Today’s author is Prince of Peace member, Carol Swanson.
Please note that devotions will be published Monday – Friday this week.
I am one who feels God’s presence more deeply in nature, whether I’m hiking or gardening, looking at grand vistas or noticing small pollinators or new buds. I often think of some of the wisdom shared by Robin Wall Kimmerer, botanist and member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation in her book, Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teaching of Plants. She so eloquently brings these very different worldviews together to show us what we can learn from nature. A book well worth meditating on.
As an adult, Robin has been learning the language of her people. Vocabulary reflects what is important: Wonderful words like Puhpowee, “the force which causes mushrooms to push up from the earth overnight;” many words for “thank you” but none for “please” in a culture that assumes that one shares food. She writes of the grammar that reflects the difference in worldview. In English, you are either a human or a thing, an “it.” But for her people, nouns are classified as animate or inanimate. The ones that are inanimate are items made by people, like a table. All animals, plants, rocks, sky—each of these is animate; alive, in some way, beings. Sacred songs, drums, and stories are also “imbued with spirit.” And there is a difference in the verbs “to be” as well. Robin gives the examples: For a table we ask “What is it?” We answer Dopwen yewe. Table it is. But for an apple: “Who is that being?” We answer Mshimin yawe. Apple that being is. Then Robin shares something serendipitous: (Maybe you’ve already noticed?) She writes, “Yawe—the animate to be. I am, you are, s/he is. To speak of those possessed with life and spirit we must say yawe. By what linguistic confluence do Yahweh of the Old Testament and yawe of the New World both fall from the mouths of the reverent? Isn’t this just what it means to be, to have the breath of life within, to be the offspring of Creation? The language reminds us in every sentence, of our kinship with all the animate world.” (p 56)
In so many stories and moments Robbin demonstrates the interconnectedness of species, plants and animals. Most simply put, she writes, “The breath of plants gives life to animals and the breath of animals gives life to plants. My breath is your breath, your breath is mine. It’s the great poem of give and take, of reciprocity that animates the world. Isn’t that a story worth telling?” (p 344)
I read again the creation hymn in Genesis 1 and ponder the words. “In the beginning when God created the heavens and the earth,… a wind from God swept over the face of the waters….” Wind, spirit, breath—all translations for the same word.
And then, “’Let the earth put forth vegetation: plants yielding seed.…’ The earth brought forth vegetation…. And God saw that it was good.” I was surprised and delighted a few years ago when Process theologian John Cobb pointed out that this language shows God calling creation into being and allowing it freedom to become what it is. Like indigenous wisdom says, the world is alive, inspirited by the Creator and therefore deserves respect and loving care.
Robin emphasizes the crucial themes of indigenous creation stories and traditions.
1. The Plants and Animals are our teachers. They have been around much longer than we have, and we are the Youngsters on the planet. “Plants know how to make food from light and water. Not only do they feed themselves, but they make enough to sustain the lives of all the rest of us. Plants…exemplify the virtue of generosity, always offering food.” (p 346)
2. The plants and animals give themselves to us. “What would it be like, I wondered, to live with that heightened sensitivity to the lives given for ours? To consider the tree in the Kleenex, the algae in the toothpaste, the oaks in the floor, the grapes in the wine; to follow back the thread of life in everything and pay it with respect? Once you start, it’s hard to stop, and you begin to feel yourself awash in gifts.” (p 154)
3. Our response should be gratitude and reciprocity. “Reciprocity helps resolve the moral tension of taking a life by giving in return something of value that sustains the ones who sustain us. One of our responsibilities as human people is to find ways to enter into reciprocity with the more-than-human world. We can do it through gratitude, through ceremony, through land stewardship, science, art, and in everyday acts of practical reverence.” (p 190)
(You can also listen to Krista Tippett interview Robin at https://onbeing.org/programs/robin-wall-kimmerer-the-intelligence-of-plants/).
Randy Woodley is a Cherokee descendant recognized by the Keetoowah Band. In an article he wrote, titled “The Fullness Thereof: How Indigenous worldviews offer hope to a besieged planet” which appeared in Sojourners Magazine, May 2019, he reminds us that the Biblical writers and Jesus shared a worldview much closer to the way our indigenous population thinks. “Jesus understood humanity’s relationship with the earth differently than we do. He spoke to the wind, to the water, and to the trees; closely observed the habits of birds, flowers, and animals; and called his disciples to model their lives after what they saw in nature.” We see “Jesus’ view of the whole world, including earth and heaven, as sacred. …he certainly understood the relatedness of both (‘on earth as it is in heaven’).” (p 16)
Randy sees our responsibility as stewards in this way. “Each area of creation is working with the Creator to maintain earth’s balance. The rain and the snow, oceans and sun all sustain life on earth. Animals regulate each other within their various natural cycles. Plants provide oxygen, food, and shelter for all of creation to coexist together. As human beings, we are co-sustainers with the rest of creation to ensure the abundant life for all creation the Creator intended. And God said that is good.” (p17)
But ask the animals what they think—let them teach you;
let the birds tell you what’s going on.
Put your ear to the earth—learn the basics.
Listen—the fish in the ocean will tell you their stories.
Isn’t it clear that they all know and agree
That God is sovereign, that he holds all things in his hand—
Every living soul, yes,
Every breathing creature?
Job 12:7-10 (The Message)
Let us pray: Gracious Creator, thank you for your wondrous diverse creation and for the ways you have manifested your grace in diverse cultures. Help us to appreciate the wisdom you have given to each and give us ears and hearts to learn from one another as beloved sisters and brothers in you. Deepen our love and gratitude for all your creation as we see ourselves, not separate, but as part of nature’s community as well. May we walk in beauty. Amen.