brag as if we had life, riches, power, honor, and such things of ourselves. … This is the way the wretched, perverse world acts, drowned in its blindness, misusing all the blessings and gifts of God solely for its own pride, greed, pleasure, and enjoyment ....” Luther is critiquing arrogant consumerism here


because it hoards and claims to have earned what God gives freely through the flourishing creation: “All this [God] does out of pure love and goodness, without our merit.” What would allow us to drink more frequently,


directly and mindfully from the spring of creation? In worship we ground every gathering in thanksgiving for the gift of creation, perhaps in a gathering hymn, and certainly in our prayers of


thanksgiving at font and table. Some fonts with flowing water gush upward into a bowl and overflow, suggesting the abundance and mystery of a spring. We join with other human communities,


especially indigenous communities, that seek to preserve and rehabilitate the goodness of the earth from which we may drink directly: dark skies filled with stars; flourishing natural preserves for beauty, recreation and health; enough quiet for the voices of fellow creatures to sing and be heard; clean air and water; rich land for gardens and fresh local produce; buildings that feature natural light and landscape rather than hide them; structures and systems that work in harmony with the earth rather than against it.


FLOWING,


REFORMING WATERS


These three forms of flowing water—stream, flood


and spring—meet us on at least three levels. They are metaphors from our textual traditions. They flow through our liturgical rites. And they are, before anything else, life-giving bodies of water on the earth. Through water, a fellow creature with us, we encounter a living witness to God, our common creator. On this troubled earth we creatures of dust learn


from the flowing water all around us. God comes to earth as surely as waterfalls from the mountain heights, flowing relentlessly, giving life to all of us shaped from the earth. Against every scheme to save the world through destruction and violence, God desires to flood the world with mercy, saving every species on earth, leaving nothing outside of this del- uge of grace. And the task of reformation calls us to remember and clear out the life-giving springs where God’s mercy and goodness have been promised to us. On this troubled earth, we creatures of dust learn


from the flowing water all around us. When you next encounter a free-flowing stream, give thanks to God for it, pray for its health and let it speak the gospel to you: God comes to earth as surely as waterfalls from the mountain heights and rivers rolling over the land, flowing relentlessly, giving life to all of us shaped from the earth. When you next encounter a flood, first keep yourself and others safe, pray for those in danger


and providing aid, and consider letting this flood call to mind an even greater one: against every scheme to save the world through destruction and violence, God desires to flood the world with mercy, saving every species on earth, leaving nothing outside of this deluge of grace. And you might be blessed to encounter a spring


bubbling up from the earth. If you know the water is safe, drink deeply and give thanks. Pray for the health of this and all springs. And let the spring remind you: the task of reformation calls us to remember and clear out the life-giving springs where God’s mercy and goodness have been promised to us. In this era we especially turn again to the first


spring given to us earthly creatures: the fruitful earth itself, overflowing with God’s goodness. In the work of reformation we help one another to rediscover this spring, to drink from it deeply, and to join the ongoing work of clearing out the pollution and obstructions so God’s life-giving waters flow freely for all.


Stewart is Gordon A. Braatz Associate Professor of Worship and director of advanced studies at the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago.


For a study guide, see livinglutheran.org. LIVINGLUTHERAN.ORG 19


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