We live in a time when protecting our borders is a battle cry. The USA is busy trying to keep some people out and to eject others from within our borders. There is increasing attention and resources allocated to border control. There is a sense that letting in people from other countries will bring in corruption or contagion of some kind. Foreigners are to be feared. They don’t belong here. The implication is that we are superior to those who are trying to get into this country.
We must take note that most of the people who live in America have ancestors from other nations. And we are not just a nation of immigrants. We are a nation inhabiting land taken from its original residents.
In the book of Genesis, we are told of the creation of humanity. Humankind is created. Humanity. One species. There are no designations related to citizenship. Or nationality. Or race. Or religion. Humanity is created. All the subsequent divisions and definitions and designations are of human origin.
The astronauts in Samantha Harvey’s book, Orbital, receive extensive training for their expedition into space. Here is one aspect of the training:
They were warned about what would happen with repeated exposure to this seamless earth. You will see, they were told, its fullness, its absence of borders except those between land and sea. You’ll see no countries, just a rolling indivisible globe which knows no possibility of separation, let alone war. . . . There’s no wall or barrier – no tribes, no war or corruption or particular cause for fear. (pp. 107-108)
From space, the Earth appears as it was originally intended to be. A garden home for all life forms including humanity. The land, the waters, the beauty sufficient to sustain all. In harmony and peace.
Prayer: May we come to see our planet as our home, our domain, our habitat. May we care about all species. And may we especially remember that all humans are our family, our siblings, our beloveds. Amen.
Devotion prepared by Rev. Kim P. Wells, pastor of Lakewood United Church of Christ in St. Petersburg, FL
The devotions this Lenten season will be based on the novel Orbital by Samantha Harvey. Orbital won the Booker Prize in 2024. It is a beautifully written story about the experience of a group of people orbiting the Earth in a spaceship. They see 16 sunrises and sunsets in a 24 hour period. The book is a reflection on the experience of living together and appreciating planet Earth in a new way.
Lakewood United Church of Christ 