Lynne Baab

Praying about the flow of time: The Season of Creation

Lynne Baab • Tuesday September 17 2024

Sturdy, spreading oak trees. Tall evergreens. Lacy Japanese maples with hints of red and orange. Drooping flowering cherries. Spiky palms. Hillsides covered with deep green trees. An individual tree in winter, bare branches dusted with snow.

Creator God, we praise you for trees. We remember moments when trees have lifted our hearts. We also think of wood studs and joists that provide form for our dwellings, and we thank you for the beauty and utility of trees.

Oil slicks on puddles, and oil leaks into rivers and lakes. The residue left by car tires, washed by rain into streams and rivers, damaging salmon habitat. Untreated sewage entering the ocean. The blob of plastic particles in the middle of the Pacific.

Living Water, we praise you for the gift of water, so essential for life. We rejoice in the salty seas and the freshwater of rivers and lakes. We grieve the contamination of the waters of the earth. We grieve the damage to plants and creatures. Our hearts are heavy when we think of pollution in the precious gift of water gave us.

Daffodils, tulips, and rhododendrons that brighten spring. Dahlias, marigolds, zinnias, sunflower, and full-blown roses in summer. Chrysanthemums and anemones in fall. Tropical flowers like hibiscus, jasmine, and plumeria that some of us grow indoors and others get to see outdoors.

God of all good gifts, we cannot imagine life without flowers. Thank you for bouquets that brighten celebrations. Thank you for lush gardens and talented gardeners. Thank you for greenhouses and public parks where we can see flowers we can’t grow ourselves. Thank you for your beauty reflected in the dazzling colors and stunning shapes of flowers.

Chemical pollutants in the air that cause asthma and other lung conditions. Reduced sperm counts among all mammals worldwide because of hormone-mimicking chemicals. Flame retardants on clothing and furniture, necessary for safety yet harmful to humans and animals.

God who created atoms and molecules, we praise you for the many drugs and other chemicals that have made human life healthier. We grieve that some chemicals that enhance human and animal life also damage it. We grieve that even small amounts of some chemicals have a significant negative effect. 

Pet owners. Farmers who protect and nurture the lives of cows, chickens, goats, sheep, pigs, horses, ducks, and geese. Zoos and game reserves, and the people who care for the animals. Park rangers, biology teachers, and hiking guides. Scientists who study animals and their well-being.

Creator God, you called humans to work with you to tend the earth. We thank you for everyone who cares for animals with kindness and integrity. We pray for your wisdom and perseverance for all who tend animals in any way.

Rising seas that destroy houses and displace groups of people. Forest fires that increase in intensity and spread further each year. Hurricanes that grow more intense each year because of warming oceans. The continual release of carbon and methane into the environment, intensifying the greenhouse effect.

Breath of life, thank you for the air we breathe. We can’t see it, and we can’t live without it. We also can’t see the increasing percentages of carbon and methane, and we grieve the effect of something we can’t see. We pray for all who make public policy and other decisions that affect the warming of the earth.

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We are in the middle of the Season of Creation, which spans five weeks between the World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation (September 1) and the Feast Day of St. Francis of Assisi (October 4). In 1989, the Ecumenical Patriarch Dimitrios, head of the Eastern Orthodox Churches, set aside September 1 as a day of prayer for creation. Roman Catholics and other Christians often celebrate the beauty of creation and our call to care for it on October 4, the Feast Day of St. Francis. So the Season of Creation from September 1 to October 4 links the Eastern and Western Churches in a call to pray for creation and those who tend it.

Five years ago, my friend Janette Plunkett and I wrote an online Lenten devotional about caring for creation for our church. You may enjoy looking it over to see the topics we covered, as well as the art by Dave Baab that illustrates it. The ecumenical Season of Creation website also offers resources.

I’m grateful that the Church, the body of Christ on earth, can flex into new directions. How wonderful that Christian leaders have created a Season of Creation. How sad that it took so long. We know that in our time, we must remember our responsibility to our fragile earth, our home, the handiwork of our beautiful and creative God.

Creator God, our responsibility to till and tend your beautiful creation drives us to our knees. The challenges are enormous because the damage to the earth is so great. Teach us how to pray for your creation and those who spend their days caring for it. Open our ears and hearts to your guidance to us. At the same time, we praise and thank you for all the places and moments when your handiwork has lifted our spirits and drawn us into praise and thanks.

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Next week: the Feast of Michaelmas, celebrating three archangels. Illustration by Dave Baab: Tongariro National Park, New Zealand

Previous posts about creation:

• Listen to the sermon preached to you by the flowers
• Remembering the first Earth Day in 1970
• Creative prayer: Trees
• Creative prayer for creation care

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Lynne M. Baab, Ph.D., is a teacher and writer. She has written numerous books, Bible study guides, and articles for magazines and journals. Lynne is passionate about prayer and other ways to draw near to God, and her writing conveys encouragement for readers to be their authentic selves before God. She encourages experimentation and lightness in Christians spiritual practices. Read more »

Lynne is pleased to announce the release of her 2024 book, Friendship, Listening and Empathy: A Prayer Guide, illustrated with her husband Dave's beautiful watercolors. She is thrilled at how good the watercolors look in the printed book. Another recent book is Two Hands: Grief and Gratitude in the Christian  Life,  available in paperback, audiobook, and for kindle. Lynne's 2018 book is Nurturing Hope: Christian Pastoral Care for the Twenty-First Century, and her best-selling book is Sabbath-Keeping: Finding Freedom in the Rhythms of Rest (now available as an audiobook as well as paperback and kindle). You can see her many other book titles here, along with her Bible study guides.

You can listen to Lynne talk about these topics: empathy, bringing spiritual practices to life. Sabbath keeping for recent grads., and Sabbath keeping for families and children.

Lynne was interviewed for the podcast "As the Crow Flies". The first episode focuses on why listening matters and the second one on listening skills. 

Here are two talks Lynne gave on listening (recorded in audio form on YouTube): Listening for Mission and Ministry and Why Listening Matters for Mission and Ministry.

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