The great living God of heaven and Earth who made the sea and all that swim in the waters, the skies and their flying birds, the solid land and all the creatures that grow, slither, burrow, lumber, or walk upon it on two or four or more legs, this great Love brought forth the beauty and bounty of the evolving world out of sheer unfathomable goodness. At the same time, while determining the number of stars and calling each of them by name, this same ineffable Giver of life has the biblical reputation of being gracious and merciful, hearing the cries of the poor, loving justice, freeing the enslaved, healing the brokenhearted and binding up their wounds. Not only Creator, then, but also Redeemer, of human beings and of the whole creation. One ancient prayer recognizes it this way, "O God of our salvation, you are the hope of all the ends of the earth and of the far distant seas" (Ps 65:5). Another psalm affirms, "You save humans and animals alike, O good Lord" (Ps 36:6). In response to this infinite, empowering affection, creation praises the living God, Earth sings for joy or cries for help, the heavens tell of divine glory and, to those who ask, the beasts teach about the hand that made them. Such is one way to describe the biblical picture of God and the Earth in relationship. In tune with this source, the meditations in this book try to decipher the heart of God toward creation in order to widen our own minds and hearts for ecological care.

A word about the title. "Come, have breakfast" are the words of the risen Jesus in the Gospel of John (21:12). It is an interesting project to ask people if they can identify who in the Bible said these words. The majority draw a blank. Compared with other sayings of Jesus, such as "Love one another," or "Blessed are the poor," or "This is my body," his invitation to breakfast is practically unknown. It appears in a story where Jesus feeds his disciples after they have been fishing all night. He has a fire going on the beach, with bread and fish cooking, and calls these tired men to partake of the meal he has prepared. In the story itself, the inviting words "Come, have breakfast" are obviously an expression of Jesus''s care for the bodily well-being of the fishers.

Reading this gospel in our time of ecological crisis, the invitation opens onto a wider perspective. "Come, have breakfast" is a bugle call of divine hospitality toward all people and all living creatures, revealing a passionate divine desire that all should be fed. Pulsing from the story is a call to the community of disciples of Jesus to act on behalf of nourishing others. These meditations are written in face of the awful fact that our planet is in trouble. Earth is a beautiful place with a dazzling diversity of life, in fact the only place in the universe where life even exists, so far as we know to this date. But in our day it is undergoing strong physical changes that are damaging the very future of life. Much good work is being done, from international legal agreements to individual life-style changes. Even with good will, however, the challenge is unprecedented.

Think of it: dealing with the ecological crisis requires that people of many nations and vastly different cultures across the continents collaborate responsibly on a complex planet-wide problem with ramifications into the far future for generations yet unborn. The human race has never had to do this before. Making the effort harder, care for the Earth faces fierce opposition from ideological, political, corporate, and financial forces. And we cannot underplay indifference. Meanwhile, the climate emergency continues to worsen, wreaking havoc on land, sea, and air with their plants and animals, while the resulting chaos disrupts the lives of ever more millions of human beings, increasing hunger and death and turning many into climate refugees. Amid this complex scene, the ecological agenda has made its way into the world''s religions as seen in the teaching of their leaders, the practice of many faith communities, and projects of interfaith cooperation. Since religious traditions at their best are bearers of wisdom about the ultimate meaning of it all and lay out a roadmap for how to live a good life, most have an inner dynamism that can nurture ecological engagement. Pope Francis put his finger on this resource when he wrote in the encyclical Laudato Si'': I would like from the outset to show how faith convictions can offer Christians, and some other believers as well, ample motivation to care for nature and for the most vulnerable of their brothers and sisters.

It is good for humanity and the world at large when we believers better recognize the ecological commitments which stem from our convictions. (LS 64) In other words, beliefs have consequences. Belief in God can count for something in the practical order. It is here that these meditations linger, because I think the general idea of God needs a little work. While never denying that God created the world and all its creatures, Western Christian teaching and practice for much of its history have focused mainly on human beings as beloved recipients of divine care. The rest of the community of creation has formed a backdrop to the drama of human salvation. Said to be created for human use, the natural world was not of direct interest either to God or to believers. Not only does this view shortchange the richness of biblical teaching about salvation, but the devastating climate emergency gripping our planet renders it woefully inadequate.

Wrecked ecosystems and the extinction of thousands of plant and animal species along with misery for human communities, especially those most vulnerable and afflicted with poverty, cry out for a spiritual attitude more generous in its ecological commitments. An immense task facing theology in our day is to help turn the church toward beliefs and practices of faith that include the whole planet, indeed the whole cosmos, in what is religiously important. In truth, Christian understanding about God''s relationship to human beings is tremendously valuable and needs to be preserved. In the light of ecological destruction, it also needs to be expanded. It needs to bring forward the truth that the living God created an entire community of creation and is passionately in love with the whole shebang. It needs to help us appreciate that the heart of God surrounds even the tiniest creatures with affection. In this light we need to reimagine what it means for God''s human creatures to be part of God''s whole creation and act accordingly. In addition to faith convictions, another source of motivation for care of the Earth was identified by the scientist Stephen Jay Gould.

In his insightful words, "We cannot win this battle to save species and environments without forging an emotional bond between ourselves and nature as well--for we will not fight to save what we do not love." He was writing to support TV programs, books, and school lessons about nature, along with local parks, bird walks, anything that would increase people''s visceral contact with the natural world. Being exposed to its beauty or learning even a little bit about how it works, he rightly argued, awakens wonder and leads to love with the desire to protect. This motive can but deepen people''s love for the Giver of life who quickens the world into being and compassionately sustains its dynamic evolution at every moment. Hence these meditations. Each is a snapshot that presents but one aspect of the God-Earth relationship. There are dozens of different angles to the subject. I would suggest that you, good reader, might well benefit from pondering these short pieces one at a time rather than reading straight through from beginning to end.

This would give you a chance to muse about each particular point, to see if you agree or disagree, to discover if it enriches your understanding, your prayer, your action. One or another may catch your attention in a special way. You may want to skip around, according to your interest. Taken all together, these meditations present something of a panoramic view of the living God who loves planet Earth and accompanies all its inhabitants in their living and dying with the intent to save, having particular care for those who suffer from social and ecological injustice. The aim is to open up an angle of vision so that when anyone says the word "God," a picture of the changing Earth enfolded with divine affection reflexively comes into view, along with whatever else one is thinking, teaching, preaching, arguing, or praying about. No God without Earth! No Creator without creation! No Singer without her song! These meditations focus specifically on the God-Earth relationship that is underdeveloped in the Christian imagination. But affection for the world around us does not present us with an either-or choice between commitment to the Earth or to other human beings. "We have only one heart," as Francis wrote (LS 92).

The same cruelty that leads us to mistreat an animal will show itself in our relationships with people as well. By contrast, a deep sense of communion with Earth''s living beings awakens concern for humans too, with special attention to the unjust inequality that mires people in desperate and degrading poverty or prejudice with no way out. Everything is connected. We are all woven together by the love of God and we stand or fall together Each meditation begins and ends with a scripture verse taken from the Bible, especially the psalms. Many of these are hidden gems, often overlooked. The German theologian Karl Rahner once wrote that some words are like seashells "in which can be heard the sound of the ocean of infinity, no matter how small they are in themselves." They are words that bring light to us, or evoke the blindi.