Carbon Fast 2015

Justice Today the challenge is to research a community who do not have access to clean water. This might be in your country or a nation overseas. During Lent, pray for this community. As you take your shower, imagine how heavy the water is that they carry on their head. As you take a drink of clear cold water from the fridge, imagine the effort of boiling water so that it is safe. Prayer and action are two  sides of our faith. Read the story of Moses and the burning bush and let us reflect on this story. Moses at the Burning Bush Exodus 3 In the first part, Moses sees the burning bush – he cannot approach because it is holy. He takes off his sandals and hides his face because he is afraid to look upon God. 2 The angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire from the midst of a bush, and he looked, and the bush burned with fire, but the bush was not consumed. 3 So Moses said, “I will now turn aside and see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt.” 4 When the Lord saw that he turned aside to see, God called to him from out of the midst of the bush and said, “Moses, Moses.” And he said, “Here am I.”5 He said, “Do not approach here. Remove your sandals from off your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.” 6 Moreover He said, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look upon God. This part is our time of prayer, reflection and contemplation during Lent. Moses describes this experience as “a blazing bush that does not burn up.” He is caught between running forward to meet the blaze and coming no nearer and taking off his shoes (Exodus 3:2)– It is common for mystics, to describe the experience of God as fire or a furnace or pure light. But during this early experience, “Moses covered his face, afraid to look back at God” (Exodus 3:6). He has to be slowly taught how to look back. At first Moses continues to live like most of us, in his shame. God gradually convinces Moses of his love and grace, which Moses calls “favor, But then the second part of the story comes immediately: the cry of the afflicted for  God is calling Moses to go to them. 7 The Lord said, “I have surely seen the affliction of My people who are in Egypt and have heard their cry on account of their taskmasters, for I know their sorrows. 8 Therefore, I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land to a good and spacious land, to a land flowing with milk and honey, to the place of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. 9 Now therefore, the cry of the children of Israel has come to Me. Moreover, I have also seen the oppression with which the Egyptians are oppressing them. 10 Come now therefore, and I will send you to Pharaoh so that you may bring forth My people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt.” This is a key text for us to understand the link between prayer and action. This is the foundational text for teaching the essential relationship between spirituality and social engagement, prayer and politics, contemplation and action. It stands at the beginning of the Judeo-Christian tradition, but the connection is often forgotten or denied. It is the job of the prophets and Jesus to remake the connection. We see the inherent connection between action and contemplation, the dialogue between the outer journey and the inner journey. Contemplation is the connection to the Source of Love that allows grounded activists to stay engaged for the long haul without burning out. Moses shows us that this marriage of action and contemplation is essential and possible. So during this time of Lent, find out about a community that has no water justice, pray for them, reflect on their lifestyles compared to yours. And commit yourself to practical action in some way.

Baptism by water Today we reflect on our baptism by water. It is symbolic that water is used for the sacrament by which we become part of the Christian family. Try to find a picture of your own baptism or reflect on a picture of one of your children or family’s baptism. Water frames the Biblical story. The first book, Genesis, starts with a wonderful poetic image of water and Creation. In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. 2 And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. (Genesis 1) Before creation even took place, the waters were there. Water is a primal element giving birth to life. It is no wonder that when a child is born the waters break to symbolize the start of the journey – a new life coming into the world. And in our faith journey we are baptized by water as infants. But when we reflect on Jesus’ calling and baptism, he was baptized at the age of 30. (Matthew 3:13-17). So is there a further symbolic or spiritual “baptism” that needs to happen when we are adults? 16 And when Jesus was baptized, He came up immediately out of the water. And suddenly the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending on Him like a dove. 17 And a voice came from heaven, saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” This baptism is the moment of calling, the  moment when you “get it “– you get your life’s purpose – when you get what you were created for. Many people go through life and they are on ‘cruise control’, study, pay off student loans, get married, pay your mortgage, have children, pay school fees. They never have that ‘ahah’ moment, that moment of initiation when you say “ this is what I am here for, this is my life’s purpose”. How do we know what God is calling us to do, when the problems and needs are so huge? A simple way to explore your calling – what God wants to baptize you into  – is to ask yourself this question : “What breaks your heart?” For if you put your passion, time, love and resources into combatting what breaks your heart  – then you are baptized into your calling. Often we follow other people’s callings because we feel guilty. But each person has their own calling. Some are passionate about climate change, others about the preservation of endangered species, one wants to recycle, another wants to grow vegetables.  We are all called to be missioners of the Fifth mark of mission “to strive to safeguard the integrity of creation and sustain and renew the life of the earth.” Identify what breaks your heart and you will find your purpose, you will identify what kind of missioner of the fifth mark of mission you are being called to be and you will be spiritually initiated and “baptized” into your calling. And God will say “With you, I am well pleased” Adapted from Richard Rohr

Repent and believe the good news! Ash Wednesday is a day to spend some time reflecting on how we have sinned against God, our neighbour and God’s creation. Begin your meditation by taking this carbon footprint calculator. WWF have produced several for your own context (or similar context) http://wwf.panda.org/how_you_can_help/live_green/footprint_calculator/ And then spend some time reflecting on your own impact on God’s earth. What damage have you and your family been responsible for? “God of mercy, we come before you seeking forgiveness because we know how much we have failed you. You created a world of beauty, you gave your people paradise. But we have not been good stewards of the earth we inherited. The rivers are polluted: the air in our cities is made impure, forests are felled and fertile land turned to desert, animals and treated with cruelty and for pride and greed, whole species are endangered” Remember  that the ashes on your forehead are created from the burnt palms of last Palm Sunday. New beginnings invariably come from old  things that are allowed to die. Today is the first step of a new way of living.  You cannot change world in 40 days, but if you let God touch you,  then you can make a world of difference in your own life. So today you must pray for the desire to desire a simpler more compassionate  life-style! For you will eventually get what you really desire. You cannot begin to desire something if you have not already slightly tasted it. Now make that deep and hidden desire conscious, deliberate, and wholehearted. Make your desires good and far-reaching on this Ash Wednesday of new beginnings. You could not have such desires if God had not already desired them first— with you and in you and through you!   (adapted from Richard Rohr)