Ash Wednesday
Thursday of the First Week of Lent
Scripture: Psalm 51
Scripture: Jonah 4:6-11
Meditation:
Meditation: Jonah is sitting in the desert sun. It is hot, and so he is
very glad when a bush grows up and provides him with shade. The
plant saves him from discomfort, as the Bible says.
The feasting of Shrove Tuesday and the revelry of Mardi Gras are
over now. Today, we are hearing about dust and ashes. We gather
in solemn assembly and are marked with a cross of ashes on our
forehead. Our Lenten journey has begun.
The reminder that we are dust and to dust we must return connects
us in powerful ways with creation. It points out to us that in the
cycle of life, we are not so special. What makes us special is that
God has given us a special call: to take good care of the creation.
The ashes we use to mark our foreheads are made by burning the
dried up palms from last year’s Palm Sunday. They remind us that
the crowds who shouted hosanna and waved palm branches for
Jesus… just five days later shouted “Crucify!” The palm ashes call
to mind our sinfulness. And since they are created from burnt
branches, they specifically remind us of our sinfulness towards
creation.
During these 40 days of Lent, we will ponder that sinfulness and
repent of the ways in which we have taken God’s creation for
granted.
Prayer: Creator of all, let us pause and find new meaning in this
day of Ash Wednesday, in the reminder that we are of the earth
and will return to the earth. Strengthen us as we enter this Lenten
journey and guide us to more faithfulness to our calling of being
caretakers of your creation. Amen.
Since the arrival of furnaces, air conditioners, and thermostats, we
have not had to suffer the discomfort of extreme temperatures in
our homes. We might have gotten a little spoiled, expecting the
same temperature year round, no matter what the season.
During this Lenten season, re-discover the natural change of
temperatures. Embrace sweaters for the chilly mornings and
evenings rather than changing the setting on your thermostat.
Decide to keep your house warmer in the summer and cooler in the
winter. It will save you money and it will save the earth from
carbon.
God reminds Jonah that the story is not about just him and his own
comfort level, but about all people God loves. For the sake of the
billions who share God’s creation with us, let us adjust to
fluctuating temperatures, let us enjoy the differences of the
seasons, and let us make this one change to contribute to the health
and future of God’s world.
Prayer: God of the seasons, we thank you for shade plants in the
summer and for wind-breaking hedges in the winter. We are
grateful for our comfortable homes. Teach us to be mindful of the
ways in which we can adjust our comfort level and help your
wonderful creation be healthier. Amen.
Friday of the First Week of Lent
Saturday of the First Week of Lent
Scripture: Exodus 16:4-8
Scripture: Genesis 42:1-6, 25
Meditation: The land and its inhabitants are often disenfranchised
by the rich and powerful. The degradation of the environment
occurs where people have little or no voice in decisions because of
racial, gender, or economic discrimination. This degradation
aggravates their situation and swells the numbers of those trapped
in urban or rural poverty. (ELCA social statement, Care for
Creation)
Meditation: Joseph’s family is suffering from a severe famine in
Canaan. The brothers decide to go to Egypt to buy grain there. In
order to bring the grain back home, the brothers all come with their
own bags.
It takes 12 pounds of grain to produce one pound of hamburger.
This could make 8 loaves of bread, or 24 plates of spaghetti. Cattle
consume 70% of all U.S. grain.
It takes 2,500 gallons of water to produce one pound of hamburger.
This could be used to grow more than 50 pounds of fruits and
vegetables. Half of all water consumed in the United States is used
to grow feed or to provide drinking water for cattle and other
livestock.
When God blessed the Israelites with manna and quail in the
wilderness, God gave them what they needed and what the land
could bear. We, too, need to be mindful of what the land can bear.
For example, we can cut down on meat consumption and focus on
foods lower on the food chain. Consider reviving the ancient
Christian tradition of meat-free Fridays.
Prayer: God of provision, you gave your people manna and quail in
the wilderness. Help us not to be greedy with our hoarding of
resources and the excess of our eating habits. Amen.
It used to be the norm that when people went shopping they would
bring their own bags. Then merchants discovered the advertising
power of having customers carry shopping bags with the store
logo, and we all got used to being provided bags for our purchases.
Here are some facts about plastic bags:
• It is estimated that worldwide plastic bag consumption falls between 500
billion and 1 trillion bags annually - almost 1 million every minute.
• The average family accumulates 60 plastic bags in only four trips to the
grocery store.
• In good circumstances, high-density polyethylene will take more than 20
years to degrade. In less ideal circumstances (landfills or as general refuse),
a bag will take more than 1,000 years to degrade.
• An estimated 3,960,000 tons of plastic bags, sack and wraps were
produced in 2008. Of those, 3,570,000 tons (90%) were discarded. This is
almost triple the amount discarded the first year plastic bag numbers were
tracked (1,230,000 tons in 1980). (EPA)
• Only .5% to 3% of all bags are recycled.
This Lent, let us follow the example of Joseph’s brothers and bring
our own bags to the store.
Prayer: Generous God, you provide us with the means to buy what
we need for daily living. Teach us to bring those blessings home in
an environmentally responsible manner. Amen.
First Sunday in Lent
Monday of the Second Week of Lent
Scripture: Psalm 72:16-19
Scripture: Exodus 9:6-12
Meditation: Today’s psalm prays for guidance and support for the
King who is set to rule over God’s people. An abundance of grain,
fruit, and grass is seen as a blessing and as a sign that the king
governs wisely.
Meditation: In his battle with Pharaoh, God instructs Moses to use
soot from the kiln. Thrown in the air, this soot covered the land
with dust and both people and livestock became sick with boils.
In our efforts to have ample harvests and lush green lawns, we
have often engaged in practices that seemed wise at the time, but
have since become problematic. Pesticides and fertilizers have
initially improved yields, but now we are discovering the
limitations and dangers of using them.
Even though pesticides are sprayed on land, they often make their
way into a water source, such as a river, ocean, or pond. If a body
of water becomes contaminated with the chemicals, many fish and
other animals may become sick and die. This can throw the whole
ecosystem off balance.
Pesticides are also hazardous to a person's health. They are stored
in your colon, where they slowly but surely poison the body. They
have been linked to cancer, Alzheimer's disease, ADHD, and even
birth defects. Pesticides also have the potential to harm the nervous
system, the reproductive system, and the endocrine system.
Like the psalmist, let us pray for wisdom in our planting and
harvesting so that God’s name is blessed and God’s world
protected.
Prayer: You watch over seedtime and harvest, O God. During this
time of springtime planting, grant us the desire to be wise in our
use of chemicals. Amen.
This experience is not so different from what carbon pollution
does. Carbon pollution is the main contributor to climate
disruption, making extreme weather worse -- including more
severe floods, widespread wildfires, and record drought. It is also
linked to life-threatening air pollution, such as the smog that can
trigger asthma attacks. Carbon pollution threatens our health, our
economy, and our children’s future.
Coal and gas-fired power plants emit more than 2.3 billion metric
tons per year of carbon pollution. By establishing strong carbon
pollution protections, the EPA can clean up and modernize the way
we power our country. These protections will ensure that our kids,
our communities, and America’s workforce are healthier, while
also creating new jobs and fighting climate disruption.
The plague Moses caused with his kiln soot was one of ten
disasters that eventually ruined Egypt. Pharaoh’s heart was
hardened, and he wouldn’t listen to the warning. This Lent, may
we open our ears and learn about the issue of carbon in our air.
Prayer: Sprit of God, open our ears and minds so that we can
understand what is happening to the air we breathe. Walk with us
on this journey and lead us to be active in improving the health of
our environment, so that all people and animals can be free from
illness and fear. Amen.
Tuesday of the Second Week of Lent
Wednesday of the Second Week of Lent
Scripture: John 3:5-9
Scripture: Matthew 14:13-21
Meditation: In all honesty, Jesus was not talking about drafty
windows here, but still: His comment that the wind blows where it
chooses, and you hear the sound of it, but you don’t know where it
comes from or where it goes, rings so true when it comes to sitting
in a drafty room. Cold air drifts around you, and you bundle up in
blankets against the chill.
Meditation: Jesus fed over 5000 people by miraculously
multiplying five loaves of bread and two fish. The people who
were there on the hillside that day were fed, both in body and in
soul. The bread and fish filled their bellies and strengthened their
bodies. The miracle – and being in the presence of Jesus and
receiving food out of Jesus’ hands – filled their souls with hope
and faith.
However, smaller drafts – drafts we cannot feel while sitting in our
easy chair – still leak a lot of heated or cooled air to the outside. A
simple draft check with a feather or ribbon will reveal those leaks
to you. Plugging them will save you money and will save the
environment pollution.
Yes, Jesus didn’t talk about the kind of wind caused by drafty
windows. Yet his assertion that the Spirit’s guidance becomes
visible when it is translated into action; that assertion could be a
good motivation for us. We were blessed with the Holy Spirit in
baptism. What kind of effect does our spiritedness show? Into what
kind of environmental stewardship does the Spirit lead us?
Prayer: Holy Spirit, blow mightily into our lives and guide us in
the ways of love and truth and action. Move us to be the best
caretakers of God’s world we can be. Let us begin that effort in our
own homes. Amen.
All food has the capacity to fill us in body and soul. If we realize
that everything we eat comes to us through the grace of God, every
meal becomes a small miracle and every mealtime becomes holy
time in Jesus’ presence.
Food is essential to our physical and our spiritual lives. Looked at
in this way, wasting food becomes a sin. Letting God’s gift to us
deteriorate is poor stewardship. Making so much food that we have
piles of left-overs is not only poor planning, but also a sign of
greed or of lack of trust in God’s providence.
At the end of the miracle story, the people pick up every piece of
left-over; nothing is wasted. This season of Lent, let us watch the
amounts of food we are tempted to discard. How can we use them?
How can we avoid further food waste?
Prayer: Generous God, you provide food for us every day of our
lives. Give us thankful hearts that will gratefully receive your
blessings to our bodies and our souls. Help us to cherish each
morsel. Amen.
Thursday of the Second Week of Lent
Friday of the Second Week of Lent
Scripture: Luke 16:19-31
Scripture: 1 Kings 19:4-8
Meditation: Water cools. When the rich man is suffering in Hades,
he is longing for the cooling effect of water on his tongue. We
know the refreshing coolness of jumping into a mountain lake on a
hot summer day, or of taking a cool shower after a work-out or a
day of gardening.
Meditation: The Prophet Elijah is on an urgent journey: He is
fleeing from persecution by Queen Jezebel. He walks a whole day
until he runs out of energy. God provides him with food and water
so that Elijah can continue his journey.
We can take advantage of this cooling effect of water when it
comes to making our fridges more efficient. Placing jugs filled
with water onto empty shelves will help cut the electricity needs of
our fridge, because water can hold the cold better than air. Another
thing we can do for more energy efficiency is to clean the coils in
the back of the fridge on a regular basis.
Having refrigerators is such a blessing. How lucky we are to be
able to enjoy a chilled glass of milk or water on a hot day. How
nice it is not to have to go grocery shopping every single day.
Let us use this blessing in responsible fashion. Let us do what we
can to run our fridges as energy efficiently as possible.
Prayer: Holy God, sometimes we forget that even our appliances
are signs of your blessing and love. Inspire us to use those
machines as carefully and responsibly as we can. Thank you, Lord,
for giving us fridges. Amen.
We sometimes forget how much energy a journey takes because
the energy now comes most often from our car engines, not our
feet and legs. We grumble at the gas pump, but then we keep on
driving.
Elijah’s journey was very urgent, a matter of freedom and
captivity, maybe even life and death. How about the urgency of
our journeys? Indeed, there are places we must drive to, like work,
family emergencies, church, volunteer positions. Many, many of
our trips, though, lack any urgency. Or our trips are so
disorganized and unplanned that we keep backtracking and
doubling up stretches of highway.
Today, let us focus on the journeys we undertake. Is each one of
them necessary? Can two or more journeys be combined into one?
Can a journey or two be accomplished without our car?
Prayer: Good Shepherd of us all, you sustained Elijah on his
journey. Travel with us to the places we need to go. Help us to
evaluate our many trips and teach us to be more creative in
avoiding unnecessary car miles. Amen.
Saturday of the Second Week of Lent
Second Sunday in Lent
Scripture: 2 Kings 5:9-14
Scripture: Genesis 2:4b-15
Meditation: Naaman was suffering from a skin disease. In order to
heal him, the Prophet Elisha had him wash in the Jordan River
seven times.
Meditation: God creates the human being out of the soil, out of the
dust of the ground. God breathes life into the human being and
places him into the Garden of Eden. God has made this wonderful
place on earth, and then God made the human being to take care of
it all, to till it and keep it.
There are two connections between this story and today’s Carbon
Fast challenge about washing machines.
The first is the washing itself. Naaman needed to be cleansed, and
so he washed himself, clothes and all, in the Jordan River.
There are many caring Christians who are taking this divine calling
very seriously. They work hard to be good stewards of God’s
creation.
The second is that Naaman had wanted to receive a challenge. He
wanted it to be difficult to get clean. Yet what Elisha told him to
do was really simple: Wash in the Jordan River.
Some of them work on their own, making sure their own houses
and yards are being tended in a faithful, generous, environmentally
conscious way.
We sometimes make things harder than they need to be when it
comes to washing our clothes. In the vast number of cases, we do
not need warm, let alone hot water to get our clothes clean. We can
save significant amounts of electricity when we wash our loads in
cold or cool water. The clothes will get just as clean, just like
Naaman got clean in the cold waters of the Jordan River.
Other Christians have organized in order to support one another
and to have a larger impact on our society. They speak out with the
voice of faith and challenge their fellow citizens to better
stewardship.
Prayer: Thank you, Lord, for washing machines, which make it so
much easier to have clean clothes. Inspire us to be frugal and wise
in our use of water and electricity as we enjoy the help of our
appliances. Amen.
On this Lord’s Day, spend time checking out some of these
organizations:
www.lrc.org (Lutherans Restoring Creation)
www.CreationJustice.org
www.RestoringEden.org
www.BlessedEarth.org
Prayer: Lord Jesus, thank you for your faithful disciples who take
seriously their calling to tend your creation. Help us to find a place
where we can add our own voice to the cause. Amen.
Monday of the Third Week in Lent
Tuesday of the Third Week in Lent
Scripture: Matthew 5:14-16
Scripture: 2 John 1:12
Meditation: Jesus reminds his people how difficult it is to hide
light. A city on a hill cannot be hid. During the Second World War,
people experienced just how hard it was to cover all windows of a
city sufficiently so its location could not be seen.
Meditation: John wrote his letters when paper was a very
expensive resource. It is no wonder that he would rather save the
paper and talk to his brothers and sisters in Christ face to face.
Jesus also reminds his listeners that light has a purpose. One
doesn’t light a lamp only to hide it under a basket. That would be
useless and a waste of resources.
It is just as useless and a waste of resources to light a lamp in room
where nobody is present. At night, we can often drive through
neighborhoods and glance in brightly lit rooms without a single
person inside. Why are the lights on?
In an Orthodox Jewish home, you can sometimes find motion
sensors attached to the light switches: When there is no movement
in the room, the lights go out. This saves Jews the labor of
operating light switches on the Sabbath. The same appliance could
save us the waste of electricity creating needless light in an empty
room.
Prayer: God of the Universe, you created light out of darkness. Let
us value the light you bless us with. Teach us to be responsible in
our use of this amazing resource. Amen.
For us today, paper has become so cheap that we use it rather
thoughtlessly. Think of all the paper you touch in a given day:
from bathroom tissue to newspaper, napkins to shopping lists, junk
mail to magazines, letters to account updates; we drown in a flood
of paper. There is a cost to all this paper use:
- 30% – 40% percent of municipal waste is paper, and 50% of
office waste going to landfills is paper.
- 3,000 tons of used paper towel ends up in US landfills every day.
That same paper towel uses twice as much C0₂ to produce than
reusable (and prettier!) cloth napkins. If every US home replaced
just one roll of paper towel with recycled paper towel, we would
save 544,000 trees
- Recycling used paper could save 41K trees and keep 6M tons of
waste out of full landfills.
- Nearly half (42%) of all global wood harvested is destined to
become paper.
- Every US household throws out the equivalent of 4 trees in paper
waste!
Prayer: Dear God, your disciple John was careful about his use of
paper. Help us to follow his example. Amen.
Wednesday of the Third Week in Lent
Thursday of the Third Week in Lent
Scripture: Mark 4:1-9
Scripture: Revelation 22:1-5
Meditation: The Parable of the Sower can be understood in various
ways. That’s the power of parables. This story could challenge us
to be good soil ourselves so that the seed of God’s gospel can take
root in us. It could also encourage us to be generous with the seed
of the gospel and not to worry too much where we scatter it,
because the overall return for God’s kingdom is going to be
amazing.
Meditation: There are a lot of trees in the Bible. The Holy Book
begins with God planting the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and
Evil, and it ends with the promise of the Tree of Life. Obviously,
God loves trees.
But at its basic level, the parable does say something about soil:
One needs good soil with some depth in order for seed to grow.
There is one thing we can all do to create good soil: We can
compost our food scraps. Rather than throw them out with the
garbage, we can collect them separately and let them compost and
thus return the nutrients to the soil.
For people with gardens and yards, this is very easy to do. Check
out http://www.planetnatural.com/composting-101/ and other
similar web-sites for starter ideas.
Even people in apartments can contribute to the soil in God’s
world. There are organizations that will come and pick up your
table scraps and turn them into compost.
Prayer: God of all generations, let my heart be good soil. And let
my actions contribute toward good soil on this planet for
generations to come. Amen.
When was the last time you planted a tree? Or supported an
organization that plants trees? Planting a tree can be a deeply
satisfying act, a commitment to the future of the place where it will
grow, and an act of faith in a future with God.
Choose a tree that's native to the region and your rewards multiply.
Natives are likely to thrive in your conditions with minimal
attention after the first two or three years. They provide the food
and shelter local wildlife depends on. And you needn't worry about
introducing an invasive species.
Communities have discovered the value of native trees in regard to
beauty, climate control, erosion control, and wind breaks. The
State of Maryland even sponsors citizens who plant native trees
with financial support (http://www.trees.maryland.gov/).
From the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, to the Tree on
which our savior died, to the Tree of Life, people of faith are
people of trees.
Prayer: Gracious God, we thank you for the gift of trees, and for
the salvation story you have connected with them. Turn us into
keepers and planters of trees. Amen.
Friday of the Third Week in Lent
Saturday of the Third Week in Lent
Scripture: Exodus 14:21-25
Scripture: Hebrews 4:9-11
Meditation: When the Israelites had just escaped from slavery in
Egypt and Pharaoh’s army was pursuing them, God saved them by
a dramatic drying action: A strong East wind blew all night and
turned water into dry land.
Meditation: A Sabbath rest still remains for the people of God. The
image of rest is soothing to our bodies and souls. Who among us
does not ache for a time of rest?
Doing laundry isn’t nearly as dramatic as being rescued from
enemy armies. However, the same drying action God used that day
is still available to us. If we don’t stick our washed clothes into the
dryer, but instead hang them on outside laundry lines, then the
breezes God sends into our yards will dry our clothes.
It is a little extra work to hang clothes on lines. However, there are
some great advantages to doing this:
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Dryers are hard on our clothes; the lint you gather out of
the trap after each load shows that plainly. Line drying is
much gentler on our garments.
Line dried clothes are much less wrinkly and require little
or no ironing. That saves labor and electricity.
The sun shine has disinfectant powers and makes our
clothes healthier for us, plus they smell so much better.
Line drying is free. Switching from dryer to lines can save
$100.
Prayer: Moving God, by a mighty wind you saved your people,
and by gentle breezes you delight us. Teach us to take advantage of
the drying power of your wind, so we can be gentler on your world
and on our clothes. Amen.
Today, though, we will ponder the topic of rest for our electronics.
Many electronic devices and appliances draw electricity even when
they are not in use. They seem to be at rest, but their rest is not
complete; their systems are still drawing power from the grid.
We can prevent this from happening and make sure that our
electronics are indeed resting fully:
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We can unplug appliances that are off.
We can plug computers, TVs, radios etc. into power strips
and turn those off between uses.
We can unplug our phone chargers when they are not
currently charging a phone.
By providing such full rest for our electronics, we will be saving
money on our electricity bill. We will also benefit in another way:
It will be one step more complicated to check that e-mail or
mindlessly turn on the TV. As a result, we will be more likely to
find some rest ourselves, restoring time that was eaten up by
electronics before.
Prayer: Loving God, you want your people to experience rest in the
midst of their busy lives. Inspire us to ever-new ways of creating
times of rest for ourselves. Amen.
Third Sunday in Lent
Monday of the Fourth Week in Lent
Scripture: John 2:13-16
Scripture: Ecclesiastes 3:1-8
Meditation: Jesus was aghast by the commerce taking place in the
temple courtyard. A place that was supposed to be filled with
holiness and calm and the presence of God was instead filled with
the clamor of tradespeople.
Meditation: As the teacher states, there is a time for throwing away
and a time for keeping.
Sometimes when we collect all the junk mail from the mailbox or
open the Saturday edition of our newspaper, we feel like repeating
Jesus’ shout: “Stop making this house a market place!” It is so
annoying to be inundated with commercials on a daily basis.
Aside from being annoying, junk mail is also taking a huge toll:
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Every year, the junk mail industry destroys approximately
100 million trees. The production and disposal of junk mail
uses up more energy than what is used by 3 million cars!
About 28 billion gallons of water are wasted to produce and
recycle junk mail each year.
You waste about 70 hours a year dealing with junk mail.
The average adult receives 41 pounds of junk mail each
year. 44% goes to the landfill unopened.
Junk mail inks have high concentrations of heavy metals,
making the paper difficult to recycle.
$320 million of local taxes are used to dispose of junk mail
each year.
Transporting junk mail costs $550 million a year.
Prayer: God of Wisdom, on this Holy Day, show us how to create
holy time in our house. Give us energy to contact organizations
that stop our junk mail. Thank you for their work. Amen.
In recent generations, the time for throwing away has drastically
expanded. It has become so easy to use an item once and then to
throw it out. We have gotten used to paper napkins and plastic
silver ware, take-out food containers and cardboard coffee cups,
plastic water bottles and paper plates.
With Lent being a time to ponder, let us ponder what happens to all
that garbage we are producing by our throwing-away habits. Our
landfills are filling up. In the Pacific Ocean floats an “island” of
garbage three times the size of Texas, called the Great Pacific
Garbage Patch. (Check it out at
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Pacific_garbage_patch.)
The time for throwing away has passed. We are now in the time to
keep. Try to minimize disposables in your life. Take your own
coffee mug along. Use cloth napkins, real plates, and real
silverware. Bring grocery shopping bags. Use reusable water
bottles. Do what you can to minimize the creation of more
garbage.
Prayer: God of all times and seasons, help us enter a time of
keeping and treasuring. Lead us to new ways in which we can
reduce our garbage and improve the beauty of your world. Amen.
Tuesday of the Fourth Week in Lent
Wednesday of the Fourth Week in Lent
Scripture: Jeremiah 8:18-22
Scripture: Jeremiah 4:19-28
Meditation: Jeremiah is one of many prophets who are very
outspoken about the fact that God cares about the poor, and that
God is angered when the poor are mistreated or taken advantage
of.
Meditation: The Prophet Jeremiah sees disaster coming, and he
cannot remain silent any longer. As the prophet of God, he can see
where things are heading in his nation, and he feels such anguish
that he is compelled to speak out.
All too often it is the poor who suffer when calamity strikes. The
same is true in regard to climate change. The poor are the first to
suffer the consequences of the changing weather patterns around
the world:
We are today’s people of faith; we are today’s prophets. Knowing
God’s will for this world, we know that things are headed in the
wrong direction. Just like Jeremiah, we can foresee “waste and
void” if nothing changes; a time of no more birds in the air and of
desert where there used to be fruitful land. We are anguished over
the state of God’s creation. It is time we speak out.
• One report estimates that 26 million people have already been
displaced because of climate change.
• 375 million people may be affected by climate-related disasters
by 2015.
The daily Carbon Fast calendar gives you some organizations that
can help you to make your voice heard.
• 200 million people may be on the move each year by 2050
because of hunger, environmental degradation, and loss of land.
Other options are:
• Several major cities that are dependent on water from mountain
ranges face collapse.
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God watches out for the poor; and God expects us to watch out for
them, too. Doing whatever is in our power to diminish climate
change is one way we care for the poor.
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Prayer: Lover of Souls, you care for all people, and your heart goes
out to the poor. Stir our hearts, as well, and make us act now to
ease the burden on the poor. Amen.
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Write prayer petitions for the Prayer of the People in
worship and hand them to your worship leaders, so the
whole congregation can cry out in prayer.
Write articles for your congregation’s newsletter.
Write letters to the editor of your local paper.
Contact your representatives and senators and make your
voice heard.
Start a discussion group in your congregation,
neighborhood, senior center, library, etc.
Prayer: God of Hope, you have shown us that the word can be a
powerful tool for change. Inspire us to raise our voices and to
speak on behalf of your creation. Amen.
Thursday of the Fourth Week in Lent
Friday of the Fourth Week in Lent
Scripture: Psalm 116
Scripture: Colossians 1:24 – 2:5
Meditation: Today’s psalm doesn’t exactly talk about recycling,
but it does sing about returning something to God. The psalmist is
so thankful for the way God has responded to his prayer and has
taken care of him that he feels the need to return something to God.
Meditation: The text from Colossians is the only text in the whole
Bible that uses the word “energy,” today’s topic on the daily
Carbon Fast calendar. Amazing as God’s word often is, the section
of the letter has quite a bit to say about joining forces in regard to
clean energy.
This psalm places the issue of recycling into a faith context. When
we recycle our trash, we are returning raw materials that can be
used again. There are many good reasons to recycle:
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It diminishes our personal amount of garbage and our bill.
It diminishes the amount of trash going into landfills.
It supplies raw materials to the system that will not need to
be otherwise mined, drilled, etc.
It provides income for counties.
Recycling makes sense for everyone. But it especially makes sense
for people of faith. Like the psalmist, we are filled with gratitude
toward God for love and mercy, for God’s care for us, and for the
salvation given us ‘in Christ’. So thankful are we that we want to
return something to God as a sign of our gratitude and faith.
Worship is one of those things; our offering is another, as are
ministry and service. And so is recycling. When we recycle, we do
our part to deal with trash in a responsible, clean, faithful manner;
our part to be good stewards of God’s creation.
Prayer: Gracious Lord, how could we ever express our thanks to
you sufficiently? Accept our prayer, our worship, and our service,
including the service of recycling, as a token of our gratitude.
Amen.
First of all, this is a group effort. Colossians writes about being
encouraged and united in love. We need to have people struggling
with us in the quest to find renewable energy resources.
Second, Colossians admits that doing the faithful thing is a
struggle, and that includes the struggle to become independent
from energy sources that pollute our planet.
Third, what energizes the author is the power of Jesus Christ, the
mystery of Christ in us and among us, and the hope Christ’s gospel
gives to the writer.
These three points are powerful to keep in mind. As you spend
some time looking into green energy possibilities with your power
company or your community, remember the message of
Colossians:
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We have a group working with us; we are not alone in this.
We know it’s going to be a struggle; we are not deterred.
We are powered by Jesus Christ.
Prayer: Lord Jesus Christ, fill us with your presence and power, so
we can work toward a better future for this world. Give us the hope
we need to remain faithful in our daily struggles. Amen.
Saturday of the Fourth Week in Lent
Fourth Sunday in Lent
Scripture: Luke 11:37-41
Scripture: Psalm 148
Meditation: It sounds like even Pharisees had to do dishes. It also
sounds like washing dishes had become more than just a household
chore. The Pharisees had developed certain rituals for the washing
of dishes that would assure them of being “clean” in the eyes of
God.
Meditation: The psalmist encourages the whole of God’s creation
to praise God. Not only people are to sing the psalm, but also sun
and moon and stars, sea monsters and weather systems, wild
animals and fruit trees, and so on.
Jesus freed us from ritual washings like that. We no longer have to
worry about how and when we wash our dishes; God doesn’t really
care.
One thing, however, has not changed: What we do, even in terms
of daily household chores, does say something about our faith.
Every task we complete gives witness as to whose child we are.
While God does not care in which order we wash our dishes, he
does care about some aspects of the dish-washing process:
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What soap do we use? Is it easy on the environment?
How much water do we use? Are we being frugal?
What dishwasher setting do we use? Can we just open the
dishwasher door and let the dishes air dry? That would save
a lot of energy.
Today’s text and Carbon Fast challenge call us to pay attention to
what we do. Even the little things we do each day say something
about our desire to be good stewards of God’s creation.
Prayer: Dear God, we want to serve you and your creation in
everyday life. Teach us what to do so that we can reflect our love
for you through our actions. Amen.
Today’s Carbon Fast calendar challenges us to listen to creation.
This psalm certainly expects creation to have something to say.
What do you hear when you listen to everything God made?
The psalmist expects all of creation to praise God and to shout for
joy. Today, we might hear some other songs as well. We might
hear the oceans bemoan the amount of garbage dumped into them.
We can hear the mountains bewailing the major landscape changes
that are part of mountain-top removal mining. We might hear birds
singing in new songs so they can still be heard above the noise of
this world. We might hear large land animals mourn the loss of
wild habitat. We might hear wildflowers and trees lament the
arrival of ever more invasive species.
All in all, today’s creation would sing a mixed song. Let us open
our ears to hear both the joy of being part of God’s creation, and
the sorrow about the pain this creation is currently suffering. May
their song encourage us to learn more and to do something.
Prayer: Lord of the Universe, you have made everything good.
Help us to understand what is going on with your creation, so we
can try to restore health to your planet. Amen.
Monday of the Fifth Week in Lent
Tuesday of the Fifth Week in Lent
Scripture: Deuteronomy 21:23b – 22:9
Scripture: 1 Corinthians 7:29-31
Meditation: God gives a pretty clear order here: You must not
defile the land that the Lord your God is giving you.
Meditation: What does it say about our society that we have coined
the term “shopping therapy?” When did it begin, that buying things
was not so much about needing the new item, but about feeling
good about spoiling oneself by splurging on unnecessary stuff?
This ties in beautifully with today’s Carbon Fast challenge to pick
up litter we see along the road. We don’t want God’s land to be
defiled, so we pick up garbage. We all benefit from this behavior,
as does God’s creation.
This is a connection we also find in today’s Bible text. After giving
the order above, the text goes on to list all kinds of things the
people are to do in order not to defile the land, such as returning
stray animals, releasing nesting birds, making a house safe, and
tending to their vineyards.
In God’s view, keeping the land undefiled means acting in certain
ways that benefit us, our neighbors, our community, and God’s
good creation. Picking up garbage is one such act. Watching out
for our neighbor’s livestock is another. Tending to our yards and
gardens faithfully is another.
Today we will un-defile God’s world by removing trash. Keep
your mind open to discover other actions God might be calling you
to do in the future to keep the creation clean.
Prayer: Creator God, your world is so beautiful. Bless us as we
remove some garbage from its landscape today. Teach us to adopt
behaviors that keep your creation un-defiled. Amen.
Our houses are so over-full of our possessions that self-storage
places are a growth business. Commercials are constantly telling us
to buy more because we deserve it and it will make us happy.
Paul calls us to a very different perspective. Paul is expecting the
kingdom of God to break into this world at any moment. With that
great event looming, buying stuff has no importance any more. It’s
just something we do to get what we truly need for living, but it
has no emotional value or meaning.
We find our meaning in the fact that we are children of God and
invited to live in God’s kingdom. Everything else pales in
comparison.
This week, pay particular attention to your buying habits. The
Carbon Fast calendar offers you a web-site with good stewardship
questions to ask before each purchase.
Prayer: Loving God, you have blessed us with the ability to earn
and to spend money. Inspire in us such faith and trust in our future
with you that we can be faithful stewards of our money now.
Amen.
Wednesday of the Fifth Week in Lent
Thursday of the Fifth Week in Lent
Scripture: James 4:13-17
Scripture: Micah 4:1-4
Meditation: James does not seem to have a problem with doing
business and investing money. What he does have a problem with
is the attitude that by doing business and making money we can
determine our future. When God and God’s plans for our lives and
for the world do not figure into our business, then we run into
trouble.
Meditation: The Prophet Micah envisions a day when all peoples
from all nations will come together in God’s presence, peacefully
working together to do God’s will. As a result, all fighting will
cease and people will live on the bounty that their land provides.
Visions like these energize many people of God. They come
together across boundaries of nation, state, religion, and race. They
join forces to bring the good news of the kingdom of God to all
people and all creation.
As James writes, all business should be conducted with Jesus’
wishes in mind. Do you know how your money is invested, your
IRAs, your pension funds, etc.? Are they invested with Jesus’
wishes in mind? You can find out from the investment firm’s
statements. Inform yourself, use your voting power, and strive to
make the company greener and more just.
The daily Carbon Fast calendar gives you information on helpful
web-sites for this mission.
Prayer: Generous Lord, thank you for giving us so much money
that we actually have investments. Teach us to care how our
money is invested so this can be one more area of our lives where
we work to take care of your creation. Amen.
In today’s Carbon Fast challenge, we especially look at those
faithful people who join together to reduce carbon in the
atmosphere. They use their creative gifts and talents, as well as
their desire to protect the environment, to develop projects that
reduce the carbon output this world has to deal with.
At the same time, they bring clean energy to villages in developing
countries, raising the living standards in those villages without
putting additional strain on the environment.
Check out the faith-based organizations listed on the Carbon Fast
calendar, or search for other such organizations on the web.
Discern whether you might be called to support their work.
Prayer: God of all people, we give thanks for the faithful believers
who work together to improve the air quality and health of your
world. Support them in their work, and show us how we can be
supportive as well. Amen.
Friday of the Fifth Week in Lent
Saturday of the Fifth Week in Lent
Scripture: Esther 9:18-19
Scripture: Mark 11:22-24
Meditation: Days of great joy and celebration call for gift giving.
We still honor birthdays, anniversaries, and holidays by
exchanging gifts with family members and friends.
Meditation: Jesus is trying to bolster the disciples’ faith in the
power of prayer. According to Jesus, a faithful disciple could tell a
mountain to be thrown into the sea. It is a strong image for what
faithful prayer can accomplish.
In Esther’s day, people exchanged gifts on the festival of Purim to
celebrate the deliverance from persecution. At Easter time, we
celebrate our deliverance from sin and death as we rejoice in the
resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. Many Christians will
exchange gifts on that glorious day.
If you are in the habit of giving Easter baskets as gifts, consider
filling that basket with green and just gifts. As the Carbon Fast
calendar suggests, you could purchase chocolate from a fair-trade
organization; that way you can be sure the chocolate was produced
without child labor and the local farmer received a fair return for
his or her produce.
We exchange gift baskets to celebrate the joy we have been given
by God. When we fill the baskets with fairly-traded items, we
spread that joy into other corners of the world. Farming
communities in the developing world can celebrate, too, because
we practiced good stewardship.
Prayer: God of Joy, you bless us with days of celebration and gift
giving. As we rejoice in these days, let us spread the joy further
through the gifts we buy. May your joy reach every corner of this
world, and may we be one of your means for extending it there.
Amen.
Unfortunately, mountains being taken up and thrown into waters is
no longer just an image. It is happening at an alarming rate through
mountain-top removal mining operations in Appalachia. Whole
mountain tops are blown off and dumped into rivers and streams,
just to get to the coal underneath. The landscape is changed
forever. Rivers are buried and lost to wildlife, fish, and humans
alike. This is a devastating thing to do to God’s beautiful creation.
It is time for the faithful stewards of God’s world to summon that
power of prayer that Jesus talked about. Let us pray for such
extreme mining procedures to stop. Let us pray for the
development of better mining strategies and greener energy
sources. Let us pray for the communities who are being uprooted
from their ancestral lands. Let us pray for the whole Appalachian
region to find peace.
Prayer: God of Power, we grieve over the devastating results of
mountain-top removal mining. Help us to summon our faith and
pray for another way of mining the riches of the soil. Amen.
Fifth Sunday in Lent
Monday of the Sixth Week in Lent
Scripture: 1 Kings 19:11-13
Scripture: Psalm 147:7-10
Meditation: The prophet Elijah is surrounded by a lot of noise:
stormy wind, breaking rocks, earthquake, and fire rage on the
mountain.
Meditation: We live in an impatient, fast-moving world. One major
way in which we express our impatience is our driving habits.
Most drivers feel the urge to go fast; faster than the speed limit
allows.
Sometimes our lives feel busy and noisy like that. We are
constantly surrounded by noise: traffic on the street and in the air,
sirens and car alarms, radios and elevator music, phones and Ipods. Our ears are accosted by non-stop sound.
Elijah eventually heard the voice of God when everything became
very quiet. In the sheer silence, Elijah could hear God’s word for
him, a word of care, of encouragement, of call to a new mission.
When are we ever in moments of sheer silence? When was the last
time you just turned everything off and listened to the silence? Our
Carbon Fast calendar encourages us to do just that. Turn off the
TV and the radio, take the ear buds out and silence the phone, and
just spend time in silence. Listen to the sounds of nature. Listen to
God. Create space in which God’s word of care, of encouragement,
and of calling can reach you and uplift you.
Prayer: Loving God, how often have we missed your word for us
because our lives are too noisy? Let us embrace the silence today
and open our ears towards your message. Amen.
The psalmist declares today that God takes no pleasure in the
speed of movement. Aside from not giving God pleasure, there are
other reasons not to speed:
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It is dangerous. Our chances of being in an accident go up
with the speed, and the faster we drive the more likely we
are to be badly injured.
It is disrespectful to the people living along the road. For
the sake of their peace and safety, we should obey speed
limits.
It wastes gas. The faster we drive the more energy we need
per mile. Speeding is hitting our pocket books.
It increases carbon levels. Since speeding drops the gas
mileage of our cars, we need more gas to travel the same
distance, and thus we increase our carbon output.
Prayer: Holy Lord, you watch over us when we travel. Teach us to
be responsible drivers who obey speed limits – for the sake of
other people, for the sake of your planet, and for the sake of our
own resources. Let us arrive safely at our destinations. Amen.
Tuesday of the Sixth Week in Lent
Wednesday of the Sixth Week in Lent
Scripture: Proverbs 30:1-5
Scripture: Genesis 1:1-5
Meditation: On chilly mornings and evenings, it is a blessing to be
wrapped up in a blanket. All bundled up, we feel warm and safe.
Meditation: When God set out to create the world, the first thing he
ordered was light and darkness. From then on, God has always
been at work bringing light into the lives of people who sit in
darkness.
The text from Proverbs talks about God wrapping up water in a
garment. That is something only God is able to do. However, we
can do something close to it: We can wrap up our water heater.
Why should we do such a thing? Because wrapping the water
heater in insulating material helps keep the heated water hot
longer. This reduces the energy used to keep the water hot, and this
in turn reduces our electric or gas bill.
Proverbs talks about God wrapping up water in the context of a
creation too marvelous to understand. It is for the sake of this
marvelous creation that we strive to reduce our energy needs.
Wrapping up our hot water heater is one thing we can do towards
this goal.
Prayer: God of all creation, you show us your marvelous world,
and you show us ways in which we can help preserve your world.
Let us be willing to follow your guidance, even when it comes to
something as mundane are covering our water heater. Amen.
Turning on lights has become so easy in today’s world that we
have forgotten the value of light. Few of us have ever experienced
total darkness, or the challenge of doing actual work by candle
light.
As a result, we have also forgotten the real cost of light. Energy is
needed to power the light bulbs, and that energy adds to the carbon
load in the atmosphere.
We now have the opportunity to lower the carbon load of our light
needs: We can replace our incandescent light bulbs with compact
fluorescent lights. It doesn’t sound like much, but replacing one
incandescent bulb with a CFL saves 150 lbs of carbon per year.
God has given us the gift of light. Let us use it with as little cost to
the environment as possible.
Prayer: God of light, shine into our lives and illumine our hearts.
Teach us to appreciate the light sources we have and to reduce
their energy use as much as we can. Amen.
Thursday of the Sixth Week in Lent
Friday of the Sixth Week in Lent
Scripture: 1 Corinthians 1:26-31
Scripture: Genesis 1:6-10
Meditation: The Apostle Paul asks an important question: What is
the source of our life? What is the source of our being chosen as
children of God, our salvation, our hope, our worth? The answer
Paul gives is loud and clear: Jesus Christ is the source of it all.
Meditation: Water plays a huge role in God’s creation. Without
water, there would be no Garden of Eden, no relief in the dry
places of this world, no Living Water, no life – period.
It is through Christ, and through him alone, that we have received
the gifts of baptism, the forgiveness of sins, the promise of
salvation, and the hope we need for daily living. Jesus is the
source.
It is good to ask the source questions now and then. What is the
source of the love for your partner or child? What is the source for
the choice of your profession?
Our Carbon Fast asks this question today: What is the source of
your energy? What exactly is powering the plant that sends
electricity to your home? Have you ever wondered where exactly
your power comes from?
You can find out. The Carbon Fast calendar gives you one way to
search. The more you know about the source of your power, the
more responsible you can be with this resource.
Prayer: God of Grace, the source of our salvation is Jesus Christ,
our Lord. Help us to be curious and conscientious about other
sources, as well, like the source of our power. Amen.
Yet as human beings, we have not done a good job protecting
water. In the lower 48 United States, 53% of wetlands have been
lost in the last 200 years. Those wetlands are important because
they filter harmful chemicals, prevent flooding, and provide
wildlife habitat.
Many among us don’t think of water as a scarce resource. We let
the water run while brushing teeth, taking long showers, and
hosing (instead of sweeping) the driveway – and all this is done
with perfectly good drinking water. Have you considered
alternatives? Rain barrels, for example, can conserve water by
collecting rain water you can then use to water your garden.
God has touched our lives through water: through the waters of
baptism we were invited into God’s family, and through Christ’s
living water we are sustained, nourished, and forgiven. Let us be
mindful of water, and preserve and cherish it as the gift it is.
Prayer: Holy God, we were born of water and the womb, but have
long forgotten where we came from. Help us to see you and
ourselves in crashing waves, in cool rain, in refreshing drink, and
in the sparkling blueness of our world. Amen.
Saturday of the Sixth Week in Lent
Sixth Sunday in Lent
Scripture: Psalm 128
Scripture: Psalm 84:1-4
Meditation: This is a happy psalm, wishing all kinds of blessings
on the other person. Among those blessings is the wish that he or
she might eat the fruit of the labor of their hands.
Meditation: The most famous landmark in Rio De Janeiro is the
Christ the Redeemer statue towering over the city with its dense
population. Amazingly, right around the foot of the statue of Jesus
is Tijuca Park, the largest urban forest in the world and home to 30
waterfalls, hundreds of plants and trees, and at least 100 different
animal species. The park actually reduces the temperature in the
city by nine degrees.
Most of us no longer eat fruits and vegetables we have grown
ourselves. In fact, most of us eat produce that has travelled here
from places far away. In developed nations like ours, food is
traveling farther to reach consumers and the international food
trade is increasing.
Today, the typical American prepared meal contains, on average,
ingredients from at least five countries outside the United States.
Imports by airplane have a substantial impact on the pollution that
fuels global warming. In 2005, the import of fruits, nuts, and
vegetables into California by airplane released more than 70,000
tons of CO2, which is equivalent to more than 12,000 cars on the
road.
Once upon a time that whole area was stripped bare by coffee and
sugar cane plantations. But in 1861 the Portuguese King Don
Pedro II was so concerned about erosion, decrease in rain fall, and
lack of drinking water for the city that he began the reforestation
program. Today Tijuca Park is a tribute to his ecological mind, a
blessing to the city, and one of the last few remnants of the
Atlantic Rainforest that once dominated the Southern coast of
Brazil.
Health is being affected, too: Approximately 950 cases of asthma,
16,870 missed schools days, 43 hospital admissions, and 37
premature deaths could be attributed to the worsened air quality
from food imports, according to freight transport–related
projections by the California Air Resources Board.
Around the foot of the statue of Jesus, a new habitat grew that is
home to all kinds of creatures and that blesses the people of the
city with water and cooler temperatures. As the followers of Jesus
Christ, what can we do to create such spaces?
There are many good reasons to buy produce from local farmers.
Check out a farmers’ market near you today.
Prayer: Lord of our land, bless those who do the hard work of
growing fruits and vegetables. Let us support them by buying their
produce locally. Amen.
Prayer: Holy One, your people have managed to undo the
destruction brought about by previous generations. The living
Christ is at work through our hearts and hands. Let us act in faith
and hope to restore your holy creation. Amen.
Monday of Holy Week
Tuesday of Holy Week
Scripture: Psalm 65:5-13
Scripture: Psalm 104
Meditation: Water is a gift from God. The psalm sings about the
grace of God which waters the furrows and produces a good
harvest.
Meditation: This psalm is a beautiful song of praise for the way
God cares for the creation.
Which of the verses are particularly meaningful for you?
Since many of us are no longer farming or even gardening, we
have lost our appreciation for water, as well as our understanding
of our dependence on water. Our houses have running water, and
usually we don’t think much about where that water comes from.
Yet the water that flows from our faucets has travelled a long
distance to arrive in our homes. And then it has been heated for our
needs by a water heater that uses gas or electricity or oil to heat the
water. So even though hot water seems to flow effortlessly out of
our faucets, it has in fact been pumped, treated, sent through pipes,
and heated, all of which leaves a carbon footprint on the
environment.
This week, be more thoughtful of your hot water use. Turn it on
only when needed. Use cold water when it would suffice. Be frugal
with your water, especially your hot water.
Prayer: Generous God, you supply us with the water we need every
day. Help us not to take water for granted, but to treat it as the
source of life it is. Amen.
Which verses surprise you?
We have pondered God’s beautiful world and our role in it for the
past six weeks. What new insights have you gained? What have
you realized about our call to be good stewards? What new
appreciation have you gained for the way God has arranged and
interconnected all parts of creation?
The psalm even includes our labor in God’s order of creation
(verse 23). Think about your job or volunteer position. In which
ways could you be an even better steward of God’s creation at
work? How could you save energy or reduce trash or inspire coworkers to be more environmentally conscious?
If you were to write a song about God’s creation, what would you
include in it? Take some time and try to write your own psalm.
Prayer: Lord of the Universe, your creation is so beautiful it makes
us want to sing. Thank you for making everything and everyone so
amazing. Give us thankful hearts, and the desire to keep your
world alive and well. Amen.
Wednesday of Holy Week
Maundy Thursday
Scripture: Exodus 20:1-6
Scripture: 1 Corinthians 11:23-26
Meditation: When God gives Moses the Ten Commandments, he
states a fact that we sometimes forget: The sins of one generation
affect the generations that follow.
Meditation: On this Holy Thursday we remember the last supper
Jesus shared with his friends. A loaf of bread and a cup of wine
became means of grace. We will share them again today in
remembrance of Jesus’ death and resurrection.
This is particularly true in regard to the sins we commit toward our
environment. The generations that come after us will have to deal
with the polluted rivers, lost wetlands, nuclear waste, mining
debris, and garbage pile we are leaving behind. One of the
problematic items we are leaving behind is Styrofoam.
Its production, use, and disposal causes adverse environmental and
health effects. Styrofoam is the fifth largest source of hazardous
waste in the United States.
ch
are known human carcinogens and have been linked to incidences
of both Parkinson’s disease and leukemia.
amounts of greenhouse gases.
On this day when Jesus’ cup of salvation draws our attention, let us
think about the cups we use daily. In this culture of long
commutes, brief break times, and many sports activities, carrying
coffee or tea with us has become par for the course. What is your
coffee cup made of? Do you have your own insulated cup that you
bring along? Or do you grab the cardboard or Styrofoam cups
offered by the coffee shop or gas station? Think about this:
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which pose a threat to human health.
and the high economic cost of transporting and degreasing the
petroleum-based material.
ive hundred years to decompose.
mary source of urban litter.
er
United States water sources.
ing and starvation in wildlife.
Prayer: God of all people, let us be mindful of the generations that
come after us. Teach us behaviors that will leave the world in a
better state for our children and children’s children. Amen.
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Americans throw away 25 billion Styrofoam coffee cups
every year. We just learned about the issues surrounding
Styrofoam in yesterday’s meditation.
If you buy just one cup of coffee or tea in a disposable cup
every day, you’ll end up creating about 23 lbs of waste in
one year.
According to a study conducted by Starbucks and the
Alliance for Environmental Innovation (April 2000), each
paper cup manufactured is responsible for 0.24 lbs of CO2
emissions.
The average American office worker uses about 500
disposable cups every year.
Prayer: God of our salvation, we thank you for offering us your
cup of grace. Inspire us to extend grace to your creation by
avoiding disposable cups of any kind. Amen.
Good Friday
Holy Saturday
Scripture: Psalm 90:1-12
Scripture: Luke 3:15-21
Meditation: We do not like to think about death, especially our
own death. In this culture that adores the young and strong and
beautiful, we are not encouraged to think about the end of our
days.
Meditation: God uses water and the word to bestow amazing
blessings on us: In baptism, God gives us the Holy Spirit and fire.
On this day we remember Jesus’ death. For the sake of our
salvation, Jesus died on the cross. We can bear this day because we
know the end of the story: Jesus will rise again. Through this death
and resurrection of our Savior, we no longer need to fear death. We
can look death in the eye, knowing that God will raise us to new
life.
Let us ponder our death, then, or more precisely, our funeral.
American funeral practices are hard on the environment. Steel
caskets, embalming chemicals, and concrete vaults all place a
burden on nature and remain in the soil for ages to come.
We know that water is life-giving. All living creatures need water,
including us humans. Without water, we die in just a couple of
days. Water is life-giving.
In baptism, water is also eternal-life-giving. When God ties his
word of salvation to the gift of water, we are adopted into God’s
family forever.
With water playing such an essential role for life in this world and
in the kingdom to come, let us ponder our use of water.
What can we do to use less of it?
What can we do to pollute it less?
Today’s psalm reminds us that God’s plan is for us to return to the
dust from which we were made. Have you ever thought about a
green burial? You have the option of having your ashes returned to
the ground. Check it out on-line or with your local undertaker.
Such a green burial protects and even improves the environment; it
conserves cemetery space, and it is more frugal.
Prayer: God of all ages, you are our lord in this life and in the life
to come. Comforted by the promise of salvation, let us plan our
funeral in responsible ways. Amen.
What can we do to keep water ways cleaner?
In baptism, we were blessed with the Holy Spirit and with fire. Let
us be on fire for the sake of God’s creation, especially for the gift
of water.
Prayer: Lord of our lives, we thank you for the gift of water and
the gift of baptism, two gifts that are essential to our lives now and
in eternity. Help us to feel responsible for the water in our homes
and our communities, so it will be used wisely and responsibly.
Amen.
Easter Sunday
Scripture: 1 Corinthians 15: 12-19
Meditation: On this day of resurrection, we are exuberant with joy
at the good news of Easter. Alleluia!
The Apostle Paul reminds us of one important aspect of the Easter
story that sometimes gets lots in our preaching and teaching: The
gospel of Jesus’ resurrection has an impact on this life as well as
on the life to come. Too often we focus only on the eternal aspect
of Easter: Jesus rose, so we, too, will rise someday. This is true,
but there is more to it.
The worldly aspect is just as important: Jesus rose, so now I am
called to live as a messenger of the Kingdom of God. In the
confidence of my resurrection promise, I am now to live out the
ethics and life-patterns of God’s Kingdom.
Being a faithful steward of God’s creation is part of this
resurrection life. All through Lent, we have reflected on our role as
caretakers of God’s creation. We have performed actions that
expressed our joy in the resurrection and our responsibility for
God’s world.
In the coming weeks of the Easter season, embrace the resurrection
faith. Live as a child of God. Among other things, try to continue
the environmental practices you became familiar with during Lent.
Prayer: Lord of the resurrection, we thank you for the amazing
miracle of Jesus’ rising from the dead. Touch us and renew us by
the power of this story. Guide us in our lives as the resurrection
people of God. Amen.
Carbon Fast
A Lenten Journey toward
faithful caring for God’s
creation.
Daily scripture, meditations, and prayers to
accompany the Lenten Carbon Fast calendar.