TEST Tidbits: Season of Creation 2021
The Season of Creation is the period of time from Sept. 1 through Oct. 4 that many Christian communities use to celebrate God’s gift of the earth to us and to unite in the care for all life on the earth. This year’s theme is “A Home for All (?)—The Oikos of God.”
In the Book of Genesis, God sets a dome over the earth. Dome is the root of such words as domicile or domestic. In other words, God put all of us – all people and all of life – under the roof of his house or “Oikos” of God. We also call this the “Beloved Community” where our well-being is interwoven with the well-being of the earth and its inhabitants, animate and inanimate.
As a part of this Beloved Community, we were given responsibility to steward and sustain it and to care for those who shave this Oikos with us. We have been falling short of God’s plan for us to be good stewards. Greed, exploitation, disrespect, intolerance, discrimination and failing systems have threatened the lives of people, species and natural spaces.
During this Season of Creation, we are encouraged to re-remember our duties of stewards. Indeed, we are stewards of a dynamic, living community of creation that is not a “given,” but a “gift.” Because of human behavior, our stewardship has been more challenging than in the past. We must realize the ecological limitations of sustainability while learning even more about natural systems and processes. We can be better listeners to the wisdom of our forefathers and foremothers as well as indigenous traditions. We certainly can find new meaning in the word of God and in the guidance of the Holy Spirit. All have a place and a purpose in the Oikos of God. It is up to us to remove the question mark.
Earth Steward Action: Take time this Season of Creation to look for examples of how we may be more inclusive in welcoming all inside the Beloved Community – the Oikos of God.
Source: https://seasonofcreation.org , www.youtube.org.seasonofcreation (different video clips – look for the one with trees and stream)