Hope for All Creation
Our resurrected and mighty God, Jesus the Christ, the empty tomb reminds us of your power to bring life from the dead. Fill us and all your creation with your hope for life and joy. Open our hearts and minds so that we can see fully the wonders of your creation and be hopeful and joyful in it. Amen
“We must accept finite disappointment but never lose infinite hope.” — Martin Luther King, Jr.
BREAKING THE ICE
What is your favorite thing about spring?
REFLECTION
From now until June 8, we are in the season of Easter and this season is all about how God creates new life. Each spring as I prepare my garden beds, I am always reminded how amazing it is that God can take something as tiny and small as a seed and from that, bring new life! On top of that, each seed has to be buried in dirt and burst open for the new life to come into reality. It doesn’t just stay the same. Gardening and being in creation remind me that God works in surprising ways! God is the creator of new life, like plants, but God asks us to do our part too.
How are you growing new life in this season and caring for creation? As busy as I might get from week to week, if I want to enjoy the fruit of what is being grown – I can’t ignore the seeds for weeks on end that I planted in May! I must tend to the garden every day by watering the seeds, pulling weeds, pruning back or deadheading the flowers that have already bloomed, and dealing with bugs and other wildlife that might have other ideas about my tomato plant than a fresh Caprese salad! We must work in tandem with God’s creation to experience new life in its fullest. You see, fundamentally, creation care is a stewardship issue -- stewardship or our time, talents, resources, and all that is in creation itself!
As we reflect on the meaning of Easter and the profound shift that Jesus ushered in when he conquered death, we are reminded that Jesus is the "first fruit" of this new life! We look to him and with all of creation, we praise God’s holy name. In the face of the impossible, we know that resurrection is possible. When I look at the raised bed of dirt in my garden, I anticipate what will spring forth from it. I imagine the joy of freshly grown tomatoes and cucumbers and basil plants blessing my family’s dinner table later this summer. Ministry and life in Christ are just like this. We anticipate what will be based on what we know and have experienced in the past through Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection.
This week, I challenge you to “plant a seed” and begin caring for it -- just like our Next Gen Gardeners are doing (see photos below)!
Or, if you’ve tried this before and have discovered you absolutely do not have a green thumb, then instead look for something in creation that you didn’t expect to discover but still, it made you say WOW! At dinner every night, take turns sharing what made you say “wow” with your family. Ask God to give you "eyes to see" the world and all of creation with the wonder of a child or the surprise of the women at the tomb on Easter morning.
WRESTLING WITH THE WORD
Read Mark 16:1-15 & Psalm 96:1-2, 11-13
Contrast the tone of Psalm 96 and the resurrection encounters in Mark. How does creation respond versus the women at the tomb and the other disciples?
- Jesus encounters Mary Magdalene, then two disciples, then the eleven disciples, before declaring to them, “proclaim the good news to the whole creation.” What does this tell us about God’s plan of salvation for all creation?
- Psalm 96:13 ends with a promise and the hope of justice for all the world. In what ways does the resurrection of Jesus fulfill the hope proclaimed in the psalm?
NEXT STEPS
- Have you encountered the risen Christ? How does it affect your relationship with other people and creation? (Note: Such an “encounter” will look and feel different for different people. What does it mean to you? What questions arise for you about what it means to encounter the risen Christ).
- Sometimes we experience God’s presence when we are out in nature. How does being in creation remind us of the hope we find in our faith?
PRAYER
O gracious and loving God, help me to be an instrument of your salvation for all creation. “That where there is doubt, I may bring faith; that where there is despair, I may bring hope; that where there are shadows, I may bring light; that where there is sadness, I may bring joy.” Amen.
(Excerpt is from a prayer of St. Francis of Assisi)
