Lent Day 15: Neighborhood Prophet?

So, you want to be a prophet? No?

Well, you can’t claim age as an excuse—Jeremiah told God he was too young. Of course, you’ll run into opposition, just like Jeremiah in today’s verses.

All right, maybe you’re not called to be a prophet, but you can be prophetic and proclaim the truth about the ecosystem you inhabit.

Get to know the plants and animals that belong in your backyard and your neighbors’ yards. If you know what belongs, you will, as Wendell Berry has instructed, complete the first duty of stewardship.

If you know what belongs, then, perhaps, you can begin to love it. Likely, your neighborhood isn’t home to the charismatic megafauna featured on TV, but just as Jesus tells us to serve and stand at the end of the line, so you can care for and protect the humble, ordinary creatures. You know, the ones God created and cares for.

Reflection Questions:

Have you ever prayerfully walked around your neighborhood observing the variety of life that you may have previously overlooked?
What would it mean to get to know the squirrels, songbirds, insects, and other creatures in your yard? Perhaps a Lenten discipline might mean identifying some organisms that live right next to you.

Scot F. Martin is the chief storyteller for Estorie Marketing. Prior to that he taught high school English, and before that he was kicked out of a Bible college in Minnesota. Now he zealously seeks to extirpate invasive species in Southeast Michigan where he lives with his wife and two children. He also blogs at www.backyardecologychallenge.com.