For the Beauty of the Earth
John 3: 17 Indeed, God did not send the
Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world
might be saved through him.
John talks about a world
being saved. Revelation talks about a new heaven and a new earth.
New life is about more than individual people, it is about a whole new
creation. We have missed that concept too often in our struggle to
save ourselves.
I think one way to reclaim
that understanding is to add the earth to our daily prayers. Part of
what praying is all about is aligning ourselves with God's will. It
is also about aligning ourselves with those for whom we have prayed.
We pray for our enemies because we will not soon be able to sin
against them or speak ill of them. How much more should we pray for
the land through which God feeds and nourishes us.
So when you give thanks in
prayer, give thanks for the beauty of the earth. When you add your
petitions for any in need, add the concerns for the environment.
As we begin to daily pray
for the earth and its renewal, we will be called into the cause of its
renewal. What we pray for will become what we work for. What we pray
for will become what we vote for.
As we begin to pray for
someone or something we begin to see it in a whole new way. As I give
thanks for the beauty of the earth I notice once more the beauty of
the sunset. I notice the fresh new leaves just beginning on the trees
and see them as signs of hope. I see them as signs that God has not
given up on God's creation. In fact God has not given up on
creating. God does it new every day. God creates from a future that
invites us into the fullness of God's desire for us. It is one of
wholeness and beauty and a clean sparkling shining land. Our job is
to be one with that newness.
For the beauty of the Earth,
For the beauty of the skies, For the love which from our birth Over
and around us lies; Christ our Lord to you we raise This our sacrifice
of praise. Amen
Copyright (c)
2004, The Rev. Dana Reardon. All rights reserved. Used by permission. Email her at
mspastor@aol.com.
The Rev. Dana Reardon is pastor at St.
Paul Evangelical Lutheran Church, Warwick, RI. A lifelong Lutheran, she
came to ordained ministry after 21 years in nursing, mostly in pediatric
intensive care. She graduated from Lutheran Theological Seminary at
Philadelphia in 1998 and served 4 ½ years in Upstate New York before
becoming a New Englander. She is still trying to understand the
accent. While in the Upstate New York Synod she chaired the Stewardship
Team. That began her fascination with what makes stewards -- and more,
what makes for generosity.
She
has three amazing daughters: Pastor Reardon says much of what she knows of
life she learned from them.
