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At that very hour some Pharisees came and said to him, ‘Get away from here, for Herod wants to kill you.’ He said to them, ‘Go and tell that fox for me, “Listen, I am casting out demons and performing cures today and tomorrow, and on the third day I finish my work. Yet today, tomorrow, and the next day I must be on my way, because it is impossible for a prophet to be killed away from Jerusalem.” Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often have I desired to gather your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing! (Luke 13:31-34)  As he prepares himself and his disciples to enter Jerusalem, Jesus is confronted by the very real threat posed to him by the powers that be. Herod, he’s reminded, has both the desire and the ability to kill him. As he often does, Jesus draws on parallels from nature to contrast who is he as opposed to his adversary. Herod is a fox, wily, lethal and ultimately cowardly. Jesus, is a mother hen, protective and self sacrificial using what power she does have to preserve life. In this moment we see two contrasting views of power, a decidedly masculine one, though female foxes are no less lethal than their male counterparts, and a decidedly feminine one. In the introduction to their collection of essays All We Can Save: Truth, Courage and Solutions for the Climate Crisis, Ayana Elizabeth Johnson and Katherine Wilkinson discuss the rise of climate leadership that is coming from women and girls. “Look around and you will see on the rise climate leadership that is more characteristically feminine and more faithfully feminist, rooted in compassion, connection, creativity, and collaboration”. It’s not hard to see in this model of leadership a more Christ-like way of being in the world. Johnson and Wilkinson offer four characteristics of the feminine models of leadership that they celebrate in their book. First, is a focus on making change rather than being in charge. “We see women and girls moving beyond ego, competition and control which are rampant in the climate space and impede good work”. Power is found by laying aside individual accolades for a common goal. Second, is a commitment to responding to the climate crisis in a way that heals systemic injustices rather than making them worse. “Equity is not secondary to survival,” they argue, “it is survival”. “Equity is not secondary to survival,” they argue, “it is survival”. Third is an appreciation for leading from the heart and not just from the head. This is a recognition of the emotional (And spiritual) toll that this crisis has on all of us and the need to lead with our whole selves. Finally, there is a recognition that building community is fundamental to building a better world. These leadership principles echo the basic tenets that eco-feminist thought has been built on over the last five decades: gender equality, revaluing of non-patriarchal/non-hierarchical structures, respect for organic processes, holistic connections, and the merits of intuition and collaboration.
As we continue to explore the themes of our annual resource, The Power of God: From Extractive Theology to Transformative Faith, it’s hard to ignore that much of what we hold up as ideal uses of power could be seen as feminine. We fully embrace that idea! Much of what has been extractive about our world can be traced to patriarchal notions of domination that desperately need to be rejected and countered. As we move into Women’s history month, we celebrate the women in both the climate movement and the church who have used their power to lead in ways that build connection, preserve life, and and allow for the fullest measure of human flourishing. All quotes taken from All We Can Save: Truth, Courage, and Solutions for the Climate Crisis. Ed. by Ayana Elizabeth Johnson and Katharine K. Wilkinson. (One World Trade, 2021). Click here to download The Power of God: From Extractive Theology to Transformative Faith resource. Derrick Weston Director of Theological Education and Formation Creation Justice Ministries
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For the second year in a row, Creation Justice Ministries hosted a songwriting retreat to bring the themes of our annual resource, The Power of God: From Extractive Theology to Transformative Faith, to life through music and worship. With generous support from the Calvin Institute for Christian Worship, this year’s retreat gathered an incredible group of songwriters at Sister Grove Farm, a beautiful retreat space owned and operated by Creation Justice Ministries’ Board President, Sarah Macias. At the heart of this gathering was Ken Medema, the renowned singer-songwriter and storyteller who has been composing and performing for over 50 years. Ken, who is legally blind, has an extraordinary gift for musical improvisation and has worked with communities across the world to create songs that reflect their unique stories. Once again, he served as the retreat’s primary coordinator, guiding our team of songwriters through an inspiring creative process. You can read more about Ken's story here.  A Gathering of Songwriters The group of musicians included both returning and new voices: 🎵 John and Alyssa Creasy – A married duo from Pittsburgh, they have been performing together since high school as the leaders of This Side of Eve, blending folk, rock, and worship music. 🎵 Julian Reid – A musician, speaker, and writer, Julian is the founder of Notes of Rest®, a ministry that invites the weary into God’s rest through biblical reflection and Black music traditions. 🎵 Darrell Adams – A singer-songwriter from Louisville, Kentucky, and the executive director of MedWater, an organization dedicated to community-driven clean water solutions. 🎵 Mark Miller – A Professor of Music at Drew Theological School, Mark has dedicated his career to creating music that inspires justice and inclusion in faith communities. 🎵 Lindy Thompson – A poet and lyricist from Franklin, TN, Lindy’s work explores themes of faith, justice, and connection. 🎵 Thomas Graham – A talented bass player and singer from Kentucky, bringing depth and rhythm to the creative process. A Journey of Reflection and Creation
Before gathering in person, the songwriters met twice—first, to build community and get to know one another, and later to hear a presentation on the impacts of extraction on the climate, grounding their creative process in theological and ecological reflection. At Sister Grove Farm, they spent three days immersed in collaboration, worship, and songwriting. They listened to one another’s music, explored the themes of The Power of God, and reflected on how faith, justice, and creation intersect through song. Dr. Brian McLaren, author of Life After Doom, joined the retreat, offering insights on finding hope and purpose in the face of ecological crises. By the end of the retreat, these gifted musicians had crafted seven original songs, each one a powerful expression of faith, justice, and transformation—a call to reimagine power and renew our commitment to creation. Music as a Call to Action The songs born from this retreat will be featured in The Power of God resource, providing churches and faith communities with worship materials that inspire action. Music has always been a powerful tool for justice, and these songs serve as a reminder that faithful resistance and renewal can be woven into our worship and daily lives. We are incredibly grateful to Ken Medema, our songwriters, the Calvin Institute for Christian Worship, and Sister Grove Farm for making this retreat possible. Listen to the seven songs and learn more about The Power of God: From Extractive Theology to Transformative Faith by clicking here.
Emergence and Perichoresis Ecologically, we call this emergence. Emergence is when distinct patterns and behaviors emerge out of complex parts. One example is starling murmurations, where thousands of individual birds move in synchrony, creating fluid, ever-changing patterns in the sky without a single leader directing them. Each bird responds to her neighbors, and together, they form something beautiful and dynamic—more than just the sum of individual movements. This emergent behavior reflects a deep truth about creation - that the interplay of relationships and interconnections creates new possibilities. Theologically, I can't help but think of perichoresis, the divine dance of mutual indwelling between the Persons of the Trinity. In perichoresis, the three persons of the Trinity exist in a relationship so deeply interconnected that their unity does not erase their distinction but rather enhances it. Just as starlings in murmuration create something greater than themselves through relationship, so too does creation find its fullest expression in the interweaving of all its elements—water, plants, sky, and creatures—held together by the breath of God. And, of course, the elements themselves are significant: the goodness of green life, the sanctity of water in our traditions, the cross over all in creation, and the dove, symbolizing creaturely life, unity and ecumenism. Christ Over All Overarching all these elements is the cross, reminding us that in Christ “all things hold together” (Colossians 1:17). This cosmic Christ is not just the savior of human souls but the one through whom all creation finds its purpose and healing, the one through whom all things are reconciled. This isn’t just poetic metaphor - it’s a radical claim about our relationship with creation: that we are tasked with Jesus’ ministry of reconciliation, partnering with Christ in healing and restoration. Yet the cross also confronts us with the reality of suffering—human and ecological. Creation itself groans, as Paul writes in Romans 8, awaiting redemption. The cross stands at the intersection of that groaning, revealing both the depth of the world’s wounds and the depth of divine love. The suffering of Christ is not disconnected from the suffering of the earth. The same forces that exploit and crucify—the logic of domination, extraction, and violence—are the forces that desecrate creation, treating it as expendable rather than sacred. But the cross is not the end of the story. In Christ’s resurrection, we see that suffering and destruction do not have the final word. The empty tomb is a sign that new life is possible, that what is broken can be restored, that even in a world scarred by climate crisis, there is hope for renewal. The resurrection is not just about individual salvation; it is the first fruit of a new creation, the cosmic reconciliation through which heaven and earth are joined again.
The Dove I want to take a moment to share more about the dove in our logo. On one level, the dove represents unity and peace-- a fitting symbol for our ecumenical work bringing together Christians across communions and denominations to care for God's creation. But the dove's significance runs deeper through our scriptural tradition. I want to offer a triptych of scriptural stories about the importance of the dove to our work: Noah's Ark: We meet the dove in Genesis when it is sent out from Noah's ark into a world transformed by climate catastrophe. The dove returns with an olive branch, not just signaling the recession of waters, but bearing witness to life's resilience. In our climate-changed world, this dove reminds us that even in the midst of loss and transformation, hope may be found. Even in the midst of the destruction of the world, resilience and regeneration are possible. It reminds me, too, of these words from Timothy Gorringe: "I suggest that in the face of the present global emergency, ark building might be the task to which theological ethics leads us." Jesus' Words in Matthew 10: As Jesus sends his disciples out on their ministry into a hostile world, he says "Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves." Like those first disciples, today we face powerful opposition as we work for creation justice, particularly in our policy work. The dove's innocence is not naïveté but rather a gentle and pure-hearted commitment to truth and justice in the face of systemic challenges. When we advocate for creation, we must combine the strategic wisdom of the serpent with the dove's unwavering dedication to love and to seeking what is right - especially when confronting the "wolves" of injustice. Jesus' Baptism: Finally, at Jesus' baptism, the Spirit descends like a dove, joining heaven and earth in that sacred moment. The same waters that destroyed in Noah's flood now become waters of blessing and new life. The dove's presence reminds us that all of creation - water, air, land, creatures - participates in God's work of redemption. When we gather at the baptismal font or beside streams and rivers, we remember that these waters are both holy and ecological, sustaining both physical and spiritual life. The dove invites us to see all of creation as coursing through with divine presence. A Visual Theology of Creation Justice This work of creation justice rests on three pillars - protect, restore, and rightly share God’s creation. These are pillars we sometimes call the three "E's": Ecology, Eschatology, and Economy. We protect God's ecology, recognizing that every creature and ecosystem reflects divine love. We participate in God's eschatology by restoring creation, bringing heaven to earth. And we engage in God's economy by ensuring creation is rightly shared among all members of God's household. In this way, our logo becomes more than a simple representation of nature. It is a visual theology that reflects both the mystery of divine communion and the ecological truth that life flourishes through connection. Through Christ, who holds all things together, we are called to the work of creation justice - protecting, restoring, and rightly sharing God's good gift of creation. This is not just environmental activism with religious language; it's a fundamental expression of Christian faith and practice. When we work for creation justice, we participate in God's ongoing work of reconciliation, where heaven and earth are joined once again, and all creation flourishes as God intended. - Avery Davis Lamb is Executive Director of Creation Justice Ministries.
We are preparing for the launch of our 2025 annual resource and we are incredibly excited to get it out into the world. Before I tell you the theme, I want to give you a little behind the scenes look at some of what goes on as we start to pull this resource together. First off, you may have noticed that I said our “annual resource” and not our “Earth Day” resource. While we certainly hope that you’ll use what we develop for worship during Earth Day (the Sunday after Easter), we’re also aware that these resources have a shelf life that extends beyond that day and oftentimes we’re still promoting and teaching from the resource late into the year. So please, use the resource on Earth Day, but maybe hang out with it for a while after that. There’s a lot in it! The theme for the resource is narrowed down during our May board meeting. This year was my second time going through the process. In 2023, it felt like “Plastic Jesus” (the theme for 2024’s resource) came to us so easily. There was some discussion, maybe even a little debate, but consensus was reached pretty quickly. The process felt much harder this year. Our board is made up of passionate people, unified by their love for Creation, but in that unity is a myriad of perspectives of how we use our energy best. Some wanted to focus on conservation. Others wanted to focus on revisiting issues we hadn’t touched on as an organization in a while. There were ideas on trees and soil health. Some wanted a proper sequel to “Plastic Jesus” (I believe “Solar Jesus” and “Dirty Jesus” were mentioned at some point). We were also, of course, feeling the anxiety of the upcoming election. We knew that the bulk of the writing for the resource would be done before we knew who won in November and that the resource needed to speak to either eventuality. While we didn’t have the theme completely nailed down at the end of that meeting, one thing was clear; we needed to address both an issue and the theologies that have supported them. We needed to say something about extraction both as a practice and an idea. At the May meeting a few brave souls signed on to join the resource committee that would help the staff bring the resource to life. There was a phrase that came up at the board meeting that we revisited during the first resource committee meeting: The Power of God. I tried (and likely failed) to stay neutral in this conversation, but I can admit that I was not thrilled with the idea of using that phrase in our resource. It’s a phrase I’ve heard misused many times in my life. It evoked something that made me feel uncomfortable. I wasn’t alone. Other members of the committee shared that discomfort, but ultimately, we decided to lean into it. As we dove into creating the resource we found ourselves using “power” in several different contexts. There is the power we use to run our devices and warm our homes. There is the power that is used to decide whether or not to drill for oil and where. There is to seek alternatives ways of doing things that more align with what Creation itself is doing. What really changed things for me was looking into the ways that power is used in Scripture. We often see the misuses of power in scripture from humans like Pharaoh, Nebuchadnezzar, or Pontius Pilate. But God’s power, more often than not, is shown through acts of creation, healing, and restoration. God’s power is relational and self sacrificial. God’s power transforms. It was after we had begun our research, consulted with an expert panel of theologians and scientists (a new thing we tried this year), and got deep into writing that we settled on the title: “The Power of God: From Extractive Theology to Renewable Faith”... … then a member of our expert review panel warned us that “renewable faith” might be getting “too cute”.... …so we landed on… The Power of God: From Extractive Theology to Transformative Faith We are so excited for you to have this resource in your hands! We are so excited for you to hear the seven original pieces of music created for this resource at our second annual songwriters’ retreat! We’re excited to hear how you use worship resources and how you are inspired by the stories!
In the last couple of weeks, as environmental protections have been rolled back, diversity initiatives have been undermined, and the very biblical notion of mercy has been mocked, we can see that we need a redefinition of what power is and how it should be used. We think power protects the vulnerable including God’s vulnerable Creation. We think power should renew hope and empower us to do just actions. We think power is best when it is harnessed by a community to serve needs and show love. We hope and pray that you will join us on this journey of redefining power and re-energizing our faith.  Water and Wilderness Church is more than a church, it’s a movement—a carbon-neutral watershed community of people who believe that nature is God’s heartbeat. We believe that, especially in this time of climate crisis and racial and political strife, the earth is calling us home. Through outdoor worship, zoom book studies on wilderness spirituality and eco-Justice, and nature-based retreats, this watershed community offers hope and belonging for anyone, anywhere, all the time. WWC is a threshold space between the church and the world, lowering barriers for entry for those who seek God in nature but don’t have a spiritual community. We translate the beauty of the Christian tradition into experiences of worship and community that are meaningful and relevant to people today. You can come as you are, with all your mess and dreams, and truly belong, not just to WWC, but the whole “community of creation.” You can come as you are, with all your mess and dreams, and truly belong, not just to WWC, but the whole “community of creation.” In our worship and our community, we try to reclaim the true gifts of the Christian faith, and cultivate an alternative way of being based on the radical love of Jesus. This means de-centering a patriarchal and atonement-based theology, and listening to the first testament of God: this generative natural creation. By worshiping in the wild, uncontrollable places, we open ourselves up to the wild and uncontrollable movement of God, whose love and restoration are made manifest in the Body of Christ in all creation. For us, the point of the Eucharist isn’t that Christ died for us, but that Christ—love, justice, mercy, grace, forgiveness—live for, with, and in us. As the wild, natural world is regenerative and restorative, so too are we restored and regenerated by God’s love in creation. We walk and talk together during worship, just as the disciples did with Jesus. We sing, pray, and have contemplative time in nature, listening to what God is sharing with us, and sharing that Word with one another. By stepping out of the church walls and into the natural world we are trying to recapture the faith of the first followers: an embodied faith in the God of Love who walks with us and works for us, showering the world with wonder, beauty, and grace.  Wherever you are, you can be a part of the WWC watershed community! Join us for worship, book studies or retreats, and follow along with worship videos and messages from Father Pete the Wilderness Priest. Our Spring retreat is at the Chincoteaque Bay Field Station in Wallops Island, VA May 17-21. Email Father Pete for more info and to register, at [email protected]
Join the community at our website, on Facebook and Instagram, and follow Father Pete’s Substack. Check out our worship in the driving snow earlier this month This blog was written by Father Pete Nunnally, of Water and Wilderness Church. by Derrick Weston “One of the greatest problems of history is that the concepts of love and power are usually contrasted as polar opposites. Love is identified with a resignation of power and power with a denial of love. What is needed is a realization that power without love is reckless and abusive and that love without power is sentimental and anemic. Power at its best is love implementing the demands of justice. Justice at its best is love correcting everything that stands against love.” -Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr In the best of circumstances, it would feel a bit strange for the celebration of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King’s birthday to happen the same day as inauguration day. King’s understanding of power feels distant from what we know of presidential power in our context. While we may desire to see a model of power rooted in love, what we most often see is a power rooted in the fear of losing power. What we often see in our political discourse is the power that King described as being without love; reckless and abusive. We see power being used to funnel more and more resources into fewer and fewer hands. We see power dividing people in order to weaken them. We see power making decisions in favor of the few at the expense of the many. In a climate changed world, this isn’t the version of power we need. The kind of power we need is the kind that King called “rooted in love”. Of course to understand King’s definition of power, we need to understand King’s definition of love. King often wrote of the differences between the Greek words that we translate as “love”. “Eros” is romantic love, the kind most common in popular culture. “Phileo” is often defined as “brotherly love”. It is the kind of love that we have for people who share our histories, our worldviews, and our interests. It describes the bonds we share with friends and family. King never spoke disparagingly of those forms of love. He recognized that the fabric of humanity was largely held together by them. Yet the bulk of his writing was focused on a third form of love, “agape”. King defines agape as “disinterested” love by which he meant love that doesn’t serve our own interests. It is loving someone for their own sake. It is a love that exists despite whether or not there is a benefit to the one who loves. It is selfless and self-giving and invests in others regardless of what that return on investment might be. It is the word used to describe God’s love. King’s understanding of love informs his understanding of power. A power rooted in agape is a power that will seek the good of another not because of what they can offer but because it is what is right to do. A power rooted in agape is a power that will seek the good of another not because of what they can offer but because it is what is right to do. It’s power then that is largely used to serve those who have been mistreated or undervalued. It is power that rights wrongs. It was this framework of power that underpinned the civil rights movement. Power needed to be used to change the physical and social circumstances of those who had known oppression and mistreatment. Perhaps the confluence of these two days is a gift. In it we see two very contrasting visions of power and placing them side by side makes the contrast all the more clear. On one hand we see power seeking unity and equality. On the other hand we see a power that seeks supremacy and submission. King saw power as being love seeking what justice requires. What we see in our political sphere is a version of power that looks more like fear seeking vengeance. Love asks the question of what justice requires not just for humans but for the more than human world. Our “love” for Creation often stops at our romantic notions of nature or an affection based on all that Creation provides for us. Had he lived longer, Dr. King may have joined his wife, who became a strong advocate for environmental justice, in encouraging us to extend our understanding of agape beyond humanity. In this moment, justice requires that we use our voices on behalf of our non-human kin. It requires that we consider the impact of our consumption on the most vulnerable of communities. It requires us to use our power to make the planet as liveable for future generations as possible. This won’t be the last that you hear us at Creation Justice Ministries talk about power, but for now, we are grateful for Dr. King and a vision of power rooted in love. Derrick WestonDerrick Weston is the Program Director at Creation Justice Ministries. Such a trivial-seeming detail in the Lukan Christmas story: “all the world should be registered.” It gives context to why Jesus was born in Bethlehem, the city of his ancestor David. It’s an inconvenience that this poor family would have to travel during the final days of a pregnancy, the kind of inconvenience the poor are used to having imposed on them by the powerful. But it’s not merely an inconvenience. It’s a flex of imperial muscle. In a world of merchants and trade, it was a show of power to force people back to their hometown to be registered. In a world where cultures would blend and people would intermingle, sorting people into their regions and ethnicities was a way of maintaining order. In a time when the reach of the mighty Roman empire seemed incalculable, putting an actual figure to the number of subjects and territories was a tangible demonstration of the empire’s reach and influence. Whether such a census ever took place has been debated by historians, but the point of the matter is that such power was not out of the question for the Emperor of Rome. It is with this backdrop, in the shadow of this mighty regime, that a small child of questionable paternity was about to arrive in the outskirts of an occupied territory. While the empire consolidates its power, unto us a child is born. Mary has already had a glimpse of what the birth of this child will mean: the scattering of the proud, the lifting of the lowly, bringing down the powerful from their thrones. (Luke 1:51-52). Mary knew that this first Christmas was a small act of resistance. At its core, Christmas is a celebration of the new world invading the old one. We celebrate the new born king, knowing his reign is not yet fully realized. We celebrate peace on Earth while wars still wage. We celebrate good will towards all while many still harbor malice. We shine a light on the world as it should be, while navigating the world that is. Christmas is for small acts of resistance. Howard Thurman told us that the work of Christmas is “to find the lost, to heal the broken, to feed the hungry, to release the prisoner, to rebuild the nations”. He understood that Christmas was about righting wrongs. Perhaps then we can also see cleaning our waterways, replanting the forests, protecting endangered species, and reducing consumption as the work of Christmas. And perhaps, if we see the first one as a model, the work of Christmas is In churches around the globe, people will light candles in darkened sanctuaries. We do this, reminded that a light shines in the darkness and the darkness did not overcome it. (John 1:5) One candle is a small act of resistance against the dark, but joined together, our small acts of resistance can be a revolution. May this Christmas be filled with small acts of resistance for God’s people and God’s Creation. Derrick WestonDerrick Weston is Program Director at Creation Justice Ministries. Luke 1:39-45 1:39 In those days Mary set out and went with haste to a Judean town in the hill country, 40 where she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. 41 When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the child leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit 42 and exclaimed with a loud cry, "Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. 43 And why has this happened to me, that the mother of my Lord comes to me? 44 For as soon as I heard the sound of your greeting, the child in my womb leaped for joy. 45 And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her by the Lord." Hebrews 10:5-10 10:5 Consequently, when Christ came into the world, he said, "Sacrifices and offerings you have not desired, but a body you have prepared for me; 6 in burnt offerings and sin offerings you have taken no pleasure. 7 Then I said, 'See, I have come to do your will, O God' (in the scroll of the book it is written of me)." 8 When he said above, "You have neither desired nor taken pleasure in sacrifices and offerings and burnt offerings and sin offerings" (these are offered according to the law), 9 then he added, "See, I have come to do your will." He abolishes the first in order to establish the second. 10 And it is by God's will that we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.  The Bible begins with God creating, giving birth to an abundance of new life. Out of love, through the Word, and by the power of the Holy Spirit, God said, “Let there be light,” and light burst forth. From the waters to the land, from plants to animals, God brought forth the cosmos in vibrant harmony. After creating God rested, not in absence but in attentive care, nurturing and sustaining creation as a mother lovingly tends her child. This beginning sets the foundation of our story, reminding us that God not only loves creation but continues to sustain and renew it.
The earth reflects God’s maternal care, sustaining us daily. Like a mother ensuring her children have all they need, the earth offers her resources—food, water, air, and shelter—to sustain life. And yet, this care demands reciprocal love. As we marvel at the created world, we are called to honor and protect it, recognizing that it is both a gift and a responsibility. Advent gives us a second creation story: the story of God becoming human. In Luke’s Gospel, we meet Mary, a young woman called to participate in a miraculous act of creation. Out of love, by the power of the Holy Spirit, she conceives Jesus. Mary, blessed among women, becomes the mother of the Lord. Her body becomes a vessel of life, sustaining and nurturing God-made-flesh. She nurses Jesus, teaches Him, and loves Him not only as her son but as the Son of God. Mary’s journey, seen in her visit to Elizabeth, is one of faith and joy. Elizabeth, filled with the Holy Spirit, proclaims the blessing of Mary’s belief: “Blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her by the Lord” (Luke 1:45). In her willingness to say “yes” to God’s call, Mary becomes a model of faithful creation and care. Her body bears life for the world, echoing the self-giving love of creation itself. The letter to the Hebrews reminds us of the purpose of Christ’s coming: not to uphold the old system of sacrifices but to fulfill God’s will through His own body (Hebrews 10:5-10). Christ’s self-offering sanctifies and redeems creation, restoring its purpose and dignity. In the same way, Mary’s body, broken in childbirth, her blood spilled, mirrors the sacrificial love of Christ. Both give of themselves so that others may live. Creation, too, offers us this sacrificial picture. The soil breaks to yield crops; forests fall to make way for new growth. Even in its groaning under sin’s weight (Romans 8:22), the created world participates in God’s redemptive plan, giving of itself for the life of the world. During Advent, we are invited to reflect on this interwoven story of God and creation. Mary’s labor to bring forth Christ parallels creation’s labor to sustain life and Christ’s labor to bring salvation. In the Incarnation, God not only affirms the goodness of creation but enters into it. The Word becomes flesh, reminding us that creation itself is sacred. It was not unbefitting for God to become human, but the perfect expression of his character. As we celebrate Emmanuel, God with us, we are called to mirror God’s nurturing, sustaining love in our care for the earth and all its inhabitants. Just as Mary gave her body for the life of the world, and the world gives herself to us, so too must we offer ourselves in loving reciprocity. We are called to reflect the image God first gave us: out of love, through the Word, by the power of the Holy Spirit creating new life through sacrifice. Caroline Hiler is a Seminary Intern at Creation Justice Ministries Zephaniah 3:14-20 3:14 Sing aloud, O daughter Zion; shout, O Israel! Rejoice and exult with all your heart, O daughter Jerusalem! 15 The LORD has taken away the judgments against you; he has turned away your enemies. The king of Israel, the LORD, is in your midst; you shall fear disaster no more. 16 On that day it shall be said to Jerusalem: "Do not fear, O Zion; do not let your hands grow weak. 17 The LORD, your God, is in your midst, a warrior who gives victory; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will renew you in his love; he will exult over you with loud singing 18 as on a day of festival." I will remove disaster from you, so that you will not bear reproach for it. 19 I will deal with all your oppressors at that time. And I will save the lame and gather the outcast, and I will change their shame into praise and renown in all the earth. 20 At that time I will bring you home, at the time when I gather you; for I will make you renowned and praised among all the peoples of the earth, when I restore your fortunes before your eyes, says the LORD. Luke 3:7-18 3:7 John said to the crowds coming out to be baptized by him, "You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? 8 Therefore, bear fruits worthy of repentance, and do not begin to say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our ancestor,' for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham. 9 Even now the ax is lying at the root of the trees; therefore every tree that does not bear good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire." 10 And the crowds asked him, "What, then, should we do?" 11 In reply he said to them, "Whoever has two coats must share with anyone who has none, and whoever has food must do likewise." 12 Even tax collectors came to be baptized, and they asked him, "Teacher, what should we do?" 13 He said to them, "Collect no more than the amount prescribed for you." 14 Soldiers also asked him, "And we, what should we do?" He said to them, "Do not extort money from anyone by threats or false accusation, and be satisfied with your wages." 15 As the people were filled with expectation and all were questioning in their hearts concerning John, whether he might be the Messiah, 16 John answered all of them by saying, "I baptize you with water, but one who is more powerful than I is coming; I am not worthy to untie the strap of his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. 17 His winnowing fork is in his hand to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his granary, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire." 18 So with many other exhortations he proclaimed the good news to the people.  During Advent, the Church gives us two weeks to focus on John the Baptist. This repetition allows us to focus in on how John’s life and calling teaches us to live in Advent: preparing the way of the Lord through reflection and expectation. Reflection invites us to evaluate our lives honestly and repent of the ways we harm creation, human and nonhuman, through consumption, greed, and indifference. Expectation, on the other hand, aligns us with the hope described in Zephaniah: a world renewed by the coming of the Messiah.
John fulfills his calling by teaching the people how to live lives of repentance and justice while pointing them toward the One who is to come (Luke 3:15). His message is deeply practical: share what you have with the needy, act with integrity, and reject extortion and greed. These exhortations remain relevant as we consider how our actions, personal and communal, affect the earth and all who inhabit it. How do we prepare the way of the Lord in a world strained by environmental degradation and inequality? God does not expect us to live in the hypothetical or to sit around wondering what is the right thing for us to do, God calls us to practically act now. We don’t have to all become full time environmentalists, but make changes in the places where we already work and live. Zephaniah paints a breathtaking picture of the Messiah’s arrival: no more disasters, famine, hurricanes, or war. The outcast and the lame are honored, and shame is replaced with praise. All evil forces and opponents are silenced. The restoration of fortunes shows the abundance of harvest and land. Yet, like the Israelites who heard John’s message, we live in the tension between the promise and its fulfillment. The Israelites in John’s time had witnessed glimpses of God’s deliverance, such as the Maccabean revolt, but those victories were fleeting. The Romans now ruled, and true justice seemed far off. Similarly, we see glimpses of God’s kingdom through acts of love and restoration, yet disasters, injustice, and environmental crises persist. The reality in Zephaniah can feel like an idealist image that we persistently talk about and grow numb to its vision as we wait without its fulfillment. John himself wrestled with this tension. Though he boldly proclaimed Jesus as the Messiah, he later asked, “Are you the one who is to come, or are we to wait for another?” (Luke 7:18-23). His doubt likely stemmed from the lack of visible fulfillment of prophecies like those in Zephaniah. Where was the justice, the restoration, the end of disaster, and the king upon the throne? This same tension shapes our Advent expectation. We celebrate that Jesus has come as a baby, embodying love and bringing salvation, yet we still await the day when He will reign fully, bringing justice and healing to all creation. The disasters that plague the earth, wildfires, floods, famine, remind us of the groaning of creation (Romans 8:22) and our calling to be stewards of hope. As we wait, we can take heart in Zephaniah’s image of God: a King who rejoices over His people, renews them in love, and exults over them with loud singing. This is the God who cares deeply for His creation and all within it. In our weariness and burnout, He renews us. His love, a song we can follow, invites us to join in the work of renewal now, even as we wait for its ultimate fulfillment. This Advent, may our preparation include both repentance for our role in creation’s brokenness and active participation in its healing. May we live lives that bear fruit worthy of repentance: sharing, protecting, and restoring as we prepare the way of the Lord. And may we hold fast to the hope that Christ will come again to bring lasting justice and peace, for all people and all creation. This is the call of John the Baptist. Caroline Hiler is a Seminary Intern at Creation Justice Ministries Malachi 3:1-4 See, I am sending my messenger to prepare the way before me, and the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple. The messenger of the covenant in whom you delight—indeed, he is coming, says the Lord of hosts. But who can endure the day of his coming, and who can stand when he appears? For he is like a refiner’s fire and like fullers’ soap; he will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver, and he will purify the descendants of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, until they present offerings to the Lord in righteousness. Then the offering of Judah and Jerusalem will be pleasing to the Lord as in the days of old and as in former years. Luke 3:1-6 In the fifteenth year of the reign of Emperor Tiberius, when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, and Herod was ruler of Galilee, and his brother Philip ruler of the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias ruler of Abilene, during the high-priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the wilderness. He went into all the region around the Jordan, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins, as it is written in the book of the words of the prophet Isaiah, ‘The voice of one crying out in the wilderness: “Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be made low, and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough ways made smooth; and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.” ’  As we await Christ’s coming into the world, a critical question has to be answered: are we ready? We sing “O Come, Emmanuel” but do we understand what it means to have God with us? Are we ready for the kind of salvation and liberation that Jesus ushers in? We want to see God’s kin(g)dom come and God’s will be done on earth, but have we counted the cost to our own will?
John’s arrival makes those questions incarnate. Luke is sure to name all of the points of authority that existed in first century Palestine from the Emperor to the High Priest. He lists all of the names and their stations only to remind us that the word of God… the true word of God… was making itself known to a virtual nobody living in the wilderness. This nobody will be the one charged with preparing the way and making sure that the people are prepared. While Luke specifically points us to the words of Isaiah 40, John’s words and actions seem to evoke the spirit of the messenger that Malachi foretells. John screams of repentance, turning away from the ways of the world to follow God’s path. He calls the Pharisees and tax collectors who have found him in the wilderness “a brood of vipers” and seems genuinely annoyed at the prospect that they too might find God’s liberative power. He orders them to give up extortion and robbery, insists they repay those they’ve cheated, and that compels them to share their excess with those who have nothing. He also warns them that the axe stands ready to fell any tree that isn’t producing good fruit. Are we prepared? John may not call us a brood of vipers, but I think his message to us would be very much the same: Repent! We Western Christians in a climate changed world have much to for. The recent COP29 climate change summit of the United Nations was a reminder that as we make half measures towards a “green” economy, the poorer nations of the world continue to bear the brunt of the consequences for our lack of commitment. The $300 billion annually by 2035 agreed upon at the summit is far less than what developing countries will need to mitigate the effects of climate disasters caused primarily by the countries who are unwilling to pay more. The unwillingness to make commitments to move away from fossil fuels will mean that the profits of executives will continue to mean more than the lives of people in the global south. A statement made by the group of Least Developing Countries stated plainly, “Once again, the countries most responsible for the climate crisis have failed us”. Are we prepared? We won’t be until we turn our hearts away from the places of power and towards the people in the wilderness, the marginalized places, often overlooked by our power structures. We won’t be prepared until we examine how our consumption harms those who have far less than us and commit to do better. We won’t be prepared until we are actively seeking justice for those who have had promises broken to them again and again. Refiners extracted silver by placing lead ore into an extremely hot fire until the silver emerged.. Fullers used an astringent soap to whiten cloth for dyeing. The smell of the soap was so strong that the process had to take place outside of the city. Both of these are harsh processes deemed necessary to bring about the desired results. Repentance is a harsh process, burning away our greed, pride, and our apathy. And John’s call is not that we burn these things out of our society. He likely wasn’t too optimistic about anything like that. His call was that we burn those things out of ourselves. As we prepare to welcome in this Christmas season, let’s not skip the hard work of making ourselves ready and listening to the voices on the margins. |
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