Sabbath and the Planet

 Written for St. Paul's United Methodist Church Outlook newsletter.

God gave people Sabbath for rest. We have a need to pattern our lives in a rhythm of work and rest. We are not made to only work. The earth, likewise, was not made to only work or to be worked. Observe: day and night; growth and decay; spring, summer, autumn, and winter. “For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven.” This season, our hearts and minds are heavy under the weight of weather disasters, local and elsewhere. Images from the wildfires in the west are haunting. It feels like our planet is out of balance.

Before Europeans settled California, Native people practiced “cultural fire”, similar to conservationists managing Iowa prairies with prescribed burns (a practice also originating from Native people). These fires clear away dry brush and make room for new growth. It’s a practice that is mutually beneficial to nature and to the people, because doing so encourages growth of plants and animals that the people need to live--to eat, to build with, and to make medicine. Fires help trees like the giant Sequoia and the coast redwood to reproduce by releasing the seeds from their cones. It also makes unintentional fires less dangerous because it removes the buildup of fuel. Sadly, cultural burning mostly disappeared after Natives were removed from their land and religious ceremonies were banned, but there are new efforts to revive it. But the many years without has left California’s forests out of balance, loaded with fuel as the land grows drier, and effects of the climate crisis and the neglect of the forests’ rhythms merge and result in terrifying fire.

The truth is that people are not separate from nature. We are a part of the web of Creation. Creation can provide all that we need to live and thrive, but only when we don’t take more than we need and when we give back, when we are in tune. That out of balance feeling I mentioned, the extreme storms, those are signs that we are not in tune.

As Created ones, we too have rhythms and seasons. It is easy in this busy, workaholic, consumerist world to get out of tune with ourselves and the planet, and out of balance. People and nature benefit from maintenance and rest. Work and rest.

To practice Sabbath alongside the earth, I suggest observation. If you have a habit of walking, try a contemplative walk. Alternatively, find a spot to sit, maybe in your backyard, or near a window if you’re more comfortable indoors. Take time to observe. What do you notice? The activities of birds or spiders? The wind picking up leaves? The change of colors from green to orange and brown? Plants going dormant for the winter? Visit the same place over time and notice the rhythmic, seasonal changes. Ask what these things are saying to you. Perhaps Sabbath time can help you clear away the dry underbrush in your life (busyness, waste, ingratitude, consumption…), and make room for growth. Let the earth rest.

Read or listen about cultural fire from NPR: To Manage Wildfire, California Looks To What Tribes Have Known All Along