Photo: Irma Dillard, rscj

Discussion Starters for Lent, Week 2

*The section "We Speak" addresses concrete concerns faced in Australia. We invite you to ask the questions that are relevant to your own context.

Creation: Land

The Bible speaks
But ask now the beasts,
and they shall teach thee;
and the fowls of the air,
and they shall teach thee;
Or speak to the earth
and it shall teach thee;
And the fishes of the sea
shall declare unto thee
(Job 12: 7-8)

How long will the land be in morning, and the grass wither all over the countryside? The animals and birds are dying as a result of the wickedness of the inhabitants.
(Jeremiah 12:4)

The Poet Speaks
… the earth speaks … its voice is the shape of a new leaf, the feel of a water-worn stone, the colour of the evening sky, the smell of summer rain, the sound of the night wind. The earth’s whispers are everywhere …
The earth speaks in magic, the magic of rainbows and waterfalls and frogs. It is the magic of interacting sunlight and air and water and soil creating a constantly shifting kaleidoscope of wondrous riches on our turning planet …

Steve Van Matre The Earth Speaks (ed. S. Van Matre, Michigan,1983)


We Speak
In our country since white settlement, land holders have felt that they needed to clear the land to make money. Governments have set land clearing as a requirement of retaining the ownership of holdings and, in some cases, actually paid farmers to clear land. With time, however, problems have become obvious … not only are the farmers (and we) losing trees, so contributing to the denuding of soil, and the polluting of air, but native animals, birds, reptiles and insects are disappearing with the trees. State laws have not prohibited land clearance in Tasmania and Queensland as yet.

From Renewing Creation (South Australian Heads of Churches, 2003).


We Pray
God, Creator of every thing,
we thank you for the planet we call earth.
We ask you to walk with us through the world as through a garden.
Help us to walk with our eyes open to the beauty and our souls sensitive to the pain of the cosmos.
Lead us to the source of healing, ever receiving your renewing grace with peace in our hearts and a passion for justice.