from Revelation 22... On either side of the river is the tree of life* with its twelve kinds of fruit, producing its fruit each month; and the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations.
From Psalm 4...There are many who say, "O that we might see some good! Let the light of your face shine on us, O LORD!" You have put gladness in my heart more than when their grain and wine abound. I will both lie down and sleep in peace; for you alone, O LORD, make me lie down in safety.
Sunday is Earth Day. Sunday is also Native American Ministry Sunday in the UMC. Both those events together made me realize that this week's topic should be about our relationship with all of creation and our Creator and the ways we have and have not been in right relationship.
I love the idea from Revelation that the new earth will have leaves of a tree that can heal the nations. Oh, if we could only see the power we have within ourselves and in God's created order to heal that which we have broken. If we could find those healing trees right now.
And the Psalmist speaks of gladness in our hearts more than when grain and wine abound... if we could seek that gladness in every stalk of grain and every grapevine.... and find the power within all of creation to nourish our souls and heal the brokenness we have created.
I actually love the idea of finding healing in nature and all of creation. I mean, we surely don't think that God only resides within the human heart, do we? Surely we know that God is in all of life.
Think for a minute about those rocks that contain glowing quartz and gems. Sometimes they must be cracked open and sometimes they must be polished and sanded, but they DO glow... why wouldn't we believe that is the outward and visible sign of the inward presence of God residing in them?
How about the northern lights? or lightning bugs? or electric eels? The spirit of God resides in all of created order. We all have potential to glow.... and therefore, we all have potential to heal. We all have the potential to nourish relationships and ways of living that lead to healing.
What can and should we do to heal the divisions our predecessors created with the Native peoples of this land? Our own town and church's namesake, Chief Niwot, after all, was killed in the gruesome massacre at Sand Creek....on the orders of a Methodist clergyman....
What can and should we do to nourish our lives and heal the brokenness we have created in our natural world? In our own lives? How can we seek redemption? Where do we find Christ's resurrection on the Earth and in God's creation?
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