Lenten Reflection (by Pastor Aimee Bruno, a trainer in our Care for Creation training partnership)

As my one-year-old son plays, I watch his experiments. Right now it is all about gravity. What does it sound like if he drops a puzzle piece on the wood floor from different heights? How is it different than if he drops a stuffed animal? How fast can he move those little legs before he finds himself splat on the floor? How does one trap bath water in little hands and why does it go flowing down if you open those hands? Which way will the bubbles fall and how can you change the trajectory?

I have been thinking a lot about gravity and the fact that gravity exists because of the attraction between physical bodies. I’m not talking about sex, here! The earth is attracted to us and we are attracted to the earth.

Our faith reminds us that we are of the earth. The name Adam refers to the first humans and means “earth creature.” Our creation story tells of God creating us from the dirt and breathing life into us. We hear at Ash Wednesday, “You are dust, and to dust you shall return.” And our scripture reminds us that we are responsible to the earth, to care for it and to be good stewards of it.

So what went wrong? We started to think of the earth only in terms of what it could do for us rather than the balance of two  bodies attracted to each other, needing each other, in balance and mutuality with one another.

I invite you to meditate on gravity. The attraction you feel toward this planet and the responsibility you have toward it. Think of the attraction it has to you all that it provides for you. And consider how those roles might be more in balance so that this‚ beautiful world can continue to exist for generations unborn to experience attraction to this beautiful place, for us to serve it as it serves us.

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