Readings:
Ezekiel 17: 22–24;
Mark 4: 26–34

Collect:
Faithful Creator,
whose mercy never fails:
deepen our faithfulness to you and to your living Word,
through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

Reflection

In this season of ‘Ordinary Time’ - for which the liturgical colour is green – and in the middle of this glorious weather, it seems right that our thoughts should turn to the natural world around us, and the truth that our fragile, beleaguered planet is the only home we all have. 

The past week has brought us World Environment Day (Sat 5th June) and World Oceans Day (Wednesday 10th June). The life and health, or otherwise, of our beautiful planet is a theme that finds its way onto websites and newspaper front pages, and is the subject of conferences, articles, and political debates. Who hasn’t heard of Greta Thunberg these days?! 

Many, if not most, of us, now recycle and compost, curb our use of plastic, and may be cycling more, or driving an electric car (oops, my sporty little Mazda is not yet available in an eco-version). Whatever it is we do, we’re trying, we’re making a gesture, even if it feels very small in the face of the issues at stake.

The natural world is important to us, on a surface level, but also on a spiritual level. When I ask folk how they most easily encounter God, a good 75% say ‘through creation.’ Indeed, in our readings this week both Ezekiel and Jesus use the natural world to make their point, about God’s invisible work, nurturing and growing her people.

At the same time, I think by now most of us have understood the message that ecological destruction threatens our spiritual experience. We face losing all manner of species to extinction; many of us lament the loss of green fields, or natural habitats, and our hearts are moved by the thought of polar bears without their ice floes, or orangutans without their forests. We enjoy the birdsong in this green and pleasant land, and we love the more exotic sights we see on our holidays (although maybe not this year!) This motivates us as we make another trip to the bottle bank or buy plant burgers.  

But there’s another potential motivation lurking in the wings. Probably not as popular as saving the whales, maybe not the thing that comes to mind immediately, but I think it’s something very close to Jesus’ heart. That motivation is justice. 

Jesus was a ‘justice warrior’ in many respects. His concern was for the poor, outcast, disenfranchised, oppressed, sick, exploited people who inhabited his corner of the world. He challenged those with power and influence to see how their actions and decisions affected those lower down the ‘pecking order’; in fact, how those actions created a pecking order in the first place. In our era, environmental issues are justice issues and should be as close to our Christian hearts as the (very laudable) sentiments of ‘How Great Thou Art’.

As our climate changes, it is the poorer parts of the world that struggle most with food supply, flood defences, disease prevention, a way to make a living. Closer to home, in our relatively comfortable society, there’s an almost invisible cohort with little or no access to the green space we love so much, or healthy food; children breathe polluted air; and the many workers who sustain our lifestyle are often exploited, underpaid, even trafficked. 

Care for the environment is a justice issue – and that should make it even more of a spiritual issue for us. We may feel we encounter God most in the trees and sky and sea and birds (me too), but we are challenged to see Christ in the faces of those who cry out for justice and a chance at life, and we are called to align ourselves with the Holy Spirit in her invisible work of building the true reign of God, a reign which is characterised by justice and joy.

Sharon Grenham-Thompson