the elders of the church to pray over them and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise them up. If they have sinned, they will be forgiven. Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.

Elijah was a human being, even as we are. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years. Again he prayed, and the heavens gave rain, and the earth produced its crops.

My brothers and sisters, if one of you should wander from the truth and someone should bring that person back, remember this: whoever turns a sinner from the error of their way will save them from death and cover over a multitude of sins.

Gospel of Mark 9: 38-end

‘Teacher,’ said John, ‘we saw someone driving out demons in your name and we told him to stop, because he was not one of us.’

‘Do not stop him,’ Jesus said. ‘For no one who does a miracle in my name can in the next moment say anything bad about me, for whoever is not against us is for us. Truly I tell you, anyone who gives you a cup of water in my name because you belong to the Messiah will certainly not lose their reward.

‘If anyone causes one of these little ones – those who believe in me – to stumble, it would be better for them if a large millstone were hung round their neck and they were thrown into the sea.  If your hand causes you to stumble, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life maimed than with two hands to go into hell, where the fire never goes out. 

And if your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life crippled than to have two feet and be thrown into hell.  And if your eye causes you to stumble, pluck it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into hell, where ‘“the worms that eat them do not

die, and the fire is not quenched.” Everyone will be salted with fire. ‘Salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness, how can you make it salty again? Have salt among yourselves, and be at peace with each other.’

Reflection Points

1.  There is a danger that responses to climate injustice and environmental chaos are only about activism: campaigns and advocacy. Today’s readings encourage us to turn to God in prayer in times of crisis, recognizing that activism needs deep foundations in a spirituality that sustains and renews us.

2.  The book of Esther is a story of a woman whom God used to bring justice and deliverance at the heart of the political process, at great personal risk. Can we intercede for those today who are strategically placed to speak truth to power, to challenge self-interest, and to advocate for climate victims and nature herself?

3.  Mark 9:42ff uses strong language to warn of the danger of causing children and young people to stumble. A recent UK survey claimed 90% of young Christians see the climate as today’s most pressing and urgent issue, and yet 90% also say their churches are not doing enough on climate change. If churches are slow to pray, speak and act on the climate emergency, this passage suggests God will judge us harshly for causing young people to stumble in their faith. Our response needs to be in lament and repentance, in prayer and fasting, and in speaking out and acting decisively.

Action Choose one feature of the environment and pray for it, its rest and Its renewal.

When you consider the ways that this place is under stress, what does it need for rest, restoration and renewal? What needs to be conserved for this site to heal itself? What features need to be reclaimed? What parts of creation need to be restored to their rightful home here? Pray for this site, and the wisdom to care for it.

How will you protect and steward this planet this week?

Intercessory Prayers

Whenever we join together, we should give thanks. So let us join our hearts and minds together and think of all creation and the Creator’s gifts. Loving God.

 

We give our thanks.

Let us think of our Mother, the Earth, upon whom we walk and who supports us and nurtures life in all its forms. We think of the minerals, the fungi, and bacteria that give life to soil, bodies and systems. We pray we can learn to walk on Earth with more respect. Loving God.

 

We give our thanks.

Let us think of the reasons why we are gathered. For this place in which we gather, and for all of the animals and plants that call this place home. Loving God.

 

We give our thanks.

Let us think of the whole human family whose livelihood and well-being depends on the well-being of the Earth. We lift up the men, women and children who are displaced from their homes. Loving God.

 

We give our thanks.

Let us turn our minds to the sacred waters of the world, the great oceans, aquifers, lakes, rivers and streams, the life that lives in the waters and those that give itself to be our food. Loving God.

 

We give our thanks.

Let us now turn our thoughts to the plant life of the Creator’s world. That which is below ground; the roots and vegetables. That which puts just its head above the ground: the grasses, medicines, plants and bushes. All of the many kinds of good fruit the Creator has given us. And finally, the great trees of the forest that we know of as the “Standing Ones.” Loving God.

 

We give our thanks.

Let us think of all our kindred animals, those that crawl, walk, swim and fly. We give thanks for those that provide food for us, those that sustain cycles in their work and living, those that provide companionship and beauty. Loving God.

 

We give our thanks.

Let us think of the birds of the air. The feathered ones that are the messengers between us and the Creator. Loving God.

 

We give our thanks.

Let us think of the relationships that sustain life in this beloved community. We think of the “Three Sisters,” corn, beans and squash who nurture, guard and sustain as they grow together (you may insert local examples of plants or animals that live in mutuality).  These relationships are gifts from the Creator and our sustenance. Loving God.

 

We give our thanks.

Creator God, look upon the creatures gathered here together and send us where you would have us go, so that we may embody the ministry of justice for your Creation through our being and acts. Walk with us so that we may face the winds of change and walk the good road. Protect and renew our common home. Enlighten us. Sustain us. May God our Creator be with us this day and always. Amen.

 (Adapted from Celebrating Creation: Honoring Indigenous People, Kelly Sherman-Conroy, ELCA)

Litany for the Earth

https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=jlWIthGJdok

 

2021 September Stop Trafficking Newsletter

Child Labor Awareness:  Almost 1 of every 10 children worldwide are involved in child labor

Generally, unsafe child labor practices are defined in part by the number of working hours for a specific child's age. Hazardous child labor includes:

• Any of the worst forms of child labor: including excessively long hours, night work, work with heavy machinery, or work that takes place underground or underwater
• Any labor performed by a child under the age of 12
• More than 14 hours of work, per week, by a child aged 12-14
• More than 43 hours of work, per week, by a child aged 15-17

Worst Forms of Child Labor

• all forms of slavery or practices similar to slavery, such as the sale and trafficking of children, debt bondage and serfdom and forced or compulsory recruitment of children for use in armed conflict;
• the use, procuring or offering of a child for prostitution, for the production of pornography or pornographic performances;
• the use, procuring or offering of a child for illicit activities, in particular for the production and trafficking of drugs as defined in the relevant international treaties;
• work which, by its nature or the circumstances in which it is carried out, is likely to harm children's health, safety, or morals.

MEXICO

Family Work or Human Trafficking?
Child Labor Law Sparks Controversy

Mexico’s human trafficking law clearly delineates the crime. 

Activists say the reality is more complex – and poor families often pay the price.

Read the Article Here

https://globalpressjournal.com/americas/mexico/family-work-human-trafficking-child-labor-law-sparks-controversy/

Historical Roots of Human Trafficking

• Capitalism, Colonialism, and Imperialism: Roots for Present-Day Trafficking
• Invisibility, Forced Labor, and Domestic Work
• addressing Modern Slavery in Global Supply Chains: The Role of Businesses
• Immigration, Precarity, and Human Trafficking: Histories and Legacies of Asian American Racial Exclusion in the United States
• Systemic and Structural Roots of Child Sex Trafficking: The Role of Gender, Race, and Sexual Orientation in Disproportionate Victimization
• The Complexities of Complex Matters: Health Research, Health Care, and Bodies of Color in the United States

Action:  What Can Be Done?

Child labor will end on,y when there are expanded income support measures for families in situations of vulnerability due to poverty.

Ensuring universal free and good-quality education will provide a viable alternative to child labor and afford children a chance at a better future.

Every child's birth must be registered to have a legal identity and enjoy their rights from birth.

There must be decent work that ensures a fair income for young people of legal working age and adults, emphasizing workers in the informal economy, for families to escape poverty-driven child labor.

Read More 

in the 

September Stop Trafficking Newsletter here:

https://sistersagainsttrafficking.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/2021_09_Stop-Trafficking-EN.pdf

National Migration Week

 September 20 - 26

Migrants cook in a temporary shelter near the burned migrant center "Lipa" during snowfall and freezing temperatures in Bihac, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Dec. 27, 2020. The Vatican announced the theme for the next World Day of Migrants and Refugees: "Toward an ever wider 'we.'" 

The Church has been celebrating the World Day of Migrants and Refugees (WDMR) since 1914. It is always an occasion to express concern for different vulnerable people on the move; to pray for them as they face many challenges; and to increase awareness about the opportunities that migration offers.

Every year the WDMR is the last Sunday of September; in 2021 it will be celebrated on September 26th. As the title for his annual message, the Holy Father has chosen Towards an ever wider “we”.  Read Pope Francis’ Message here:

MESSAGE OF HIS HOLINESS POPE FRANCIS

FOR THE 107th WORLD DAY OF MIGRANTS AND REFUGEES 2021

https://www.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/messages/migration/documents/papa-francesco_20210503_world-migrants-day-2021.html

Refugee Rights

Some basic rights, apply to all refugees. A refugee becomes entitled to other rights the longer they remain in the host country, which is based on the recognition that the longer they remain as refugees, the more rights they need.

• The right not to be expelled, except under certain, strictly defined conditions;
• The right not to be punished for illegal entry into the territory of a contracting State;
• The right to work;
• The right to housing;
• The right to education;
• The right to public relief and assistance;
• The right to freedom of religion;
• The right to access the courts;
• The right to freedom of movement within the territory;
• The right to be issued identity and travel documents.

Prayer for Migrants and Refugees

Lord Jesus, when you multiplied the loaves and fishes, you provided more than food for the body, you offered us the gift of yourself, the gift which satisfies every hunger and quenches every thirst! Your disciples were filled with fear and doubt, but you poured out your love and compassion on the migrant crowd, welcoming them as brothers and sisters.

Lord Jesus, today you call us to welcome the members of God's family who come to our land to escape oppression, poverty, persecution, violence, and war. Like your disciples, we too are filled with fear and doubt and even suspicion. We build barriers in our hearts and in our minds.

Lord Jesus, help us by your grace,

To banish fear from our hearts, that we may embrace each of your children as our own brother and sister;

To welcome migrants and refugees with joy and generosity, while responding to their many needs;

To realize that you call all people to your holy mountain to learn the ways of peace and justice;

To share of our abundance as you spread a banquet before us;

To give witness to your love for all people, as we celebrate the many gifts they bring.

We praise you and give you thanks for the family you have called together from so many people. We see in this human family a reflection of the divine unity of the one Most Holy Trinity in whom we make our prayer: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.

For information on Refugees in America go here:

REFUGEES IN AMERICA

https://www.rescue.org/topic/refugees-america

Season of Creation

 September 19th Sunday III

Reading from the Book of Proverbs 31: 10 - end

A wife of noble character who can find? She is worth far more than rubies.
a whirlwind, when distress and trouble overwhelm you.
Her husband has full confidence in her and lacks nothing of value
She brings him good, not harm, all the days of her life.
She selects wool and flax and works with eager hands
She is like the merchant ships, bringing her food from afar
She gets up while it is still night; she provides food for her family and portions for her female servants
She considers a field and buys it; out of her earnings she plants a vineyard
She sets about her work vigorously; her arms are strong for her tasks
She sees that her trading is profitable, and her lamp does not go out at night 
In her hand she holds the distaff and grasps the spindle with her fingers.
She opens her arms to the poor and extends her hands to the needy.
When it snows, she has no fear for her household; for all of them are clothed in scarlet.
She makes coverings for her bed; she is clothed in fine linen and purple.
Her husband is respected at the city gate, where he takes his seat among the elders of the land.
She makes linen garments and sells them, and supplies the merchants with sashes.
She is clothed with strength and dignity; she can laugh at the days to come.
She speaks with wisdom, and faithful instruction is on her tongue.
She watches over the affairs of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness.
Her children arise and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her:
‘Many women do noble things, but you surpass them all.’
Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.
Honor her for all that her hands have done, and let her works bring her praise at the
city gate.

Psalm  1

Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers, but whose delight is in the law of the LORD, and who meditates on his law day and night.
That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither – whatever they do prospers.

Not so the wicked!  They are like chaff that the wind blows away.
Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous.

For the LORD watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked leads to destruction.

Reading from the Letter of James  3:1-13 - 4:3,7-8b

Who is wise and understanding among you? Let them show it by their good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom. But if you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth. Such ‘wisdom’ does not come down from heaven but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice. But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere. Peacemakers who sow in peace reap a harvest of righteousness.

What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from your desires that battle within you? You desire but do not have, so you kill. You covet but you cannot get what you want, so you quarrel and fight. You do not have because you do not ask God. When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.
Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come near to God and he will come near to you.

Gospel of Mark 9: 30-37

They left that place and passed through Galilee. Jesus did not want anyone to know where they were, because he was teaching his disciples. He said to them, ‘The Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men. They will kill him, and after three days he will rise.’ But they did not understand what he meant and were afraid to ask him about it. They came to Capernaum. When he was in the house, he asked them, ‘What were you arguing about on the road?’ But they kept quiet because on the way they had argued about who was the greatest. Sitting down, Jesus called the Twelve and said, ‘Anyone who wants to be first must be the very last, and the servant of all.’ He took a little child whom he placed among them. Taking the child in his arms, he said to them, ‘Whoever welcomes one of these little children in my name welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me does not welcome me but the one who sent me.’


Reflection Points

1.  Peace’ is at the heart of the Christian gospel. We live in a fractured world, where relationships between people, nature and God are deeply broken. In Christ, God comes to bring ‘peace’, not only spiritually through the forgiveness of sins, but to restore all these damaged and broken relationships.

2.  The Hebrew concept of ‘Shalom’, often translated as ‘peace’, reflects restored relationships in every dimension: with God, self, neighbors near and far, and with the earth and its creatures. It is an integrated vision of ‘the good life’ that combines faith, justice, and peacebuilding – as summarized by the idealized wife of Proverbs 31. Note how she ensures everyone and everything can flourish: her family, the poor, the land, the economy! This is a lovely example of being a peacemaker / home-builder / shalom-spreader in very practical local terms!

3.  Building on last week’s theme of ‘Wisdom’, James 3:17-18 states, “But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere. Peacemakers who sow in peace reap a harvest of righteousness.” Jesus said ‘Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God’ (Matthew 5:9). The phrase ‘children of God’ is often applied to those who believe in Christ – the church. 
How can we, as the Christian community, be peacemakers both globally and locally, particularly in a context of inequality and unsustainable lifestyle choices?

4.  in Mark 9:36-37, Jesus tells us that in welcoming children we welcome God himself. Today, many children and young people suffer from climate anxiety and despair about the future. How can we welcome the Father, by listening more effectively to the voices of young people and changing our attitudes and behavior in response?

Action Pay attention to what you feel as you contemplate

   the fragility, health of Earth.

Is Earth’s ecosystem healthy? 

How is this ecosystem at risk of illness? 

What are the keys to sustaining the equilibrium and balance of our Common Home? 

What niches and diversity must be protected to maintain the health of this habitat? What are the sources of stress that threaten the balance of this particular ecosystem? 

Do those stresses drive your co- creatures from their home on Earth? 

How do you feel when you consider the fragility of life that depends on the health of this place? 

What is your effect on this balance?

How will you protect and steward this planet this week?

A Profession of faith

We belong to the Creator in whose image we are all made.
In God we are breathing, in God we are living, in God we share

the life of all creation.

We belong to Jesus Christ, the true icon of God and of humanity.
In him God is breathing, in him God is living, through him

we are reconciled.

We belong to the Holy Spirit, who gives us new life and strengthens our faith.
In the Spirit love is breathing, in the Spirit truth is living,

the breath of God always moves us.

We belong to the Holy Trinity, who is one in all and Three-in-One.
In God we are all made, in Christ we are all saved,

in the Spirit we are all united.

Together, we belong to the Earth, our common home.
The Earth that is the Lord’s, and all that is in it.
(Per Harling)

For the Beauty of the Earth

Children’s Choir

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tYyX9wLjnnU

 

Reclaim Our Common Home

Video

https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=our+common+home&view=detail&mid=F5EB0C3302B2011E3C55F5EB0C3302B2011E3C55&FORM=VIRE

Season of Creation

 September 12th Sunday II

Reading from the Book of Proverbs 1: 20-33

Out in the open wisdom calls aloud, she raises her voice in the public square on top of the wall she cries out, at the city gate she makes her speech:  ‘How long will you who are simple love your simple ways?
How long will mockers delight in mockery and fools hate knowledge?
Repent at my rebuke! Then I will pour out my thoughts to you, I will make known to you my teachings.

But since you refuse to listen when I call and no one pays attention when I stretch out my hand, since you disregard all my advice and do not accept my rebuke, I in turn will laugh when disaster strikes you; I will mock when calamity overtakes you – when calamity overtakes you like a storm, when disaster sweeps over you like a whirlwind, when distress and trouble overwhelm you.
 

‘Then they will call to me but I will not answer;
they will look for me but will not find me, since they hated knowledge and did not choose to fear the LORD.  Since they would not accept my advice and spurned my rebuke, they will eat the fruit of their ways and be filled with the fruit of their schemes.For the waywardness of the simple will kill them, and the complacency of fools will destroy them;  but whoever listens to me will live in safety and be at ease, without fear of harm.’

Psalm 19

The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.
Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they reveal knowledge.
They have no speech, they use no words; no sound is heard from them.
Yet their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world.

In the heavens God has pitched a tent for the sun.
It is like a bridegroom coming out of his chamber, like a champion rejoicing to run his course.  It rises at one end of the heavens and makes its circuit to the other; nothing is deprived of its warmth.

The law of the LORD is perfect, refreshing the soul.
The statutes of the LORD are trustworthy, making wise the simple.
The precepts of the LORD are right, giving joy to the heart.
The commands of the LORD are radiant, giving light to the eyes.
The fear of the LORD is pure, enduring forever.
The decrees of the LORD are firm, and all of them are righteous.

They are more precious than gold, than much pure gold; they are sweeter than honey, than honey from the honeycomb.
 By them your servant is warned; in keeping them there is great reward.
 But who can discern their own errors? Forgive my hidden faults.
Keep your servant also from willful sins;
may they not rule over me. Then I will be blameless, innocent of great transgression.

May these words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart be pleasing  in your sight, LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer.

Reading from the Letter of James 3: 1-12

Not many of you should become teachers, my fellow believers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly.  We all stumble in many ways. Anyone who is never at fault in what they say is perfect, able to keep their whole body in check.
When we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we can turn the whole animal. Or take ships as an example. Although they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are steered by a very small rudder wherever the pilot wants to go. Likewise, the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole body, sets the whole course of one’s life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell. All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles and sea creatures are being tamed and have been tamed by mankind, but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse human beings, who have been made in God’s likeness. Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this should not be.  Can both fresh water and salt water flow from the same spring? My brothers and sisters, can a fig-tree bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Neither can a salt spring produce fresh water.
 
Gospel of Mark  8:27- 38
 

Jesus and his disciples went on to the villages around Caesarea Philippi. On the way he asked them, ‘Who do people say I am?’ They replied, ‘Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, one of the prophets.’  ‘But what about you?’ he asked. ‘Who do you say I am?’ Peter answered, ‘You are the Messiah.’
Jesus warned them not to tell anyone about him.

He then began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and after three days rise again. He spoke plainly about this, and Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. But when Jesus turned and looked at his disciples, he rebuked Peter. ‘Get behind me, Satan!’ he said. ‘You do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.’  Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: ‘Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me and for the gospel will save it. What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul? If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of them when he comes in his Father’s glory with the holy angels.’

Reflection Points

1.  Oikos’ is also the root word for ‘ecology’, the science of relationships of organisms (including us) to each other and their surroundings.

2.  How do Proverbs 1:26-30, about how disaster (often ecological) will overtake those who ignore God’s Wisdom, speak to our situation today? Are there examples in your context?

3.  In Mark 8:34-35 Jesus asks his followers to take up their cross and follow him. How can we ‘take up our cross’ and follow Christ as Lord of creation in an era of ecological trauma? Why not share stories of environmental campaigners, eg in Latin America, who have lost their lives in challenging powerful vested interests that are destroying God’s world.

4.  In Mark 8:36-37 Jesus asks what good it is to gain the whole world but forfeit our souls. Is this verse calling us to focus only on the ‘spiritual’ gospel, or is it rather a challenge to the materialism that hardens our hearts against God, and against true Wisdom?

Action Reflect on the ecological cycles of this place

   with gratitude for all that it provides 

What nutrient cycles are supported by this place? 
Is this a watershed that filters water?
Is this a rainforest (tropical or deciduous) that fixes nutrients? 
Is this a meadow or field that fixes nitrogen? 
Is this a green space that absorbs CO2 and cleans the air? 
What plants, animals, microbes and minerals are sheltered here? 
How do they serve the whole earth in their being?
 For all that this place provides to nurture you and all that

 belong to this place, let a feeling of gratitude fill you.

How will you protect and steward this week?

Benediction

May God who established the dance of creation, 

Who marveled at the lilies of the field,

Who transforms chaos to order,

Lead us to transform our lives and the Church

To reflect God’s glory in creation.

 

(CTBI Eco-Congregation Program)

Canticle of the Sun

Marty Haugen

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-2R180JStUM

 Peter  Claver’s  Vision:  The Dignity of All Peoples

The life and work of

Saint Peter Claver

led to naming him

Patron Saint

of…

African Americans

African Missions

Colombia

Interracial Justice

 

Peter Claver and Anne Marie Javouhey

Captured by the Vision of Jesus’ Mission and the Dignity of All Peoples, Peter Claver and Anne Marie Javouhey, were called to ‘Go to all peoples’.  Their Missionary Vocation and power of the Holy Spirit in their lives were manifested in the decisions and bold actions of their lives and their congregations.

Both went beyond their homeland; they served the most abused, rejected, and lowly of all people, the new world slave, and they became known for their service to the least, the lost and the last of society.  Their lives witnessed powerfully to the work to liberate, give dignity to and value all human life.

When Anne Marie Javouhey formed her young congregation in 1807,  St. Peter Claver, missionary to enslaved peoples of the Americas, was named one of the Patron saints of the Congregation of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Cluny.

During this Year of Prayer for the Canonization of Blessed Anne Marie Javouhey, the Cluny Sisters around the world, call upon their Patron, Peter Claver, to intercede for the canonization of our founder and the mission of the 2,500 Cluny Sisters to serve all peoples everywhere, especially to the lost, the least and the last in our world today.

Remembering the Story of Peter Claver

A native of Spain, young Jesuit Peter Claver left his homeland forever in 1610 to be a missionary in the colonies of the New World. He sailed into Cartagena, a rich port city washed by the Caribbean. He was ordained there in 1615.

By this time the slave trade had been established in the Americas for nearly 100 years, and Cartagena was a chief center for it. Ten thousand slaves poured into the port each year after crossing the Atlantic from West Africa under conditions so foul and inhuman that an estimated one-third of the passengers died in transit. Although the practice of slave-trading was condemned it continued to flourish.

When Peter Claver arrived in Cartagena, he declared himself “the slave of the Negroes forever.”

As soon as a slave ship entered the port, Peter Claver moved into its infested hold to minister to the ill-treated and exhausted passengers. After the slaves were herded out of the ship like chained animals and shut up in nearby yards to be gazed at by the crowds, Claver plunged in among them with medicines, food, bread, brandy, lemons, and tobacco. With the help of interpreters he gave basic instructions and assured his brothers and sisters of their human dignity and God’s love. During the 40 years of his ministry, Claver instructed and baptized an estimated 300,000 slaves.

After four years of sickness, which forced the saint to remain inactive and largely neglected, Claver died on September 8, 1654. The city magistrates, who had previously frowned at his solicitude for the black outcasts, ordered that he should be buried at public expense and with great pomp.

Peter Claver was canonized in 1888, and Pope Leo XIII declared him the worldwide patron of missionary work among black slaves.

Story of Peter Claver

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VoqW1oiPRhU

We continue to  prayer for the Canonization of
Blessed Anne Marie Javouhey

Lord our God,

You enabled Blessed Anne Marie to

Consecrate herself to the carrying our

Of Your Holy Will in all things

And to be ever attentive to Your Calls

As manifested through the poorest

Of her brothers and sisters.

Grant that we,

In the Church of our day,

May zealously continue the work

You confided to her.

Through her intercession hear

The prayers we address to You…

(add your personal intentions)

In Your Goodness,

Grant us the favor of her canonization

For Your Glory and to

Promote Your Reign of

Love, justice and peace.

Amen.

Story of Blessed Anne Marie Javouhey

http://sj-cluny.org/History-of-Anne-Marie-Javouhey?lang=fr

Season of Creation

 September 5th Sunday I

Reading from the Book of Proverbs 22: 1-2; 8-9; 22-23

A good name is more desirable than great riches;  to be esteemed is better than silver or gold.

 
Rich and poor have this in common: The LORD is the Maker of them all.
 

Whoever sows injustice reaps calamity, and the rod they wield in fury will be broken.
 

The generous will themselves be blessed, for they share their food with the poor.
 

Do not exploit the poor because they are poor and do not crush the needy in court, for the LORD will take up their case and will exact life for life.

Psalm 125

Those who trust in the LORD are like Mount Zion, which cannot be shaken but endures forever.
 

As the mountains surround Jerusalem, so the LORD surrounds his people both now and for evermore.
 

The sceptre of the wicked will not remain over the land allotted to the righteous, for then the righteous might use their hands to do evil.
 

LORD, do good to those who are good, to those who are upright in heart.
But those who turn to crooked ways the LORD will banish with the evildoers.
 

Peace be on Israel.

Reading from the Letter of James 2:1-10, 14-17

My brothers and sisters, believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ must not show favoritism. Suppose a man comes into your meeting wearing a gold ring and fine clothes, and a poor man in filthy old clothes also comes in. If you show special attention to the man wearing fine clothes and say, ‘Here’s a good seat for you, but say to the poor man, ‘You stand there’ or ‘Sit on the floor by my feet,’ have you not discriminated among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts? Listen, my dear brothers and sisters: has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom he promised those who love him? But you have dishonored the poor. Is it not the rich who are exploiting you? Are they not the ones who are dragging you into court? Are they not the ones who are blaspheming the noble name of him to whom you belong? If you really keep the royal law found in Scripture, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself,’ you are doing right. But if you show favoritism, you sin and are convicted by the law as law-breakers. For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it.

What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them? Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to them, ‘Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,’ but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it? 17 In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.

Gospel of Mark 7:24

Jesus left that place and went to the vicinity of Tyre. He entered a house and did not want anyone to know it; yet he could not keep his presence secret. In fact, as soon as she heard about him, a woman whose little daughter was possessed by an impure spirit came and fell at his feet. The woman was a Greek, born in Syrian Phoenicia. She begged Jesus to drive the demon out of her daughter.

‘First let the children eat all they want,’ he told her, ‘for it is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to the dogs.’

Lord,’ she replied, ‘even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs.’

Then he told her, ‘For such a reply, you may go; the demon has left your daughter.’

She went home and found her child lying on the bed, and the demon gone.

Then Jesus left the vicinity of Tyre and went through Sidon, down to the Sea of Galilee and into the region of the Decapolis There some people brought to him a man who was deaf and could hardly talk, and they begged Jesus to place his hand on him.
After he took him aside, away from the crowd, Jesus put his fingers into the man’s ears. Then he spat and touched the man’s tongue. He looked up to heaven and with a deep sigh said to him, ‘Ephphatha!’ (which means ‘Be opened!’). At this, the man’s ears were opened, his tongue was loosed and he began to speak plainly. Jesus commanded them not to tell anyone. But the more he did so, the more they kept talking about it. People were overwhelmed with amazement. ‘He has done everything well,’ they said. ‘He even makes the deaf hear and the mute speak.’

Reflection Points

1.  Oikos, the Greek word for ‘home’, is the root word for ‘economy’ – which, at a global level, is about planetary house-keeping. How far have modern understandings of the importance of the economy drifted from the root meaning of creating a secure and just home for all?

2.  Proverbs 22 and James 2 make clear that God will champion the cause of the oppressed, and that poverty and injustice are deeply linked to our economic behavior and systems.

3.  In a world of climate injustice, where careless use of fossil fuels leads to insecurity, disaster and suffering for the world’s poor and marginalized, what is the ‘Good News’ ? Can there be good news without addressing such injustice? 

4.  James 2:6 “Is it not the rich who are exploiting you? Are they not the ones who are dragging you into court?” Is this passage aimed only at the ‘super rich’ or also at the many Christians who live comfortable lives, acting as if they (we?) are ignorant of the links between that comfort – built on exploitative and unsustainable economic practices - and the suffering of the poor.

5.  In Mark 7:28-29, Jesus commends the Syro-Phoenician (a woman and a Gentile) for arguing with him, and heals her daughter! Are there issues of injustice, where God seems silent, that drive us to wrestle with God in prayer?
 
Action Become aware of God’s presence in a natural or agricultural
place that you contemplate

How is God present in this place? 
How does all the life you see exist in God’s spirit? 
How do you feel knowing that the Holy Spirit has filled this place for geological ages, with every plant, animal, organism and mineral that has called this place home in the deep past, makes its home here with you now, and will live here with creatures in this place in the future? 
How do you feel knowing that you, earthling, belong to this place, are made of the same carbon, breathe the same air, are nurtured by the same cycles and life processes, and are enlivened by the same Spirit of the Creator?

How will you protect and steward this week?

Lord’s Prayer We pray our common prayer that Christ taught us.
Eternal Spirit, Earth-maker, Pain-bearer, Life-giver,
Source of all that is and that shall be, Father and Mother of us all, Loving God, in whom is heaven:

The hallowing of your name echoes through the universe!
The way of your justice be followed by the peoples of the world! Your heavenly will be done by all created beings!
Your beloved community of peace and freedom sustain our hope and come on earth. With the bread we need for today, feed us.

In the hurts we absorb from one another, forgive us. 
In times of temptation and test, strengthen us.
From trials too great to endure, spare us. 
From the grip of all that is evil, free us.
For you reign in the glory of the power that is love, now and forever.
Amen.

(Adapted from The New Zealand Book of Prayer | He Karakia Mihinare o Aotearoa 

This version of the Lord’s prayer was influenced by Maori theologians)

Give Thanks to the Lord
Dan Schutte
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=70cIycImjp8