Knapsack for the Journey of Faith: Pilgrimage Bible Studies

World Council of Churches - Theological Study Group

You are invited to reflect on the diverse stories of these pilgrimages in the Bible and connect the dialogue between biblical contexts and contemporary contexts.

Jonah 1:4-5 "Jonah and his Selective Ecological Concern", by Liz Vuadi Vibila

The several climatic events in the Book of Jonah present all environmental concerns: the sea calming down (1:15), making a plant grow (4:6), and the sending of a worm (4:7), and all play a particular role in God’s plan. They are used in the text as divine emissaries, human begin is the only one to oppose God’s will in these dramatic scenes. The ecological problem and the attributes associated with the creatures remain a fundamental issue from Jonah to our current daily reality. The worm, a lowly creature, is elevated as well as the ephemeral plant. Accordingly, Jonah has to learn that the plant is appointed by God. The ecological reading on the Book of Jonah invites us to the Pilgrimage of Justice and Peace in relation to the ecological justice.