Slideshow image

Season of Creation - Genesis 1:1-2:3; Psalm 148:1-14 ;  Acts 17:22a, 24-28;  John 1:1-5     

 

Creation is the first chapter of salvation. The Church of the 21st Century must get outside the Church gates into the garden that God still calls "very good" (Genesis 1:27) . So, at this point we might want to ask: What is outside our Church gates? What is in the garden? We do not only have a mission to save creation, we have a Creator whose mission includes us in creation's renewal. In the Anglican Church of Canada, observed September 1 to October 4 Season of Creation speaks directly to our context of climate anxiety, Indigenous reconciliation, and a post-industrial spirituality that has lost its connection to the land. The world did not happen by accident or violence. Tohu va-bohu (תֹהוּ וָבֹהוּ - formless void) is ordered by Word and Spirit. For a church that is anxious about climate collapse, political chaos, and AI — God still brings order out of that chaos. Humanity is created last, not as owner but as image-bearer to tend (not use up) the garden. The repeated phrase "and God saw that it was good" is the foundation for ecological justice and for us as faithful stewards of all God's creations. We cannot say "God loves the world" in John 3:16 and trash what God called good. Creation ends not with humanity, but with Sabbath (Genesis 2:3). Rest, limit, and sustainability are divine design, not human suggestion. But with our human excesses, the 24/7 extractive economy violates God's Sabbath.Sad!  “There is increasing concern that the world, as the environment of life, is being destroyed by population, exploitation, and waste. More and more people recognize that the human race is in danger of corrupting the very envelope in which life subsists, and that we do not know what to do about it.  But for us as Christians in particular, misuse of the environment is a spiritual problem. One of our Five Marks of Mission is to “To strive to safeguard the integrity of creation and sustain and renew the life of the earth.” 

 

"Christians believe that it is God’s purpose that the whole created order should be transparent to the divine Spirit, should be an outward and visible sign of God’s being, generosity, and love. Misuse of creation frustrates that purpose and creates a problem which is theological, sacramental, and devotional. Creation and new creation form a central strand of the salvation story of the Bible…God’s new creation embraces the whole natural order and not merely souls;…Prayer for ourselves and our environment should be a constant feature of our liturgy, not merely the subject of special occasions” (Occasional Celebrations of the Anglican Church of Canada, pgs. 182-185).

 

For "Through Him all things were made; without Him nothing was made that has been made (John 1:3). "For in Him we live and move and have our being" (Acts 17:28). 

 

Let us pray

 

Creator of the land, the water, and the sky, come and renew the face of the earth: O Lord, hear our prayer.

 

Giver of life, we are children of your holy breath; give us a new purpose to care in love for the world of your making: O Lord, hear our prayer.

 

Saviour of the world, touch our lips in the power of your new creation, that we may proclaim your word of life” O Lord, hear our prayer.

 

God of sparrows and wild flowers, teach us to see and preserve the beauty of the gifts of your hands: O Lord, hear our prayer.

 

Almighty and Everlasting God,

Our guiding light.

All your creations praise you.

We are created for your purpose and all your creation declares your glory.

The gift of joy we receive marks your presence in us;

The beauty, abundance, and peace are all tokens of your work in all creation.

Work also in our lives, that by these signs we may see the splendour of your

Love and praise you through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

 

Thanks be to God.

 

With every blessing,

 

The Reverend Wilson Akinwale