We are given so much grace to help us on our Way.
Svalbard
Photo by P. Conrad
While there is no question that I’d rather be at St. Stephen’s on a Sunday morning than anywhere else, today I was in the Mojave Desert. I looked at the beautiful pink sandstone at our field site and I thought about some of the other breathtaking places I’ve been privileged to see. Some of them are struggling: the arctic, for example.
For political or economic reasons, people might argue about whether or not they believe in global warming, but after seven arctic field seasons, I can tell you that I have seen the glaciers retreating from year to year with my own eyes. The ice is melting. Our planet has a voice, and if we listen we can hear it. Not listening to its voice should be as unthinkable to a Christian as not reading the Bible.
So back to the Mojave– we were in the midst of beautiful rocky splendor, and it reminded me of a desert tomb with its stone seal mysteriously displaced. I am trying to spend every day of Easter thinking about resurrection and its implications. So for today, when it comes to resurrection, what gets in the way of resurrecting this amazing garden where we live? God has placed the responsibility for this planet in our hands, so its particular resurrection must be delivered by us. We have the tools. Do we have the will to use them?
