The Land Mourns
12/03/12 05:57
For Lent this year, we are using a video Bible Study series. In general, I have avoided video series. I think that we have all too much television in our lives and I am simply not a fan of the medium. But this year, I was a proponent of this particular study because it gave us the opportunity to hear and see Dr. Walter Brueggemann give a short commentary on the text each week. The presentations by Dr. Brueggemann are 10 to 15 minutes. Then we stop the video and discuss what we have heard in our small group. The video also has a small group discussion of people who heard the original presentation by Dr. Brueggemann. We also watch that small group and use their discussion as a starting point for our continuing discussions. It has been working well. Our small group here in Rapid City has been engaged, involved, and inspired by the study.
Last night I was struck by an idea that Dr. Brueggemann presented that we didn’t get around to discussing in detail. That is often the case with me and study groups. I get the glimmer of an idea, but it takes me time to process the thought and by the time I have something to say the group has ended and people have gone on to other activities in their lives. At times I think I’m pretty good at thinking on my feet and responding in the moment. At other times, I seem to process ideas slowly and it just takes me time to formulate my thoughts and reactions.
Here is the idea. Dr. Brueggemann says that the Bible is full of passages that speak of God’s glory and beneficence in creation. In the Sinai covenant, God declares that God will be our God if we will be God’s people. One of the blessings of this relationship is the continuing creation of God. But the prophets warn that there are real life consequences to our behavior when we ignore the covenant. If we do not obey the commandments, we distance ourselves from God. Jeremiah suggests that such a break in the relationship results in an undoing of creation.
It is not that God somehow intervenes in the processes of this world out of some vindictive desire to punish us. Rather the nature of creation is that when we ignore our role as stewards and caregivers, our lifestyle consumes resources in a way that is unsustainable.
Jeremiah says “the land mourns.” It is the poetic way of describing a drought.
According to the experts, we have not yet returned to drought conditions here in the hills. The abundant moisture of the winter and spring of 2010-2011 has not returned, but technically it takes more than a dry spell to make a drought.
Still, the grass crackles underfoot when we go for a walk. The dry pine needles and dry grass seem to be ready to burst into flame. We have taken to sniffing the air each time we go outside. There have been a few too many fires for so early in the season. The Cowboy hill fire on Friday was a warning to all of us. A little before noon we saw smoke rising and heard the sirens of the trucks rushing to the area. They fought fire long and hard for more than nine hours before getting that one contained. They had to bring in a helicopter and a retardant bomber before the firefighters got the upper hand. It was 24 hours later before they got around to packing up the mobile command center and pulling all of the equipment off of the fire. A few hours later we could see smoke rising from the Nemo Road area, where a fire was burning on land that had been burned in the 1988 Westbury Trails fire. So far we haven’t lost any homes, but we know that can happen.
Those of us who have seen a few too many fires in our lives are a bit jittery. We keep scanning the sky for clouds and telling stories of the really big spring blizzards that we have seen. A couple of feed of wet snow wouldn’t be unwelcome at this point. If we don’t get a wet spring, it is going to be a long summer. One of the benefits of the moist year last year is that the grass grew tall. It is all now dry and long and the fuels have really built up on the hillsides. When we get fires in this country, they tend to burn into steep areas where they are hard to fight.
Ray Bubb, division chief for the South Dakota Wildland Fire Suppression division says “The fire danger is as high as it gets. It’s as dry and dead as it gets. People need to be careful.”
Maybe the land is mourning. Jeremiah, in his poetic voice, asks, “How long will the land mourn and the grass of every field wither?” (Jeremiah 12:4) We can understand his question. We’re ready for some soaking rains or some soggy snow so that the green will begin to appear on the hillsides and the smell of fresh grass will replace the dry crackling underfoot each time we take a little walk.
I know that the cycles of drought and moisture are a part of this land and have been a part of this land for as long as any one can remember. We don’t exactly live in a rainforest. One thing that attracts people to this country is the fact that most days are sunny and the weather is mild. One day last year when it had rained for several days in a row, someone said, “If I had wanted to live in Seattle, I would have moved to Seattle.” Of course we don’t ever get rain like some places and Rapid City isn’t really very much like Seattle in its weather patterns or in its traffic. But those of us who live here actually like the weather we get most of the time.
Still we could use a little rain.
After all, another characteristic that describes us well is that we like to complain about the weather.
I haven’t formed a complete theology of drought. I have only formulated a few ideas, stirred up by Dr. Brueggemann’s presentation. Sometimes it takes a while for me to organize my thoughts. In the meantime, it wouldn’t hurt to pay a little attention to the commandments.
Here is the idea. Dr. Brueggemann says that the Bible is full of passages that speak of God’s glory and beneficence in creation. In the Sinai covenant, God declares that God will be our God if we will be God’s people. One of the blessings of this relationship is the continuing creation of God. But the prophets warn that there are real life consequences to our behavior when we ignore the covenant. If we do not obey the commandments, we distance ourselves from God. Jeremiah suggests that such a break in the relationship results in an undoing of creation.
It is not that God somehow intervenes in the processes of this world out of some vindictive desire to punish us. Rather the nature of creation is that when we ignore our role as stewards and caregivers, our lifestyle consumes resources in a way that is unsustainable.
Jeremiah says “the land mourns.” It is the poetic way of describing a drought.
According to the experts, we have not yet returned to drought conditions here in the hills. The abundant moisture of the winter and spring of 2010-2011 has not returned, but technically it takes more than a dry spell to make a drought.
Still, the grass crackles underfoot when we go for a walk. The dry pine needles and dry grass seem to be ready to burst into flame. We have taken to sniffing the air each time we go outside. There have been a few too many fires for so early in the season. The Cowboy hill fire on Friday was a warning to all of us. A little before noon we saw smoke rising and heard the sirens of the trucks rushing to the area. They fought fire long and hard for more than nine hours before getting that one contained. They had to bring in a helicopter and a retardant bomber before the firefighters got the upper hand. It was 24 hours later before they got around to packing up the mobile command center and pulling all of the equipment off of the fire. A few hours later we could see smoke rising from the Nemo Road area, where a fire was burning on land that had been burned in the 1988 Westbury Trails fire. So far we haven’t lost any homes, but we know that can happen.
Ray Bubb, division chief for the South Dakota Wildland Fire Suppression division says “The fire danger is as high as it gets. It’s as dry and dead as it gets. People need to be careful.”
Maybe the land is mourning. Jeremiah, in his poetic voice, asks, “How long will the land mourn and the grass of every field wither?” (Jeremiah 12:4) We can understand his question. We’re ready for some soaking rains or some soggy snow so that the green will begin to appear on the hillsides and the smell of fresh grass will replace the dry crackling underfoot each time we take a little walk.
Still we could use a little rain.
After all, another characteristic that describes us well is that we like to complain about the weather.
I haven’t formed a complete theology of drought. I have only formulated a few ideas, stirred up by Dr. Brueggemann’s presentation. Sometimes it takes a while for me to organize my thoughts. In the meantime, it wouldn’t hurt to pay a little attention to the commandments.