Praise for Creation

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Brother Sun, Canticle of Creation, climate change, creation, Earth, heavens, nature, Peace, praise God, Sister Moon, St. Francis of Assisi, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

There are many reasons to celebrate St. Francis of Assisi, a man whose life took what we would probably call a 180-degree turn after a serious illness and became one of Christianity’s most beloved saints. We who live in this neighborhood of the USA cannot help thinking of Francis as we watch the splendid transformation of the trees – not unlike the life and conversion of Francis himself. From the greening of spring when they seem to be born again to the maturing in summer, reflecting the grandeur of God, to the flaming out in vivid color that seems to lead to death, they are a metaphor for his 44 years on the earth. We know that after the next few weeks of spectacular color – already manifesting in New Hampshire and Vermont – the trees will join the bears in hibernation only to return again after the long sleep of winter. Francis knew all these seasons in his life and praised God for all of it in the wonderful prayer that we know as the Canticle of Creation. As we pray it today, let us be mindful of our earth and the challenges faced by climate change, asking St. Francis (and Pope Francis!) to increase our mindfulness of the need to care more consciously for this, our home.

Most High, all-powerful, all-good Lord, all praise is yours, all glory, all honour and all blessings. To You alone, Most High, do they belong, and no mortal lips are worthy to pronounce Your Name. Praised be You, my Lord with all your creatures, especially Sir Brother Sun, who is the day through whom you give us light. And he is beautiful and radiant with great splendor. Of You, Most High, he bears the likeness. Praised be You, my Lord, through Sister Moon and the stars. In the heavens You have made them bright, precious and fair. Praised be You, my Lord, through Brothers Wind and Air, and fair and stormy all weather’s moods by which You cherish all that You have made. Praised be You, my Lord, through Sister Water, so useful, humble, precious and pure. Praised be You, my Lord, through Brother Fire, through whom You light the night and he is beautiful and playful and robust and strong. Praised be You, my Lord, through our Sister Mother Earth, who sustains and governs us, producing varied fruits with coloured flowers and herbs.

Praise be You, my Lord, through those who grant pardon for love of You and bear sickness and trial. Blessed are those who endure in peace. By You, Most High, they will be crowned. Praised be You, my Lord, through Sister Death, from whom no one living can escape. Woe to those who die in sin! Blessed are they she finds doing your will. No second death can do them harm. Praise and bless my Lord and give Him thanks. And serve Him with great humility.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Who Are We?

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angels, awe, creation, Earth, heavens, moon and stars, psalm 8, sacred place, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, universe, wonder

Today I’m happy to be accompanied through the day by my favorite Psalm. It speaks of all creation and our place in it. It seems to me lately that we are coming to understand better our responsibility toward each other as well as the “non-human” elements of what exists. The early biblical charge of God to “fill the earth and subdue it” has gradually morphed into a gratitude for the beauty that we experience and a reverence for what we have been given. We have a long way to go and some big mistakes to correct regarding environmental waste and carelessness, but the children of the world certainly seem to have a better grasp of how we and the cosmos are all connected, giving me hope for the future. All of that comes clear in Psalm 8.

O God, our God, how glorious is your name over all the earth!…When I behold your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars which you set in place, who are we that you should be mindful us, that you should care for us? You have made us little less than the angels and set us over the works of your hands… 

A reflection that I read this morning said that the night sky has always been for humanity a source of wonder and awe. Looking up on a clear night with the vast star-field spread out above puts our lives and world into a very different perspective. We see ourselves as small and insignificant in this vastness, but are we? A voice out of the universe seems to answer our question: “You have a sacred place and role to fulfill.”

My point exactly.

Hope on the Horizon

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God, heavens, Isaiah, Jesus, John, new consciousness, newness, Psalm 30, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

The readings this morning are quite helpful for those of us who are beginning to think – after a night of snow and sleet with high winds – that winter will never end. It all starts in the first line from Isaiah the prophet whose message from God is, “Lo, I am about to create new heavens and a new earth; the things of the past shall not be remembered or come to mind.” Isaiah’s description of this “new earth’ continues and is enhanced by Psalm 30 which sings praise to God for having rescued the faithful ones and by the story in John’s gospel of the cure by Jesus of the royal official’s son. But, wait. Back up a moment. Aren’t we still living on this same old earth? And, even though Pluto has been downgraded in status, aren’t all – or most – of the planets and stars still intact in “the heavens” – or is Isaiah talking about THE heaven, the place we’ll be living after this?

I may sound a bit facetious here, but the meaning of this prophecy and the way we see its fulfillment in Christ are, most assuredly, about something more than what is taking place on the physical plane. Often, however, it is on this level that we continually choose to live, failing to notice deeper meaning. Jesus sounded a little grumpy even as he was attending to the long-distance healing of the royal official’s son.  When he was asked to heal the boy his first response was, “Unless you people see signs and wonders, you will not believe.” Was he able to heal the son? Of course. Was he willing? Yes. I think, though, that it must’ve been hard for him to be working among a whole population of literalists. He was on earth to facilitate the coming into being of a new consciousness, the only way that the earth and heavens can truly become new – by loving God and neighbor and thus coming to the unity that God had in mind when the “first” earth and heavens were created.

I’m fortunate to have many opportunities to participate in conversations with people whose focus is the possibility of such newness. We wonder sometimes about the convergence lately of scientific and spiritual thought. We are encouraged by the amount of sharing in interdenominational gatherings of Christians and those of other faith traditions. Sometimes we muse on why so many new discoveries in science and religion (archeologically and otherwise) have been made in our lifetime. Are we perhaps ready to go to that deeper place? In the face of terrible trauma on earth and in human life are we ready to move to forgiveness of the past, willing to embrace “our neighbors” without distinction, able to see that our salvation is in love and love alone?

There seems no time like the present to embrace this hope for newness.