View this short video introduction.
Read: “God in Deep Time” and “Lament for Holy Saturday 2020”
Use the following questions for further reflection. Then go to the next page to continue the retreat.
Questions for Pondering
One of the ways of picturing “deep time” is to use the image from the essay of the Encyclopedia of Life. Another is in a spiral form. I like the spiral because it helps me imagine the depths of time that we are talking about. Take a look at the following diagram of Deep Time on Earth.
How does this idea of Deep Time make you feel?
Can you begin to imagine God in a Deep Time perspective? Is this helpful to you?
If you were to write a letter to the prophet Isaiah, what questions or comments might you make to him based on what is written in Isaiah 40:21-31?
Scientists link the emergence of the COVID-19 virus to pressure on the biodiversity of this planet. Humans are one of the biggest threats to biodiversity. Because of habitat destruction, pollution, over-fishing or -hunting, agriculture expansion, or urban development, many species are threatened with extinction. What do you know about threats to biodiversity around you? What can you do to enhance biodiversity where you live?
David Quamman quotes Rahm Emmanuel saying, “We should let no crisis go to waste.” How would you use what you are discovering about yourself and the world during this crisis to make changes in your life? Are there elements of the pandemic crisis that are similar to the climate crisis? How can we put what we learn from managing a pandemic to use in dealing with the climate crisis?
What is emerging for your spirit in this time of change?
Continue to the 2nd part of this retreat.