ADVENT WEEK ONE
December 3, 2020
Restoring Right Relations with All My Relatives
Psalm 85: 1-2; 8-13
The Lord will give what is good, and our land will yield its increase. Psalm 85:12
The ancient faith community hearing the words from this psalm still remembered that the land was not only a gift from God, but in a very real way, still belonged to God. It is a word of hope that God’s actions to bring the community into right relationship would bring a restoration of peace amid turbulent times.
This theology also reflects a Native American worldview, often reflected in the ceremonial realm in which interpersonal, intercollective, and interspecies relations are emphasized, established, renewed, and mended. Among the Sioux people, the ritual phrase mitákuye oyás’in, often translated as “all my relatives or all are related” exemplifies this principle of relatedness between human and non-human creation. Together we are all responsible for our conduct and the maintenance of the earth.
In Spirit and Reason, Lakota scholar, Vine Deloria, Jr. wrote, “The idea of covenant… is an early and important concept for tribal peoples. … A covenant places responsibilities on both parties and provides a means of healing any breach in the relationship.” A covenant involves not only mutual respect and responsibility but also the acknowledgement of our common kinship: that we are all related. Covenants also have an inherent mechanism for healing or mending temporary ruptures in times of stress, crisis, and trauma.
In this seasonal time of waiting, we need to be reminded of our covenant with God and all of God’s creation and return to our roots as stewards rather than “owners” of this world. Salvific healing and peace come when we can recognize that within creation, God is present and incarnate for us when we strive to live in covenantal relationship with all our relatives.
Dr. Lisa D. Barnett
Assistant Professor of the History of Christianity
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