Wild Lectionary is for those who want to preach on climate justice themes. In scripture, landforms, skies, waterways, and creatures are transformed. In the world around us they are transformed as well by the advancing global climate crisis. Repeatedly we are called to attend to the wisdom of the more-than-human world. Each week a different contributor offers commentary on the lectionary readings, suggestions for preaching, and links to additional material. We hope you will use and share these resources.
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We are hoping to keep this resource going year-round. If you are interested in collaborating, e-mail Laurel.
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For preachers who want to engage with scripture and with climate crisis here are some tools for approaching biblical texts.
Know and be rooted in your watershed. It has long been understood as good homiletic and exegetical practice to name your social location -the webs of relationship, power and identity which influence your approach to and understanding of scripture. It is perhaps equally important to be aware of your ecosystem location, how your experience of and connection to drought, harvest, storm, herding, and fishing are at play as you encounter these themes in scripture. What are the creature kin, the predators, the waterways, landforms and plants of your place and your heritage that help you to understand (or cause you to misunderstand) the Galilean fishing economy, the Cedars of Lebanon, the lion of Judah, the true vine, the Good Shepherd and the lamb of God?
Focus on Climate Justice. Credited to various activists from the global south, climate justice is a term that asserts that the impacts of global climate change and the work of responding to it are not borne equally. Racialized, impoverished, Indigenous, coastal and island peoples experience the greatest impacts while bearing the least responsibility and are at the forefront of movements for land defense, mutual aid, and corporate and governmental accountability (Gabbatis and Tandon, 2022). Bringing a climate justice approach to scripture means focusing not simply on “creation” or “the environment” but addressing the interrelationships between human and ecological exploitation, extraction, displacement, and inequity.
Apply Eco-Justice Principles. Norman Habel and the Earth Bible Project have identified six principles in scripture.
The Principle of Intrinsic Worth: The universe, Earth, and all its components have intrinsic worth/value
The Principle of Interconnectedness: Earth is a community of inter-connected living things that are mutually dependent on each other for life and survival.
The Principle of Voice: Earth is a living entity capable of raising its voice in celebration and against injustice.
The Principle of Purpose: The universe, Earth and all its components are a part of a dynamic cosmic design within which each piece has a place in the overall of that design.
The Principle of Mutual Custodianship: Earth is a balanced and diverse domain where responsible custodians can function as partners with, rather than rulers over, Earth to sustain its balance and a diverse Earth community.
The Principle of Resistance: Earth and its components not only suffer from human injustices but actively resist them in the struggle for justice.
Use an Eco-Feminist Lens. The Rev. Dr. Leah D. Schade “the eco-preacher” has developed four additional principles.
Focus on Earth-orientation rather than focusing strictly on humans, and particularly male humans. Read Scripture through a “green lens” to ascertain how texts may be oppressive or liberating to women, children, those most vulnerable, and the Earth community.
Proclaim the good news for both the human and other-than-human community of Earth. Analyze the impact and power that certain texts will have when preached in a community of faith within its ecological context.
Practice a hermeneutic of remembrance. Recover biblical traditions so that we can view the biblical story from an ecofeminist perspective, moving away from the inherent human-centeredness and male-centeredness of texts that assume subordination of Earth and women.
Engage creative actualization. Tell stories from Earth’s and women’s perspectives. Reformulate narratives lifting up the discipleship of equals among human communities and with our Earth kin.
Consider the Ecological Triangle of God, Non-Human Creation, and Humanity. Hilary Marlow proposes this alternative method of ecological engagement which allows the texts to speak for themselves. She asks:
What understanding does the text present of non-human creation (local or cosmic)?
What are the assumptions of the author about God’s relationship to the created world?
What effects do human actions have upon non-human creation and vice versa?
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It costs approximately $275 CAD for the work of research, writing, editing, coordinating and hosting one week of resources on Wild Lectionary. If you have appreciated this faithful climate justice resource please consider sponsoring a page or asking your congregation to do so. It is a gift that benefits so many.
Reign of Christ, Year B: Cosmic Sovereignty
Who needs kings??? Really, in this day and age (and especially at this particularly critical time and place of danger on Turtle Island, under threat by a King in Orange) another power-hungry dictator twisting the world into their own cruel and greedy image is about the last thing we need. It is certainly the last thing that our more-than-human neighbours need, as the Earth groans under the satanic endgame of late industrial capitalism. And yet, and yet … as Luffy D. Monkey (perhaps under the influence of ontological anarchist philosopher hakim bey before him) reminds us … at some deep level, we all have a secret dream of sovereignty, even if this is paradoxically expressed as “King of the Pirates”. Kings, Queens, what does it all mean? And why does the monarch haunt us so?
Pentecost 26, Year B: Creation and the End of Time
On this Sunday, we have an opportunity again to think about Christ’s power and role in the cosmos as it is in relationship with all of creation. The focus in the gospel from Mark is on the end of times, which is a challenging topic for ecological preachers, but one that needs to be embraced. The texts give us an opportunity to reflect on what it means to love deeply, those things that are fleeting, dying, changing, as well as to ground ourselves and creation in the work that Jesus is doing to redeem and uplift all beings.
Pentecost 25, Year B: From Scarcity and Sacrifice to Eco-Spiritual Solidarity
This week's lectionary readings present a compelling intersection of ecological, economic, and religious themes that speak directly to our contemporary crises of environmental devastation and social inequality. When read through a holistic liberationist lens, these texts challenge both the anthropocentric interpretations that have dominated Christian theology and the individualistic spiritualities that often characterize contemporary religious practice.
The narrative of Elijah and the widow of Zarephath, the eco-justice doxology of Psalm 146, the cosmic implications of Christ's sacrifice in Hebrews, and Jesus' critique of exploitative religious systems in Mark's Gospel collectively suggest that true devotion requires dismantling systems of exploitation rather than celebrating individual sacrifice within them. These texts reveal how religious performance can mask and legitimize systematic violence against both vulnerable populations and ecosystems.
All Souls, Year B: Nonhuman Saints and Holy Ones
As we move toward the celebration of All Saints, we explore in this week’s readings the themes of “holy ones” present throughout creation, with a focus on the nonhuman realm, particularly mountains as found in the Isaiah reading, “new creation” as part of the ongoing evolutionary process from the Revelation reading and the unbound earthly-body resurrection we see in the Lazarus story in John’s gospel. We treat the reading from Wisdom briefly as it doesn’t directly link with the theme.
Pentecost 23, Year B: The Dignity of all Creation
On the surface, the lections for this week seem not to have much to say about climate justice. However, too narrow a focus on climate justice may sometimes cause us to forget that humans are part of God’s creation as well. In the readings for this Sunday, the theme of human dignity emerges: a worthy and important counterpart to the care in which we are called to offer our stewardship of the earth.
We are grateful to the sponsors who make Wild Lectionary possible:
This program is made possible through a Vital Worship Grant from the Calvin Institute of Christian Worship, Grand Rapids, Michigan, with funds provided by Lilly Endowment Inc.