Welcome to the first issue of Of Earth & Of Stars. Take your time reading through it, leave a comment, and I’ll be back in your inbox next month!
A Community of Voices
I solely and defiantly answer to the name of Imago Dei, a human made in the image of God. I laugh in the face of, dance in the presence of, anyone who would dare call me something different. - Tracy Michae'l Lewis-Gigget, Black Joy: Stories of Resistence, Resilience, and Restoration
Each tree, like every other creature, exists in relationship to its surroundings. We are all intricately linked to all of creation. We are related to the world around us. - Dr. Randy Woodley, Becoming Rooted
An oak tree and I made of the same stuff. If you go far enough back, we have a common ancestor...We humans look rather different than a tree...but down deep at the molecular heart of life the trees and we are essentially identical. - Carl Sagan, Cosmos
In Genesis, when God gives Eve and Adam authority over creation, it is not permission to do whatever they want; it's an honoring. It's permission to be the mouth and hands of justice, protectors of every created thing. Over time we've taken this role to look more like domination than cultivation. Instead of resting the land, we overharvest it, we exhaust it. Instead of marveling at the tree, we make plans for its utility. We are a people much more concerned with ruling than loving. This is a mistake that positions us in places where we are no longer close enough to another person or thing to perceive its pain or need. To be human in an aching world is to know our dignity and become people who safeguard the dignity of everything around us. To protect everything may seem like too great a call. But we will not survive without it. Everything should be called by its name. (emphasis mine) - Cole Arthur Riley, This Here Flesh: Spirituality, Liberation, and the Stories That Make Us
The Name of Imago Dei
I love what happens when you sit still long enough to notice the ants walking on the ground. If you lay belly-down in the grass or just stop to notice what's going on around you, you'll realize there is an entire world living in what seems to be a mini version of your existence. What you do as a full size human affects the lives of those full size ants. That's less of a warning and more an invite into wonder. You do matter. Yet, not just as an individual but also as a part of the greater ecology of your place.
We've been given Imago Dei. Tied up in that is humanity's divine agency to co-create through naming creation as good while honoring creation as good by living in good connection unto flourishing. What a very good thing, this communal interdependence we exist in with the whole of creation.
Dr. Randy Woodley in his book Becoming Rooted talks about the Waorani people's way of understanding a tree. They do not describe the tree individually or even as it exists within its grouping of similar trees. A tree is described by the diverse community it is inextricably connected to, by the very environment that makes it's existence and thriving possible. I think the Waorani's way of naming a tree is a way to name that communal interdependence that makes creation so very good.
I have the honor of regularly sharing virtual space with Carol N'gang'a of Kenyan justice organization Msingi Trust. As she was sharing her reflection of the Waorani people's tree identification, she noticed how calling a tree by its fruit is a completely different posture than calling it by its community. This hit me square between the eyes: we can identify and name beings of this earth solely by what they produce, or we can name them by how they belong. Whoa, what a shift. To be named from belonging, not production. Imagine being grounded in belonging due to the interdependence of who you are, regardless of what (or if) you produce? What of welcoming one another like a new babe, less concerned about their output and more focused on their tiny, dependent, precious self? What a good thing to call yourself, others, and creation good and beloved simply because of being.
"Who do you belong to?"
"What place are you of?"
These can be intimidating questions, especially if someone you just met is asking (though I’d replace the common question “what do you do?” with one of these any day). I invite you, though, to consider them. How would you answer? To whom do I lovingly belong? Who are the people that you would choose over and over again, and they would choose you right back? Where do I feel most myself, most known, most connected? What creatures and plants and trees and dirt create the landscape of your memories of security, love, and care? You are more than just fruit, more than what you produce. You are a whole part of the whole. Being an image bearer is the only invitation you need to honor this whole connectedness.
This concludes the free portion for Of Earth & Of Stars - thank you for subscribing! If you are a paid subscriber, keep scrolling :) There are four more sections paid subscribers receive. This month’s section titles for paid subscribers are:
3. Ritual of Connectedness
4. Imago Dei: The Ultimate Origin Story
5. A Rant - Michaelangelo’s Creation Painting Got It Wrong
6. What Has My Attention (A list with links of what media I’m digging)
PLUS: The accompanying podcast episode to this issue on Imago Dei and Dignity
Click the button below to subscribe to the paid version!
Want to hang out before the next publication goes live?
You will find me sometimes on Twitter and Instagram
I have a membership community (think patreon, but not) where you can become a monthly member, support me one-time, or check out public content.
You can learn more about my work to create cultures of care at various organizations on my website.
Keep reading with a 7-day free trial
Subscribe to Of Earth & Of Stars to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.