Greenblade - creation - faith - justice

What If?

What if we were look to the Bible for answers but hear with new ears?

We are in trouble now. The road we are on, the one where we are using up the resources of the earth at an unsustainable rate, is a dead end. At things are going we cannot assure the next generation, let alone the seventh, that they may even be able to live on the earth we leave to them, let alone thrive.

So we cast about for solutions. With all the perversity of the human, we seek those solutions in the very things that have brought us to this point: we have mined the earth, so we must mine more, we have dominated the earth, so we must redouble our domination. (You know the definition of insanity? Doing the same thing again and again but expecting a different result.)

There is a lot of theological backing for this view involving that word “dominion” in Genesis ... MORE

Lughnasa

Two days ago the season made a little turn. There are signs – a change in the light, in the sounds of insects, in the way the plants bend under the rain. The squash plants are still putting energy into the leaves; soon it will all go into the fruit. The tomatoes are just beginning to turn. Most of the elderberries are still green and upright but a few, filling with juice and turning purple, have dropped downwards. The days are shorter, steamy and hot. This the leading edge of Lughnasa, Celtic autumn, meaning harvest. Sensing these subtle changes in season is a way to develop awareness of place. It is easy to fall into the stereotypical definitions of seasons: spring = daffodils and tulips, summer = tomatoes and corn, fall = pumpkins and chrysanthmums, and winter = root vegetables. The seasons move organically from one to another, though, out there in the world and that’s the show to ... MORE

Encounter

I wrote this story for Giffen, who said she had never been to the desert, but this encounter has come to feel emblematic to me of my ongoing effort to learn to live on this earth with respect and awe. I was visiting in southwestern Colorado and we had driven into Utah.

It was hot but I didn't care. It was also dry and this time I remembered to keep drinking water. I felt good, at ease, comfortable. My friend is an excellent guide, with an encyclopedic knowledge of the land. He kept orienting me, pointing out a mountain or other land formation from various angles, so I always knew where I was, or felt like I did.    Late one afternoon we turned off the main highway and down to the San Juan River, the only river to come through that area. There was a boat launch ahead of us and I remember thinking how strange ... MORE