The psalm readings this week tell us that God is in the creation, that God set a tent for the sun in heaven. In other words, the LORD made the sky. God made the sky to cover over the water like a dome. If you read Genesis 1, it appears that the water was already there. If you read Genesis 2, it appears that God caused the rain to fall, creating water upon the earth.
Although we are unsure of the exact way creation came into being in the beginning, something that scientists will continue to get closer and closer to discovering, the psalms in particular give us a clear indication that people have always believed that God is in and through all of life.
We humans have always been attracted, almost magnetically, to the seas and skies. We have always gravitated to bodies of water when we want to renew our spirits. We canoe on lakes, we raft on the rivers, we sail on the seas, we walk up and down the shores of lakes and oceans, and we breathe in the moist air surrounding, and we feel calm and repose.
There is something indescribable about the horizon, the meeting of skyline and water. It is as if you can see forever and it is almost as if you can see the Divine. And when you stand on the side of a raging river and sense its power, how can you not feel God in the midst of it?
It's hard to figure out where to go with this week's readings. Do we find our strength in God from the seas and skies, or does God come to us in the natural order in those grand views of the seas and skies? Does our frantic paddling on the rapids of a river make us feel the power of God? Or do we just feel that we are one with the river and that God plays no role in that feeling?
Mark 16 continues to remind us that no matter what we think about how we see God in nature, we are nonetheless called to move into the world... go into the whole world and proclaim the good news of God's love to all of creation. Every part of creation should receive the love of God and we are called to deliver it. And, dare I say, that in our going out and proclaiming, we may indeed discover that God is giving that love back to us in the beauty of the earth... in that sunrise or sunset, in that river's rush, in that moon's gentle rocking of the ocean waves.
God may indeed be calling us into a love affair with creation as we seek to share God's love with the world. What are your stories of God's creation moving you into being a more gentle and loving creature of the earth? Email me at peverhart@niwotumc.org or comment below.
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