We are in the second week of Season of Creation. This annual, ecumenical celebration kicked off on September 1 and runs through to October 4. It’s an event that Christians on six continents have commemorated for many years. This year’s theme is ‘Living Water’, with Ezekiel 47:9 and 12 as its key text.
Ezekiel was a priest at the time of the Babylonian invasion and was among the prisoners taken into exile. This is a big moment in Israel’s history, a time when all hope seemed lost and, due to the unfaithfulness of the people, God was no longer with the Israelites. Yet in this dark time for Israel, God gave Ezekiel a vision of water flowing out from under the temple into the desert. Ezekiel says that ‘swarms of living creatures will live wherever the river flows’ and ‘fruit trees of all kinds will grow on both banks of the river’. This is a picture of hope and life promised even in the darkest of moments.
Fast forward 600 years or so. Jesus is speaking at the festival of booths, and speaking of living water, ‘Let anyone who is thirsty come to me, and let the one who believes in me drink. As the scripture has said, “Out of the believer’s heart shall flow rivers of living water”’ (John 7:37-38). John then explains, ‘Now he said this about the Spirit, which believers in him were to receive … ‘ (John 7:39).
Ezekiel pictures water flowing out from under the temple. Jesus speaks of living water (the Spirit) flowing out of the believer’s heart (whose bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit). As the living water flows out of us, can it play a part in creation’s healing? Can it inspire others to play their part too?
We think the answer is yes, because we already see those things happening. Wild Christian inspires creation-healing action, and Wild Christians inspire others to get involved. You can also read about Ashburnham Place, just one of our 64 Partners in Action, below. Water is an essential ingredient in their work and helps to bring healing to hurting people and a hurting creation. As the Spirit flows in Eco Churches, countless individuals are challenged to change, and, through hard graft and practical tasks, nearby creation shows signs of healing.
Our newest initiative is the Christian Environmental Mobilisers course, starting in October. This will equip people to bring about positive environmental change in their communities. We want the course to bring ‘living water’ to the participants, and they will be equipped to spread that living water even further – like water spreading out from the temple, perhaps.
This year’s Season of Creation invites us to become ‘part of God’s river, one that brings life, as we join creation’s healing’. We are, you are, part of it. The Holy Spirit is in us – living water that encourages us to keep going despite the drought that is around us.
Ponder this theme. Pray about it. Are there new ways that you can get involved? New ways to add the living water that flows out of you to that wonderful, healing river?
There are resources that you might find helpful on the Season of Creation website and on our own Season of Creation page.
