Week 1
Prophet Amos cries out: “But let justice roll on like a river, righteousness like a never-failing stream!” (Amos 5: 24) and so we are called to join the river of justice and peace, to take up climate and ecological justice, and to speak out with and for communities most impacted by climate injustice and the loss of biodiversity.
As the people of God, we must work together on behalf of all Creation, as part of that mighty river of peace and justice.[1]
[1] (Season of Creation (Official Website), 2023)
Week 2
The Seven Words That Kill the Church are, “But we’ve always done it this way!” “Always” is a lightweight word all too easily applied to what we’ve done for a year or two or, in some cases, even longer! But it carries ‘clout’. Its open endlessness sometimes masks the habit of most Bible writing thinking which instead is in terms of finite successive ages. We certainly gain spiritual strength from observing traditions, high days, and holidays…
Week 3
The whole narrative of the Plagues and the Exodus brutally affirms the connection we finally once more see so clearly: human injustice and environmental disruption. But there’s the other side of the coin: the remedy and intervention God chooses involves those who hear God’s word, who act and play their part. Moses’ outstretched (created) hand is as much part of the event as the water that overwhelms the Egyptians…
Week 4
This week’s story offers insight into the burdens of leadership: Moses was following a calling rather than pursuing a selfish interest, hugely hampered by the practical difficulty of communicating with his community, even the basic details of what that involves. Pray for your leaders every day when they are the ‘meat in the sandwich’ between circumstance and the wilful ignorance of their people…
Week 5
We know that a time of transition lies ahead of us. A scary caveat comes in the story of the prolonged existence of the Hebrews following the Exodus, in the wilderness, which some could certainly be called ‘desert’—a place of absolute and immediate hardship. Tempers fray without hope, and the only comfort is in the self-destructive attack rather than the encouragement of our leaders…