Amending the Soil
Readings: Acts 2:1-11; 1 Cor 12:3b-7, 12-13 or Rom 8:8-17, John 20:19-23 or 14:15-16, 23b-26
Scripture: Lord, send out your Spirit, and renew the face of the earth (Ps 104:30)
Refection: Our faces often reveal what is going on inside of us physically, mentally, and spiritually. What does the face of the earth reveal when beauty and serenity live side by side with pollution and battlegrounds? Or when creativity and care for the common good are being outpaced by sterile conformity and selfish hoarding? Oh, our earth could use some restoration for sure! While we cannot return to the idyllic Eden of the creation accounts, we can invite God’s Spirit to help us be part of the renewal that’s so desperately needed.
The same Spirit or breath of God that hovered over the earth’s chaos in the first account of creation hovers over us still. We see evidence in its fruit, which Paul describes to the Galatians as love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (Gal 5:22-23). If we could pull back the surface of what is happening on our planet, would we find those virtues, or would we find rivalry, jealousy, envy, immorality, self-centeredness? We know that what lies beneath the surface feeds what grows on top of it.
The Spirit will help us amend the soil beneath the chaos if we’re also willing to do some of the work of tilling and fertilizing and planting. What might that look like? Attending, to the needs of the sick, respectfully engaging with people who are different from us, refusing to give in to revenge, learning to limit our over consumption of goods, standing with those who are treated unjustly, giving and receiving forgiveness – these are just some of the things that make of our lives the healthy soil that will produce good fruit.
Meditation: We are often overwhelmed by the enormity of the world’s ills and the volume of hateful noise that surrounds us Instead, on this day when we celebrate the Spirit’s presence among us, ask the Spirit to overwhelm you with compassion, strength of purpose, resilience, and hope. Make time for the stillness of prayer which will orient you to God’s purposes
Prayer: Spirit of the Living God, refresh us. Multiply our efforts to be part of restoring, the beauty of the earth by caring for one another and embracing your vision for our existence.
From Daily Reflections for Easter to Pentecost (Rejoice and Be Glad 2025) by Catherine Upchurch
