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| Image by Axel Kristinsson |
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A GREETING
I am like a green olive tree in the house of God.
I trust in the steadfast love of God for ever and ever.
(Psalm 52:8)
A READING
For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven,
and do not return there until they have watered the earth,
making it bring forth and sprout,
giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater,
so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth;
it shall not return to me empty,
but it shall accomplish that which I purpose,
and succeed in the thing for which I sent it.
For you shall go out in joy,
and be led back in peace;
the mountains and the hills before you
shall burst into song,
and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.
Instead of the thorn shall come up the cypress;
instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle.
(Isaiah 55:10-13)
MUSIC
A MEDITATIVE VERSES
Wisdom cries out in the street; in the squares she raises her voice.
She is a tree of life to those who lay hold of her; those who hold her fast are called happy.
(Proverbs 1:20;3:18)
A REFLECTION
I was told I would be the last child from the Brehon world, from the ancient world of Ireland. And I was told to bring the message of the ancient world into you. And the time is now. I was told at the time now that the world would be in very bad shape. It would be heating up, and there would be a lot of floods. And the ancient wisdoms — not necessarily the knowledge — but the ancient wisdoms of the Celtic world were important to discuss with all of you now. And... I’m here. I’ve done it, and I’ve written all these books, and it has happened.
- Diana Beresford-Kroeger, speaking to a climate conference hosted by The New York Times
October, 2022. You can watch the interview here.
VERSE OF THE DAY
They are like trees
planted by streams of water,
which yield their fruit in its season,
and their leaves do not wither.
In all that they do, they prosper.
(Psalm 1:3)
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| "Twisted Pine," by Franklin Carmichael (1939) |
In Isaiah 55, the prophet imagines the capacity of God to transform the earth through the cycles of nature, in which each element nourishes and provides for the next so that food can grow and be harvested. In this way, he is also setting up a metaphor for the word of God which can nourish and sustain us and provide new life. In such a combined human and environmental paradise, the very trees will “clap their hands” with joy.
That imagined idyll might look something like the intentional forest of Dr. Diana Beresford-Kroeger, an Irish climate scientist, biochemist, botanist, and more who has made her home near Ottawa, Ontario for the past several decades. Her life work has been studying, working in and building up the boreal forests of her region that have the capacity to be restorative of a carbon-filled atmosphere. She has also catalogued much of the world’s tree seeds in order to preserve them. In recent years, as we have finally begun to talk about climate and ecological degradation, her voice has become a prophetic one, attracting writers and celebrities, scientists and analystis. In all of these connections with others, she demonstrates a deep nature spirituality.
In today's reflection, we hear her own account of her childhood, told in a style reminiscent of biblical prophecy. Her deepest and most profound influence has been an Irish childhood exposure to Celtic culture and the laws of Brehon, a medieval Celtic legal system that seeks to preserve the land as it was meant to be. It has much in common with Indigenous knowledge and in its time was often led by women.
Diana Beresford-Kroeger's use of words and language is part of how she expresses her life's passion. Her books are how she has communicated that passion with the world. “That is what a forest does for you every day: it farms the sun,” she says in another interview. The forest draws the carbon out of the air and cycles it into oxygen. Her words and Isaiah’s "Word" speak to the essential cycles of how life becomes renewed.
We might say that Diana Beresford-Kroeger “set her face” for the boreal forest in the 1980s and hasn’t looked back. But who will carry the work after her? The legacy of prophets lies in how well we take up what they have established. What will you try to learn today — about trees, the lungs of the earth? How will you then share it with others?
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| Image by Jeff BV |
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LC† Before the Cross is a project of Lutherans Connect, supported by the Eastern Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada and the Centre for Spirituality and Media at Martin Luther University College. To receive the devotions by email, write to lutheransconnect@gmail.com. The devotional pages are written and curated by Deacon Sherry Coman, with support and input from Pastor Steve Hoffard, Catherine Evenden and Henriette Thompson. Join us on Facebook, and on Twitter. Lutherans Connect invites you to make a donation to the Ministry by going to this link on the website of the ELCIC Eastern Synod and selecting "Lutherans Connect Devotionals" under "Fund". Devotions are always freely offered, however your donations help to support extended offerings throughout the year. Thank you and peace be with you!
