Creation is suffering.
With news about the climate crisis inundating us weekly, it can be tempting to rush past these words. The problems are big and overwhelming. The harm that we humans have done and the restorative work left undone can spark shame and guilt. The changes required may seem too hard, exhausting, or costly. The powerful few that profit most from ecological degradation continue to outweigh the power of the majority. Within these standpoints, word of creation’s suffering can crush us in inaction.
What we need in this moment is solidarity. We need to reconnect with our irrevocable connection to all creation. We need to attune our lives to the life we share with creation that creation shared first with us. Then we can grasp how creation’s suffering is our suffering and creation’s thriving is the true way to humans’ thriving.
“Advent with the Earth” is an invitation to reconnect with creation. While the apocalyptic elements of Advent can be troubling amid climate crisis, this season is ultimately about hope in a God who is with us as the creatures we are and who won’t rest until all of creation receives new life with God. Advent with God is Advent with the earth—in its suffering, in its vulnerability, in its protest, in its vitality.
This devotional seeks to illuminate creation’s presence in scripture and all around us. The reflections include images to inspire your visualization of creatures, landscapes, and skies through the scriptures. The chosen passages focus on a different book each week: Amos in week 1, Psalms in week 2, Mark in week 3, and Luke in the last two days.
I hope that you experience a fulfilling and generative Advent with the earth.
Jodi
Get the “Advent with the Earth” Devotional PDF
Credit
Header image of lit pillar candle is by Laura Nyhuis on the Unsplash website
