Daily Reading for August 4
The cross of Christ is transformative. In the resurrection the worst that humankind can inflict is lifted up, transformed, and made new. Christ’s materiality enables his solidarity with us, and his two-personhood holds the human and the divine together in a cosmic oneness. The Incarnation calls us into relationship with God whereby we participate in the realization of God’s kingdom on earth. Far from letting us off the hook, the Incarnation calls us into union with God, to bear witness to the damage we have caused and to participate in God’s redemptive plan for all life.
The vision of restoration of the coming kingdom for all creation defines and shapes our present tasks and sets our priorities. This vision guides and motivates our responsibilities in and for all creation. We are called to order our lives in terms of the values and shape of the coming kingdom. We are reminded that the ecological destruction that threatens all life is the result of human us-first-ness, our harmful industrial processes, and our individualized lifestyles and habits. We are called to work toward the vision of life renewed, to a vision that honors all of creation.
The church’s mission of redemption in the world, grounded as it is in the good news of Christ, cannot be separated from social justice and healing the earth. Moreover, social and environmental ethics and practice are not disembodied, but must be intimately grounded in worship and the sacraments. When we partake of the bread and wine during the Eucharist, the central expression of the Incarnation in worship, we are embodying our relationship with Christ and with all materiality. The redemptive promise of the Eucharist empowers us to go forth to do God’s work in the world. Christian liturgy, with its daily and annual cycles that observe the cosmic activity of darkness and light and the passing of the seasons, offers rich opportunity to bring our sacramental connection to all creation through Christ Jesus into sharper focus. Through our worship we can reclaim ancient wisdom and orient ourselves to an understanding that we and this wounded earth are all gathered to Christ and in Christ, and are called to work together for a new creation.
From “‘For God So Loved the World’: An Incarnational Ecology” by Martha Kirkpatrick, in Anglican Theological Review 91, no 2 (Spring 2009): 191-212.