Wednesday, August 9, 2023

The sun rises later now.  At this time of the morning one can only see the shadows of the trees against the eastern sky.  Further south, of course, toward the Equator, it is lighter at this time of morning, of course, as people living in the Amazon rainforest begin their days.

The Amazon rainforest has been called the “lungs of the earth,” its massive area swallowing up excess carbon.  The four years under Bolsonaro devastated much of the rainforest, but deforestation fell by over 60% last year. Brazilian president Lula da Silva hosted a conference this week of the eight countries sharing the Amazon to save it.

The U.S. company Cargill is responsible for rainforest destruction in clearing land for beef production, not to mention the exploitation of indigenous peoples who live there.  I’ve never visited the Amazon and probably never will, but its 67.5 million acres of carbon-absorbing rainforest protects not just my future but the future of all of our children and grandchildren.

 Prayer for the Day

Root of life, sustain us and nurture us this day,

  Making us like the tree that grows from your good earth;

May we find the ways to share your life-giving presence

   And find them in the world about us;

Hold us as we strive to protect your creation,

   So our actions erupt as a spring in a rock.   

In the name of the One who is your root,

    Even Christ Jesus our Lord, Amen.

Thoughts for the Day

The rainforest is neither a void that needs occupying nor a treasure to be looted. It is a flowerbed of possibilities that must be cultivated.

     - Lula DaSilva, President of Brazil, August 8, 2023

The Amazon has the highest density of plant and animal species anywhere. One in ten of the world’s known species lives in the Amazon. The Amazon is home to more than120 indigenous nationalities.

     - Nature and Culture International, with projects saving the rainforest

Can you lift up your voice to the clouds, so that a flood of waters may cover you?

   Can you send forth lightnings, so they may go and say to you, “Here we are’”?

Who has put wisdom in the inward parts, or given understanding to the mind?

   Who has the wisdom to number the clouds or tilt the waterskins of the heavens?

            The Lord to Job, 38: 34-37