This Sunday is the Ketton Green Festival, a reminder that the earth is fragile and needs protecting and a challenge for us to live more sustainable lives. On a spiritual level, perhaps this Festival, and others like it, affirm that we are interconnected with the natural world, as well as with God and each other. In the past this was taken for granted, both All Saints and St. Mary’s have carvings of a Green Man, that haunting image of a human face with foliage sprouting out of the mouth. But as society began to distance itself from the natural world, many forms of religion followed. As industrialisation brought with it the exploitation of natural resources, many expressions of faith forgot that the earth too is made in God’s image. However, not all religious organisations followed this path, for many monastic communities, our relationship with the earth is still fundamental.
Hugely influential for me over the years has been St. Francis of Assisi, the 13th century Italian Monk for whom the call of the Gospel led him to live in simplicity, in harmony with nature. In fact, he considered humanity to be in kinship with the whole of creation. Francis’ most famous piece of writing, “The Canticle of the Sun” speaks of “Mother Earth”, “Brother Sun” and “Sister Moon” all in praise together.
However, how can we be expected to live in harmony with the earth if we cannot live in harmony with each other? The divisions which exist amongst us today not only result in violence towards each other, but also violence towards Mother Earth because she suffers the wounds of our conflicts.
I believe that Jesus came to bring healing to all our relationships. As well as expressing closeness to the “Lilies of the fields”, Jesus demanded that the poor be fed, the stranger welcomed, and that people who are deemed “untouchable” be blessed and affirmed.
In our world today there are many people who are considered “untouchable” or “unnatural” to others, and recently we have seen an increase of violence on people because of their ethnicity, social status, age, ability, disability, gender or sexuality. This month is Pride Month, when many LGTBQ+ people and their allies will take a party to the streets; a reaction to and a protest against the abuse inflicted upon them by others, whether it be physical, psychological, institutional or spiritual abuse.
I think that people of faith are called to take notice of the natural environment and the abuse inflicted upon it, as well as listening to the voices of all people who have been abused. Whatever the voices of division in our world may say, we are all interconnected.
Perhaps today, we, like St. Francis, can hear the call of the Gospel to reaffirm our kinship with Mother Earth and all her people. To heal, bless and affirm as Jesus did.
Revd Dean Akrill
