A creation reading of the lectionary for the Sunday between 4 and 10 September:
The Proverbs reading underscores that we are all creatures. Whether we claim more or less of creation, in fact none of us (but God) is over creation – we are all within it. In fact, our shared creature-hood is part of needing to treat other creatures equally, justly.
God’s mountains are a powerful metaphor for stability in Psalm 125.
The Isaiah reading has a number of images from creation, with a central focus on the importance of water.
Psalm 146 shows our connection to the earth, reinforces that it is God who made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and also has a consequence on the responsibility to share.
Some of these threads are also woven into the text from the letter of James. Once again there is the acknowledgement of our duty to share and care within the creation God graciously gives.
The natural environment of Tyre, Sidon, the Sea of Galilee, and the region of the Decapolis form the frame for Mark’s story of a a Gentile woman, of Syrophoenician origin, to take on Jesus at his own craftsmanship of astute, witty repartee. Here, too, the question comes down to who can share in what of God’s natural provisions. The surprise in this text is that it is Jesus, for a change, who does not “win” this particular debate.
Many people, in the month of September, focus on creation. This month runs from the Eastern Orthodox starting the liturgical year on September 1 and prepares for the feast of St Francis on October 4.
This site is committed to the three year lectionary (RC) and its derivative, the Revised Common Lectionary (RCL). Rather than departing from that lectionary, resources will be provided here that can be used to have a particular focus.
The historic 1989 encyclical letter (link off this site) of the Ecumenical Patriarch Dimitrios I urged Christians to observe September 1st as a day of prayer for the protection of the environment.
Resources off this site:
Resourcing Preaching Down Under
Textweek
Girardian Reflection on the Lectionary
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