Christian Aid: Talking Climate Justice Week 2
Week 2: Sacrifice
What is the fast we have chosen?
Hope and challenge
Jesus, as you fasted in the desert,
you resisted the temptations of consumption, power and glory,
you chose servanthood, humility and compassion.
Help us to choose a fast that leans towards justice,
help us resist the pull of the world around us,
help us to see the world with compassion,
help us to seek justice and to see the oppressed go free.
Amen.
Fasting
Many of us are familiar with the concept of fasting. Christians often use the season of Lent to
remember and draw from Jesus’ example as he fasted in the wild.
Like Jesus, we fast in order to remove distractions and fix our eyes on God. Jesus’ fasting preceded
his entry into public ministry where he declared, in the words of Isaiah, good news for the poor and
liberation for the oppressed.
Setting aside distractions, and fixing our eyes on the things of God, means turning our attention
to the injustice around us and the liberation of our global neighbours who are living under the
oppression of poverty driven by the climate crisis.
Persistent droughts, floods and extreme weather are destroying communities and damaging
people’s ability to support themselves. People are losing their homes, their livelihoods and
their lives.
If we are to choose a fast that can loosen the bonds of injustice, then we must understand
the systems, laws and practices that are causing the climate crisis.
Nicaragua
Nicaragua is the second poorest country in Latin America. People across the country are
experiencing loss and damage due to the climate emergency, with 80% of the population
dependent on agriculture for survival, particularly corn and beans. But as the rainy season is
disappearing, farmers have no time to grow what they need to live. Some farmers have only
been able to grow half of what they used to because of the lack of rain.
Alejandro Alemani works for environmental organisation Oficial de Cambio Climático in Nicaragua.
He explains the losses that local farmers are facing
‘Corn is like a symbol of our culture and our food depends a lot on corn. The speed the
climate phenomenon is hitting the communities, and the way it is changing things…
we do not have time to adapt. Therefore we cannot just talk about adaptation, but we
must acknowledge loss and damage.’
The Rev Alton Bell
As Senior Pastor at Wembley Family Church in London, the Rev Alton Bell has reflected
on the causes of the climate crisis and who has been oppressed as a result.
‘For me, environmental justice is deeply connected to issues of the enslavement
of Africans and the birth of capitalism. The rewards from enslavement fuelled the
industrial revolution, put the “great” into Great Britain.
‘They used the proceeds from slavery and colonialism to build an infrastructure in
this country to colonise India, Africa, Asia – and by extracting the resources from
those places, were able to develop steam trains, industry, which paved the way for
the electrification of the world.’
Read these Bible passages
Luke 4:1-21
Isaiah 58:3-12
Reflect and talk
1. Have you ever spent time fasting or given something up – did it change your perspective
in any way?
2. Think about who is being oppressed by the climate crisis.
How can you make their stories more visible in your church(es)?
3. What do you think your church needs to do to choose a fast that will loosen the bonds
of climate injustice?
Invite and act
This month work together to amplify the stories of people impacted by poverty and the climate
emergency in your church.
Decide on one additional action you can you take forward for how your church can ‘loosen the
bonds of oppression’ and work towards climate justice from your conversation.
Closing prayer
Jesus,
you declared good news for people living in poverty,
you proclaimed the end of oppression,
you accepted God’s chosen fast.
Help us to be good news and stand with people living in poverty,
help us to undo the systems of oppression we see in our world,
help us to fast as you fasted.
Amen.