In the life of Christianity there are gifts that arise that many Church members are not aware of their presence and challenges. One such gift is the Season of Creation. This begins on September 1 and culminates on October 4, which is the feast of St. Francis of Assisi. St. Francis is recognized by most Christian churches as the patron saint of creation . This is an ecology saint!
The strength of this season of prayer and reflection is its embrace of all brands of Christianity. It originated in the Orthodox side of Christianity and has been adopted by the Roman Catholic Church, the Anglican Church and most Protestant churches. The concern for the wellbeing of the earth is a force that can draw Christianity together.
Scientists and many concerned persons have been warning us of the warming of the atmosphere and the melting of the ice in the Northern and Southern hemispheres. All parts of humanity are challenged to meet this global crisis. It is a real danger that humanity’
s use of fossil fuels could so warm the earth that life would be almost impossible. That may be a worst case scenario, but the danger has been pointed out to all who will listen for the past sixty years.
Christianity has been strongly challenged by the ecological crisis. We hear sharp challenges: And what does your Christiaan faith have to offer this crisis?
This is where we go back to our roots and admit that for the past four hundred years Western Christianity has neglected creation. We have so focused our efforts on using all parts of the created world for the benefit of humanity. We have been very neglectful in getting in touch with the harmful effects of humanity’s exploitation of the goods of the earth.
The first part of God’s revelation is creation itself. Everything that exists, from the smallest molecule to the infinity cosmos (remember that the cosmos is billions of lights years large) has been created with the love and meaning that God gives it. Even if there was no humanity God is creating in love and meaning. We humans may not be aware of the meaning that God has gives to every single molecule, but it is very present long before humans appeared on the face of the earth.
We also need to be reminded that creation is still happening. We are living in the time of God’s creation.
The gift of this Season of Creation can help Christians get in touch with the first source of divine revelation. It can also move us to a stronger compassion for the earth. It can lead us to a more responsible us of the goods of the earth.
This is a quiet gift but it can have powerful effect on the life and prayer of all our churches.
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