Frontpage, September 6, 2020

September 6, 2020 – 14th Sunday after Pentecost, Season of Creation I

Local photos – The Season of Creation in our own neighborhoods by our parishioners!

---

The Week Ahead…

September 6 – Fourteenth Sunday after Pentecost

September 6 – 8:00am,10:00am – Diocese Labor Day Worship

From the Diocese – “On Sunday, September 6 (Labor Day Weekend), we will gather online, as the Diocese of Virginia, for a worship service led by your bishops. Bishop Goff will preach and Bishops Brooke-Davidson and Taylor will be there, too.”

September 6 – 10:00am, Morning Prayer on the River

1. Bulletin for Sept. 6, 10:00am, Morning Prayer

2. Readings and Prayers Pentecost 14, Sept. 6, Morning Prayer

3. Sermon

4. Photo Gallery and description

September 6 – 11:15am, National Cathedral church service online

September 6 – 7:00pm, Evening Prayer on Zoom – Join here at 6:30pm for gathering – service starts at 7pm Meeting ID: 882 4567 8370 Passcode: 399302

1. Bulletin for Sept. 6, 7:00pm, Evening Prayer

2. Readings and Prayers Pentecost 14, Sept. 6

3. Sermon

---

September 9 – 10:00am – Ecumenical Bible Study through Zoom Meeting ID: 882 4567 8370 Passcode: 399302

---

September 13 – Fifteenth Sunday after Pentecost

September 13 – 10:00am, Holy Eucharist on the River

Yes, Eucharist is back this Sunday – outside

September 13 – 11:15am – National Cathedral church service online

September 13 – 7:00pm – Join here at 6:30pm for gathering – service starts at 7pm Meeting ID 834 7356 6532 Password 748475

---

Lectionary, September 13 2020, Pentecost 15,  Proper 19, Year A

I.Theme –   Forgiveness, the basis for reconciliation.

 "The Unforgiving Servant – 1973. Jesus MAFA. JESUS MAFA is a response to the New Testament readings from the Lectionary by a Christian community in Cameroon, Africa. Each of the readings were selected and adapted to dramatic interpretation by the community members

The lectionary readings are here  or individually: 

Old Testament – Genesis 50:15-21
Psalm – Psalm 103:(1-7), 8-13 Page 733, BCP
Epistle –Romans 14:1-12
Gospel – Matthew 18:21-35 

There are two interwoven themes:

•The power and importance of story and the role of story in developing identity

•The recurring Biblical theme of forgiveness and the related theme of resisting our tendency to judgment.

Both themes have intertwined in and through them God’s presence, always available and always working in and through the life of an individual and the life of a group of people.

The other connecting thread is that of healing or becoming whole as Christians. This way of looking at healing embraces both our formation as Christians, the building up of our identity in faith; and challenges us to allow ourselves to be reformed through forgiveness.

Genesis looks at forgiveness from the victim. The Gospel looking at forgiveness in terms of grace.

The story of Joseph in Genesis 50: 15-21 describes a very human situation with which most of us can identify. It deals with guilt of Joseph’s brothers in their treatment of him, selling him into slavery. Joseph father may have prevented Joseph from getting even. But now the father was dead That thought of getting even consumed them, even more than the loss of their father. They tell Joseph that Jacob’s dying wish was that he forgive them. We do not know if that is true. At least, it shows how desperate they were to use every device they knew to persuade Joseph to forgive.

The family that has known disruption,  favoritism, hostility, and deceit all through the book of Genesis may finally get its act together. There is hope for reconciliation after this forgiveness. One marvels at the graciousness of Joseph who is actually able to forgive after all of this.

As a response to the first lesson from Genesis 50, these verses from Psalm 103 could provide hymn texts for Joseph and for Joseph’s brothers. Verses 1-7 would be the song of pious Joseph who suffered deep wrong at the hands of his envious brothers and had ample reason to question God’s sovereignty

Instead, the singer remembers "all God’s benefits": forgiveness of sin (pride for Joseph), deliverance from the grave (the pit and then slavery); crowing with mercy (not to mention the literal "crown" of Pharaoh); and vindication — to the point that Joseph can find God’s hand at work in the evil deeds of his brothers.

Verses 8-13 would be the song of Joseph’s thankful brothers when they hear Joseph’s words of pardon. Joseph’s forgiveness bears witness to the God who is full of compassion and slow to anger and who does not deal with us according to our sins or repay us according to our iniquities. And as Joseph draws his father and brothers west toward Egypt, the memory of their sins is blown as far to the east as can be imagined.

Romans gives some practical examples of forgiveness of others and ourselves. Here it is more of a group conflict. Differences in lifestyle, however, were the attitudes that were dividing the church. Paul’s commands toward both groups make it pretty clear that the "strong" were despising the "weak," while the "weak" were judging or condemning the "strong. God judges; we shouldn’t. Each Christian is answerable to “the Lord” and should not be criticized.

Paul’s goal for the church is presented in his benediction in Romans 15:5-6, that instead of using our words to despise or judge others in our fellowship, we glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ "with one voice!"

The Matthew story is all about forgiveness from the perspective of those who give it. Jesus sets before us an ideal, namely that we be forgiving as God is forgiving. Yet, at the same time we are reminded that the greatest in the kingdom of heaven is not the good person who is good at forgiving, but the sinner whose sin is forgiven.

This is the story of the unmerciful servant. The king forgives a servant who owes him more than could be repaid in a lifetime. However, in turn the servant fails to forgive other who owes much less to the servant. He fails to imitate the forgiveness of the king. When the king hears about this, he retracts his forgiveness and has the first slave tortured – probably for ever.  

Two key thoughts.

1. Forgiveness in this parable is both an extravagant and a precious thing.  

2. Forgiveness in the Gospel of Matthew is not only relational it is reciprocal and reliant. When teaching his disciples to pray Jesus would have us say, "Forgive us our debts as we also have forgiven our debtors" (Matthew 6:12). It is a change in attitude. Members of the community must treat one another as God has treated each of them. However, it does not mean that the sin involved is forgotten or overlooked.  

Read more about the Lectionary…

---

Keys to the Season of Creation  ?

For centuries, our theology our theology has focused on relationship with God and our human relationships with one another. The Season of Creation focuses God’s relationship with all creation and with our relationship with creation (and with God through creation). It highlights our role in understanding and addressing address the ecological problems we face today as a part of God’s creation.

We are going to look at 6 theological thoughts to the Season of Creation:

1. God as Creator The Spirit of God moving over the face of the water created the earth. Creation is also on a journey,  it is ongoing and constantly in a process of being made new.

The Bible speaks of a God who is not passive or distant, but active and involved.  God here exercises divine power through peaceful means. God creates by the word “In the beginning, God designed a home, a home in which God dwells, a home in which God delights, a home which God calls good. The earth is God’s home…”Nothing goes to waste in this creation. All this creation has a purpose, and every bit of this creation depends on every other bit of creation.”

The goal in worship then is to deepen our understanding of God as Creator, to celebrate God’s role as Creator, and to examine and deepen and widen our own relationships with God, creation, and with one another. How are we impacting creation which God said was “good.”

2. Jesus brings us Abundant Life –The Word Jesus was always with God even before creation began.

Jesus is the source of truth and understanding of God’s will.  All of creation, including planet Earth, is the result of the impulse of the Word (Christ) from God.  The Word is the supreme creative force through Whom all things were made.  Jesus is the source of life by which men have a relationship with God and hope of eternal life.  Christ reconciles all things in heaven and Earth

The Word is also divine wisdom, the principle of reason that gives order to the universe. Jesus dwelling in nature as one of us to bring us abundant life

As one of the Collects says  “Things which were cast down are being raised up, and things which had grown old are being made new, and all things are being brought to their perfection by him through whom all things were made, Jesus Christ our Lord.”

Take a walk through the woods and you’ll see fallen trees and decay, and yet new birth is everywhere with seeds and new life Volcanoes give birth to lava.  When the lava cools into rock, lichens grow on this rock, helping to erode it into soil in which plants can take root.

3. Role of the spirit. As the “Giver of life” and the “Sustainer of life,” the Holy Spirit is the source of our empowerment, inspiration, and guidance as we seek to live in a way sustainable for all God’s creation. Being “in the unity of the Holy Spirit” encompasses our relationship with all of life. This is foundational for our worship.

More keys to the Season of Creation

---

What can you do in the Season of Creation? 

The scriptures begin with God’s affirmation that all of creation is “very good” (Genesis 1:31) As co-creatures and caretakers of God’s creation human beings are called to protect and nurture its goodness. (Genesis 2:15, Jeremiah 29:5-7). The Hebrew scriptures suggested that on the seventh day of the week God’s peoples were free from the needs to produce or consumer So there is time to support nature

The focus this year moves to caring for the plot of nature at your home or subdivision.

Read some of the ideas…

---

Mary Oliver – poems for the Season of Creation

OnBeing republished an interview this week with the late poet Mary Oliver in 2015. It is coming at a great time as we begin the Season of Creation on Sept 6, 10am Morning Prayer. She is very much a nature writer.

She talked about growing up and the role of nature. “It was a very bad childhood for everybody, every member of the household, not just myself, I think. And I escaped it, barely, with years of trouble. But I did find the entire world in looking for something. But I got saved by poetry. And I got saved by the beauty of the world.”

“Whoever you are, no matter how lonely, / the world offers itself to your imagination, / calls to you like the wild geese, harsh and exciting — / over and over announcing your place / in the family of things.” – Mary Oliver

From OnBeing – “The late poet Mary Oliver is among the most beloved writers of modern times. Amidst the harshness of life, she found redemption in the natural world and in beautiful, precise language. She sat with me for a rare, intimate conversation. We offer it up anew, as nourishment for now.”

---

Season of Creation Devotional for Sept. 13

Lord, if another member of the church sins against me, how often should I
forgive? Matthew 18:21

From National Bishop Susan Johnson, Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada

“At the 2018 Bishops’ Academy, theologian Cynthia Moe-Lobeda reminded us of our call to “neighbor love,” to love the Lord your God with all your heart and soul and mind and strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself. She went on to say that if God loves the creation, then we must think of the creation as our neighbor.

“I am reminded of this when I read today’s lesson. What if Peter had rephrased his question to Jesus as “Lord, if a neighbor sins against me, how often should I forgive?” Or, what if the neighbor asking the question was creation asking about us? How many times should creation forgive us for overfishing, deforesting, polluting, endangering species, desertification, commodifying or even just not paying attention? Whether it is seventy-seven times, or seventy times seven, we are past the breaking point.

“The 1854 speech attributed to Chief Seattle included these words: “Whatever befalls the earth befalls the sons of the earth. If men spit upon the ground, they spit upon themselves. … The earth is precious to [God], and to harm the earth is to heap contempt on its creator.”

“How long until we don’t just know it in our heads, but know it in our hearts, and change the way we treat the creation, our neighbor?”

Creator, we pray that you would help us touch the earth gently. Turn us from our ways of commodifying the earth and consuming its riches without thought. Amen.

---

Misuse of God’s Creation? Climate Change: The Evidence 

Mendenhall Glacier, Alaska 1894 and 2008.

Definitions

“Climate change” ( a preferred term over global warming) refers to any significant change in measures of climate (temperature, precipitation, or wind) lasting for an extended period (decades or more). It may result from:

• Natural factors, such as changes in the sun’s intensity or slow changes in the Earth’s orbit around the sun
• Natural processes within the climate system, such as changes in the ocean and its circulation
• Human activities which change the composition of the atmosphere (such as burning fossil fuels) and the land (such as deforestation, urbanization, desertification). 

“Global warming” refers to an average increase in the temperature of the atmosphere near the Earth’s surface, contributing to changes in global climate patterns. Most people use the phrase to refer to increased emissions of “greenhouse gases 

Atmospheric gases like carbon dioxide (CO₂), methane and nitrous oxide are called greenhouse gases because they act similar to the glass in a greenhouse by trapping heat.  

The greenhouse gases are transparent to most incoming radiation from the sun, which passes through the atmosphere and hits the Earth. The Earth is warmed by this radiation, and in response radiates infrared  energy back into space. That is where greenhouse gases come into play. These atmospheric gases absorb some of the outgoing infrared radiation, trapping the heat energy in the atmosphere and thereby warming the Earth.”  Life on Earth is only possible because of this greenhouse effect. It has kept the Earth’s average surface temperature stabilized at around 13.5°C (56.3°F) for a long time. The more greenhouse gases there are in the atmosphere the warmer our planet becomes. 

“Greenhouse gases” have been produced over the last 200 years. Burning fossil fuels produces carbon dioxide. Farming practices and land use changes produce methane and nitrous oxide. Trees remove carbon dioxide, replacing it with oxygen; deforestation lessens this effect in the atmosphere. As a result, greenhouse gases have risen significantly. They prevent heat from escaping to space, similar to glass panels of a greenhouse. 

Specifically:

• Carbon Dioxide (CO₂)is emitted primarily by burning fossil fuels and by the clearing of forests. CO₂remains in our atmosphere for many decades and some of it for many centuries and longer.
• Methane (CH₄)is emitted from landfills, coalmines, oil and gas operations, beef production and rice paddies. Methane is a very powerful greenhouse gas. It stays in the atmosphere for about 12 years. Measured over a period of 20 years, methane is 86 times more powerful as a greenhouse gas than CO2, and over 100 years it is about 30 times as powerful. 
• Nitrous oxide (N₂O)is emitted by nitrogen based fertilizers and industrial activities. It stays in the atmosphere on average for 114 years.
• Fluorocarbons Chemical engineers have designed these gases specifically to trap heat. That’s why they are very powerful greenhouse gases. These chemicals are used mainly “in refrigeration and air conditioning, but also as solvents, as blowing agents in foams, as aerosols or propellants, and in fire extinguishers. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change calculated that the cumulative buildup of these gases in the atmosphere was responsible for at least 17% of global warming due to human activities in 2005

Past cycles

Could these be natural cycles ? There have been natural cycles of warming and cooling

The last ice age was more than 10,000 years ago.  The main factors were slight variations in the earth’s rotation, namely the cyclical changes in the tilt of the Earth’s axis of spin and the shape of the Earth’s orbit around the sun. Solar variation and volcanic eruptions played a minor role as well.

Temperatures affected CO₂ levels due to feedback mechanisms. In turn CO₂ had an effect on temperature by augmenting the warming or cooling trend. In other words: Without the atmospheric CO₂, the changes in temperatures would have been much smaller.

“The atmospheric concentrations of CO₂ consistently fluctuated between 200 parts per million (ppm) during the ice ages and 280 ppm during the warm intervals. This shift from ice age to warm period occurred many times and always within thiCO₂ range. When the Industrial Revolution began, the atmospheric CO₂ level was roughly 280 ppm.” 

On the graph we can see that CO₂ never went above 300ppm. In 2014, atmospheric CO₂ concentrations reached an extraordinary 400ppm! From this and other studies we know that 400ppm “is not only far above any level over the last 740,000 years, it may be nearing a level not seen for 55 million year

The situation today is very different from the past’s natural cycles. In a very short period of time, human beings have burnt huge quantities of stored solar energy (fossil fuels), thereby releasing unprecedented amounts of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. That’s why greenhouse gas concentrations have been so rapidly rising.

The global warming we have already experienced and the many changes in climate all over the world can only be explained by these tremendous increases in greenhouse gases. They cannot be explained by any natural cycle or changes in solar activity or volcanic eruptions. Today, human activities have a stronger impact on climate than natural occurrences: “We have so much CO₂ in the atmosphere that its huge radiative forcing overwhelms the changes associated with orbital forcing. No ice age could start at this point!

Read more about climate change…

---

Not sure about Climate Change ? 

Read the article in “Skeptical Science”

---