Strangely, we hesitate to express how spiritually grounding it is to be in Creation and taking in all the beauty that surrounds us. After a season of considering who we are as ordinary saints - those in a particular spiritual location - our attention moves to being rooted in place. We are a people connected to history and people where God locates us, though not in a colonizing way. Connection to the land is connection to God. In this series, we survey the Old and New Testament, considering the land from which we have come and to the land we return - finding our place in the story of God.
Week by Week:
September 12: Genesis 2 – Intro/Humankind birthed from the Land
September 19: Exodus 3.5 - Holy Ground
September 26: Deuteronomy 8 (and Micah 2) – Brought into a Good Land (Comes with a warning!)
October 3: Proverbs 12.11 - The Wisdom of Working the Land + Outdoor Brunch
October 10: Isaiah 43.19-21 – God is Doing a New Thing
October 17: Matthew 5.5 - Blessed are the Meek
October 24: John 9.1-12 - Land that Heals
October 31: Acts 22 - The God of Our Ancestors
November 7: Matthew 12:40 – Into the Heart of the Earth
November 14: Romans 8.18-39 - Creation Waits
November 21: Colossians 1.15-20 - The Fullness of God
[Advent begins! November 28 - Brunch/Thanksgiving Weekend & First Sunday of Advent]
Discussion Prompts:
- Through what elements of creation do you feel spiritually grounded?
- What physical practices help you connect to God in nature?
- In what ways do you sense the need to release any hesitations of finding Christ in creation and discover beauty and love anew?
- Discuss your connection to the land and the people.
- In what way is the Spirit prompting you to relocate yourself in the story - as one of the land - unsettled and embodying the love of Jesus in the world?
Resources:
First Nations Version: An Indigenous Translation of the New Testament
The Land is Not Empty by Sarah Augustine
Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer
The Unsettling of America by Wendell Berry
Poetry of Joy Harjo (An American Sunrise), Mary Oliver (Up Stream), or Wendell Berry (This Day)
Grounded by Diana Butler Bass
Theology of the Land ed.by Evans and Cusack
The longest night (for the earth) - liturgy from enfleshed
Music:
Of the Land
(image credit Nic Perez)