Readings:
Genesis 12:1-4a
Psalm 33:4-5, 8-9, 20, 22
2 Timothy 1:8b-10
Matt. 17:1-9
A world transfigured: the transformative grace of ecological justice
By Sister Priscilla Solomon, an Ojibway member of the Anishinabek Nation and a Sister of St. Joseph of Sault Ste. Marie
The Word of God continuously calls us to ecological justice through faithfully and genuinely living integral ecology. To live justly is to honour the sacredness, dignity, beauty and inherent relationships in all God’s handiwork. God loves and does justice for all God’s creation. So ought we. Living integral ecology and working for ecological justice also involves seeing the failure of humans to recognize the interconnectedness of all creation and our dependency on other living beings. It means recognizing our personal and societal ecological injustice, and being willing to be transformed by grace. It means contributing to the healing and restoration of the natural world. It calls us to actively and creatively respond to both “the cry of the poor and the cry of the earth.”
The scriptures for the second Sunday of Lent don’t immediately appear to address ecological injustice; nor to call us to ecological justice. Yet, in Laudato Si’, Pope Francis taught that: “Ecology studies the relationship between living organisms and the environment in which they develop. This necessarily entails reflection and debate about the conditions required for the life and survival of society, and the honesty needed to question certain models of development, production and consumption. It cannot be emphasized enough how everything is interconnected” (LS §138, emphasis added).
Most of the human priorities in the more economically secure countries today create disharmony and an imbalance of possessions and resources. Meanwhile, those in less secure areas, including the other-than-human world, suffer exclusion, environmental degradation and destruction; a lack of adequate resources; and constant struggles for survival, a healthy life and social and communal well-being. How do we respond? St. Paul tells us: “God did not give us a spirit of cowardice, but rather a spirit of power and of love and of self-discipline.” (2 Timothy 1:7) These are the gifts we need to take action, to radically change our consumer lifestyles in order that all may live.
Our response is not only to act, but also to participate in a journey. To Abram, God said: “Go from your country, your kindred, and your father’s house to the land that I will show you.” (Gen. 12:1) Abram journeyed from what was familiar, loved and valued to an unknown reality. This was possible only because he trusted the one who called him to leave. Our faith tells us that it is the same God who calls us to leave our security, our familiar comforts and possessions and travel to an inner land―a spiritual land―where we can see the injustices. It’s a space where we need the honesty to question the imbalances, the harms that we are doing, and the injustices in the biased systems that we accept. Then, we need to have the courage and wisdom to act, to walk the necessary journey. It is a journey from indifference and inaction to ecological consciousness and a commitment of one’s whole life.
God promised that Abram would receive blessings and be a blessing. Like Abram, we will receive blessings as we decrease our ecological impact and work to create a more equitable world. We will be a blessing to those who will suffer less and receive more. We can―maybe will―be a blessing to the Earth, by reducing our consumption of fossil fuels and excess goods, engaging in climate action and contributing the work of Development and Peace ― Caritas Canada.
Finally, speaking of Jesus’s transfiguration, St. Matthew says: “And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became dazzling white.” (Matt. 17: 2) Jesus radiated light. The man, Jesus, with whom his disciples were familiar, was transfigured, revealing his identity as the Light. His divinity shone forth.
This can be a metaphor to help us. God dwells within all creation, sustaining it. Jesus gave his life for all creation. His spirit enlivens it. But we are not often conscious of this indwelling. It’s like we have eyes, but we don’t see the Light. His transfiguration transformed his clothes as well. They also shone with dazzling brilliance. Metaphorically, the clothes are all of creation itself. Because of God’s presence within it, it too shines with dazzling light that we don’t readily see. The transforming grace of ecological justice is the energy, and gift, that can empower us to see as God sees, care as God cares, and act justly as God does. With the psalmist we will say:
“He loves righteousness and justice;
The earth is full of the steadfast love of the Lord.Let all the earth fear the Lord;
Let all inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him.” (Ps. 33:5, 8)