Christian Aid: Talking Climate Justice Lent Devotional March 26 - April 1

 

Week 5: Reparation

What does it mean to repair?

Hope and challenge

God who heals,

God who repairs,

you know the cost of forgiving,

you detest dishonest scales,

you delight in just weights.

Help us to see where we have hurt,

help us to repent of our ways.

Give us a vision of justice,

justice that repairs and heals,

that we may walk in your ways.

Amen.

 

What does it mean to repair?

Over the last few weeks we have reflected on confession, repentance, and reconciliation. As we

have examined these aspects of our walk with God through the lens of the climate crisis, we may

have reckoned with our complicity, our need for forgiveness and a desire to be reconciled to the

world around us. In acknowledging our personal and collective role in the scandal of poverty and

the destruction of our environment, our thoughts may turn to how the damage can be repaired.

This is not easy, it can require time, money and reconciliation.

Loss and damage

Nushrat Rahman Chowdhury works for Christian Aid in Bangladesh. Here she reflects on the loss

and damage caused by the climate emergency:

Hope

‘In April 2022 heatwaves swept South Asia, impacting water and power supplies,

agriculture, and the health of both humans and animals. The north-west and central

part of India experienced the hottest April in 122 years. In Bangladesh – where I live –

it exceeded 40°C in April; water and power shortages made life unbearable.

‘At the same time, Assam, a north-eastern state of India, fought against flooding; 200

people lost their lives, over 700,000 people were affected, and the entire state’s roads

and train tracks were severely damaged.

‘But the people and communities who have done the least to cause the climate crisis

are the ones most affected. Houses, lands, schools, hospitals and roads are being lost

and damaged by floods and cyclones. People are losing everything. Polluters must

pay for the loss and the damage they’ve caused.’

Nushrat points us towards an important question – who pays for the damage that has been done,

and what should that look like? Christian Aid believes it’s time to make polluters pay.

What has been damaged and lost cannot always be fixed or replaced. But financial compensation

can be a start. For 30 years people like Nushrat have called for reparations. Meanwhile, fossil fuel

companies, have made vast profits and turned their backs on the damage they’ve done. Achieving true reparations will take us into

places where, like Jesus, we have to challenge

the status quo and those who hold power.

How will you use your voice to speak up?

Read this Bible passage

Luke 19:1-10

Zacchaeus shows us something interesting

about what it means to repair. Jesus calls him

a ‘son of Abraham’ – reminding the crowd that

they have a shared identity. The oppressor

and the oppressed are both made in God’s image.

Zacchaeus’ response to encountering Jesus is

not only to recognise his sin, accept forgiveness

and repent, but to go beyond this to repair the

damage that has been done.

 

Reflect and talk

1. Think of a time when you had to repair a situation with friends, family or colleagues.

What was necessary in order to do this – how did you draw on your faith?

2. Where have you seen loss and damage created by the climate crisis in our world –

what would be necessary for just reparation?

3. Reflect on the role of the church in repairing the loss and the damage of the climate emergency.

What would this look like at your local and national church level and how does each of

you play a role?

Invite and act

Spend some time exploring loss and damage around the world in news articles about climate

disasters or read stories on Christian Aid’s website: caid.org/riseuppayupstories

If you want to engage the rest of your church with this issue, use our Rise Up Pay Up activity

pack: caid.org.uk/riseuppayuppack

Take one practical action from your discussion that you could do as a church.

 

Closing prayer

Jesus,

like Zacchaeus we desire to see you,

help us to hear your call and invitation.

Like Zacchaeus we recognise

where our action or inaction has upheld injustice,

help us to know your forgiveness.

Like Zacchaeus we long to put things right,

help us to use all we have in the pursuit of repair.

May we be transformed in order to transform.

Amen.