Creator of All,
From your communion of love your Word went forth to create a symphony of life that sings your praise.
By your Holy Wisdom you made the Earth to bring forth a diversity of creatures who praise you in their being.
Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they reveal knowledge. You called human beings to till and keep your garden. You placed us into right relationships with each creature so that we could listen to their voices, and learn how to safeguard the conditions for life. But we turn in on ourselves and away from our co-creatures.
We close our ears to the counsel of our fellow creatures. We fail to listen to the cries of the poor and the needs of the most vulnerable. We silence the voices of those who hold the traditions that teach us to care for the Earth. We close our ears to your creative, reconciling and sustaining Word that calls to us through the Scriptures. We lament the loss of our fellow species and their habitats that will never speak again. We grieve the loss of human cultures, along with the lives and livelihoods that have been displaced or perished.
Creation cries out as forests crackle, and animals alike flee the fires of injustice that we have lit by our unwillingness to listen. In this Season of Creation, we pray that you would call to us, as from the burning bush, with the sustaining fire of your Spirit. Breathe upon us.
Open our ears and move our hearts. Turn us from our inward gaze.
Teach us to contemplate your creation, and listen for the voice of each creature declaring your glory. For “faith comes from hearing.” Give us hearts to listen for the good news of your promise to renew the face of the Earth.
Enlighten us with the grace to follow the Way of Christ as we learn to walk lightly upon this holy ground.
Fill us with the hope to quench the fires of injustice with the light of your healing love that sustains our common home.
In the name of the One who came to proclaim good news to all creation, Jesus Christ. Amen.
