Rogation and the Liturgy of the Earth

by the Rev. Dr. Paul S. Nancarrow

This sermon is based on Revelation 21:10, 22-22:5. Click here to listen to an audio version of this sermon. 

Today is the Sixth Sunday of Easter — or, as it is often subtitled, today is Rogation Sunday. Rogation Sunday is a kind of “Christian Earth Day”: it is a day when we give special thanks and praise to God for the gift of the Earth, for the gift of Creation. But more than that, here in this Easter season, this is a day when we are especially mindful of how the whole Creation waits — not just human beings, but the whole Creation waits — with eager longing for the revelation of Resurrection Life in Christ. Today is our day to be mindful of how the bread on the altar, and every person in the congregation, and every creature in all Creation, is called to become the Body of Christ.

There is a wonderfully powerful symbol of that in our reading from Revelation today. John the Seer has a vision of the holy city Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God and taking its place on earth. It's worth pointing out that this is the opposite of what we usually think of as the ultimate end of all things. We usually think of the end as “going up into heaven.” But John understands the ultimate Christian promise to be that heaven will come down to earth, that our earthly existence will be extended and expanded and transformed and made whole and made heavenly, because heaven and earth will be one. The city where God and people will dwell together, the city that will need no temple because everything is holy, the city that will need no sun or moon because the light of God shines from everything — that is John's symbol for the coming-together of earth and heaven, the matter that is spiritual and the spirit that is material, the ultimate condition where Creator and creature are as one.

And on this Rogation Sunday it is vital for us to recognize that in this heavenly-earthly city the human world and the natural world are also brought together and made one. The city is a place of human habitation; and yet right in the middle of the city, right down the main street of the city, John sees a river flowing. And this isn't just any river, not some tame river: this is the river of living water, water that gives life but water that is also full of life itself, water that is flowing and gurgling and splashing and renewing nature as it goes. And on either side of the river, still in the middle of the city, John sees groves of the trees of life, trees that bear twelve kinds of fruit, for every month of the year, trees whose leaves have healing properties for all peoples. This isn't just a city: it's also a garden: it's a place of habitation where humans and nature and God all live together in harmony and peace and mutual well-being that never, ever ends — where humans and nature and God all live together as the blessed embodiment of God's creating Word.

And it is the particular message of Rogation Sunday that this expansive vision of cosmic renewal is not simply for the far-flung future. It is the particular message of Rogation Sunday that the vision of cosmic renewal is a promise and a motivation for our works of natural renewal in our world here and now. It is because we look forward to the complete union of God and human and nature in the future that we work now to build up communion between God and human and nature in the places and spaces that we have at our hands.

And I believe we human beings have a very special role to play in that building up of all-embracing communion. We are that part of the earth that has become aware of itself; we are the creatures who have evolved the brains and the language and the hearts and the spirits to be able to receive the Word of God, and to hear God’s call to make the whole Creation new. We are like priests in the liturgy of the earth.

Think about it: In this Eucharistic liturgy, my job as priest is to engage you in dialogue — I say, “The Lord be with you” and you say “And also with you”; I say “Let us pray” and you say “Amen.” And it is my job as priest to pay attention — and so to help focus your attention — when the choir sings or the lector reads or the ushers bring forth the offering we all give, so that we all can see how the Spirit is moving in our midst. And it is my job as priest to give voice to the prayers we all share, but prayers we cannot hear so clearly unless one voice brings them together to speak them on behalf of all. That’s what I do as priest in this liturgy of the church.

And I believe that’s what God calls all of us to do as priests in the liturgy of the earth: We engage in dialogue, learning about and responding to the other creatures in our environment, our neighborhood. And we focus attention on what’s going on in forests and wetlands and mountains and atmosphere, so that we can all know the possibilities for new creativity God is opening in this Earth of ours. And we give voice to the needs and the dangers and the potentialities and the hopes of all the creatures around us who cannot talk. We speak on behalf of the forest and the threatened shale strata and the endangered species and the cleaned-up streams and rivers. And we speak the beauty of a rainbow or a redbud blossom or a butterfly’s wing — things that have no voice of their own, but must be appreciated and spoken for and celebrated for their gifts to the whole wide world. We human beings are like priests in the sacrament of creation, lifting up the whole world as our spiritual sacrifice, offering the entire universe to be transformed into the Body of Christ, and taking responsibility to build up communion between ourselves and God and every existing creature God has given into our care.

And I see a lot of that priesting in the liturgy of earth here in the Shenandoah Valley. I see it in conservation easements, that protect land for preservation for future generations. I see it when I'm out bicycling in the countryside, and I see how farmers have put up fences to protect streams from being overly fouled by cattle, thus preserving water quality for all the downstream watershed as well. I see it in prudent management for recreational use and preservation of national forest and national park land. There is a lot of priesting in the liturgy of earth going on in our Valley. And that gives us vision and courage and hope to do even more — and not just in the Valley, but in offshore oil drilling, and clean air regulations that affect atmosphere far beyond our borders, and in energy use that is clean and renewable and sustainable. There is much for us to do as priests in the liturgy of earth.

And that is what we’re all about on this Rogation Sunday. Today we celebrate the presence of God in the created world. Today we celebrate the promise of Resurrection that lifts up the entire world and makes the whole Creation new. Today we celebrate the calling of God that makes us priests in the sacrament of Creation. Today we pray in the words of our Collect that we may love God in all things — and we pray that in that love we may labor to be co-workers with God to care for the Earth and to foster in all things the flourishing of God’s New Creation. Amen.