Does a spring pour forth from the same opening both fresh and brackish water? Can a fig tree, my brothers and sisters, yield olives, or a grapevine figs?
(James 3: 12a)
This excerpt from the letter of James we will hear this week is talking about the power we have to do harm to one another with our words, and the way what we say should be congruent with what we believe. We cannot say we love God and speak harsh or cruel words about our neighbour.
As we move through this season of creation, there are many lessons to learn from the natural world. Steve Aisthorpe, in his book “Rewilding the Church” draws on the metaphors in creation, pointing us to the essential interconnectedness and inherent mutuality of the body of Christ. We all need one another if we are to thrive and flourish.
It is not easy, however. We are given the witness of Jesus, but the witness of the early church points to the same struggles in community which we still encounter today. Yet the good news is that seemingly small acts of connection can make a big difference to the life of the body. We have seen a revival of health and diversity in nature, where efforts are made to allow rivers to flow after being dammed or the sea water allowed to encroach again across salt water marshes after being artificially walled off. In the church, perhaps these small acts of reconnection may be getting to know someone you have seen as different to you, or forgiving someone who hurt you, or engaging with a different group or activity in our community. The Spirit only needs a small act or sign from us to bring abundance, fruitfulness and joy.
Where could you be called to make these kinds of life-giving reconnections?
Grace and peace,
Sue+
