To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said,

If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples.

Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you

free. They answered him, we are Abraham's descendants and have never been slaves of anyone. How can you

say that we shall be set free? Jesus replied, very truly I tell you everyone who sins is a slave to sin.

Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever.

So if the sun sets you free,

you will be free indeed.

This is the word of the Lord.

Thank you, God.

The Nekazney people, which is a band of the Tillamook tribe, historically lived on Cascade Head, a gorgeous spot out on the Oregon coastline.

They held a ceremony which would be unthinkable in our modern climate, a ritual burn of a portion

of the land, which actually aided in the reforestation process and the health of the ecological

environment.

But it wasn't just striking a match and then calling it a day.

Rather, the ceremony was marked by ritual, dances, and feasts, and prayers,

all of which were meant to instill a spirit of gratitude within the tribe.

Gratitude for the gift of this patch of land that they call home, and a commitment to

understand the land relationally rather than economically.

The resources that it produces, not just resources for us to pillage,

but gifts for us to savor.

Botanist Robin Wall Kimmerer and her wildly popular collection of essays titled

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