Slideshow image

What is Creation saying to us? We are family

“Let them [creation] praise the name of the Lord, for he commanded and they were created. He established them forever and ever…….all peoples...young men and women alike, old and young together…praise the name of the Lord…He has raised up a horn for his people, praise for all his faithful….” Psm 148

The language of Psalm 148 even seems to suggest that "it is only as all creatures of God join together in the chorus of praise that the elements of the natural order or human beings witness to God as they ought." This insight implicitly calls human beings "to relate to the natural order in such a way that nature's praise might show forth with greater clarity." [Terence Fretheim, "Nature's Praise of God in the Psalms," ]

Creation says to us we are all interconnected, woven together from the stuff of life…created by God. We are all dependant on one another for survival. Running through everything, weaving us together courses the greening power of God. All nature, not just humans, is God’s creation. We are family. And as family our DNA connects us all. Christ’s resurrection and victory over death includes all God’s creation not just humans. Romans 8:18-25 reveals that Paul had a universal vision of the "liberation of all the creatures of nature, along with human beings" through Christ's death. Colossians 1:15-23 also claims that all things will be reconciled through Christ. These passages express God's concern for the whole creation and suggest that we, in turn, should respect God's handiwork.

Cultural historian, Father Thomas Berry devoted his career to understanding how western religion and culture failed to sustain a nurturing relationship between humans and the Earth. For Berry, the primary problem facing humans today concerns the human attitude that we as a species are somehow essentially disengaged from the earth on which we live and that our destiny is to bend nature to our purposes. Berry had another vision: “The universe is a communion of subjects, not a collection of objects.”

“Our challenge is to create a new language, even a new sense of what it is to be human. It is to transcend not only national limitations, but even our species isolation, to enter into the larger community of living species. This brings about a completely new sense of reality and value.” (Thomas Berry, “The Ecological Age,” in The Dream of the Earth, 42).

We are family nature sings, reflecting God’s grace and love. We teach each other so much, together we are part of God’s creation. You humans are here to help us, to keep us safe, to help us sing and we in turn will nurture you and show you more of God’s presence.

From Earth Prayers here is a Native American (Ute) prayer giving thanks for the teachings available throughout nature.

Earth teach me stillness
as the grasses are stilled with light.
Earth teach me suffering
as old stones suffer with memory.
Earth teach me humility
as blossoms are humble with beginning.
Earth teach me caring
as the mother who secures her young.
Earth teach me courage
as the tree which stands all alone.
Earth teach me limitation
as the ant which crawls on the ground.
Earth teach me freedom
as the eagle which soars in the sky.
Earth teach me resignation
as the leaves which die in the fall.
Earth teach me regeneration
as the seed which rises in the spring.
Earth teach me to forget myself
as melted snow forgets its life.
Earth teach me to remember kindness
as dry fields weep with rain.

"The marvelous vision of the peaceable Kingdom, in which all violence has been overcome and all men, women, and children live in loving unity with nature, calls for its realization in our day-to-day lives. Instead of being an escapist dream, it challenges us to anticipate what it promises. Every time we forgive our neighbor, every time we make a child smile, every time we show compassion to a suffering person, every time we arrange a bouquet of flowers, offer care to tame or wild animals, prevent pollution, create beauty in our homes and gardens, and work for peace and justice among peoples and nations we are making the vision come true."

— Henri J. M. Nouwen in Brea for the Journey


Here is a creation centered night prayer by Daniel McGill:

"Blessing for Responsibility"

May God bless us not with clean air alone,
But the will to keep our air clean.

May God bless us not with a vision of a healthy planet alone,
But with the will to do all in our power to restore and maintain our planet's health.

May God bless us not with a change of heart in the great world leaders alone to save our planet,
But with a change in our own heart to use our own power to save the planet.

May the blessing of God not bring to us saints alone,
But make of us saints greater than any we imagine.

 

Photo by Greg Rakozy on Unsplash