Advent and Ecological Conversion
In the Gospel reading for the second Sunday of Advent, John the Baptist calls us to repentance: “Prepare a way for the Lord, make his path straight”.We are called to conversion, to a change of heart, in preparation for Christmas. Part of that conversion includes a change of heart in our relationships with the earth, in our relationships with the creatures of the world, and of course in our relationships with each other and the enduring presence of the Creator-Spirit within creation.
Pope Francis is very clear that we cannot save the planet without conversion (LS 216-221). He talks explicitly about the call to interior conversion and communal conversion. The conversion required during Advent in preparation for Christmas must include an ecological conversion that calls each one of us to protect and nurture the integrity of God’s Creation. Being a Christian in the 21st century carries with it a commitment to care for God’s creation, not as optional, but as something essential to Christian faith to day.
Prayer – (After Bruce Sanguin)
O Holy One
we are a sleepy lot,
slow to stir to the calling of the cosmos,
deaf to the cries of the Earth
and the forgotten ones,
human and other-than- human.
“O that you would tear open the heavens and come down,”
cries the prophet,
and end this slumber that blocks out pain,
and with it, wonder.
Our hope, O Holy One, is found in eyes wide open,
in small gestures of compassion,
and in alertness to your coming,
again and again.
So we await to be set on fire
with hope, and gospel passion
for the earth.
