A Carbon Fast for Lent: Day 32

Day 32 (Thursday of the Fifth
Week in Lent) - Any old iron? If they're on their last legs replace old electrical appliances with energy-efficient models. They could save a third of the energy.

Well, in both my apartment and in the vicarage, the appliances are fairly new. In addition, they aren't mine! So this is excellent advice, although it might be a bit expensive in the short term. Of course, that's the point, right? We have to bite the bullet - perhaps a little, perhaps a lot - now to do something for the future.

We've been reading from Exodus, Jeremiah, 1/2 Corinthians, and Mark recently. I was thinking that the recent passages in Jeremiah, which tend toward wonderfully sharp denouncements of the nations, might be a nice tie-in. And yet, with Jeremiah, like with nearly all the OT prophets, the emphasis is not so much on what the people will do now for the future, but rather on what they did in the past that has repercussions now for the Covenant. In a way, obedience to the Covenant is always done for the future; the quid pro quo is that if the people obey the Torah, then God will take care of them. Of course, the angst of the prophetic voice during the Exile and after is where God is and how God might be taking care of them regardless of the people's observance of the Covenant. As we lead up to Holy Week, it's been interesting to reflect on Jeremiah in particular.

O God, you have called us to be your children, and have promised that those who suffer with Christ will be heirs with him of your glory: Arm us with such trust in him that we may ask no rest from his demands and have no fear in his service; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

RFSJ

PS - Please help me with Blogger formating! I can't get the line spacing to turn out right!!!!!!! ARGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!