Dear All,
After several big feasts we are back to the ‘ordinary’ this weekend. Looking at the scripture readings assigned to this Sunday, we find all kinds of natural growing things. The first reading is from Ezekiel:
Ezekiel, son of man, tell the people of Israel the following story, so they will understand what I am saying to them:
A large eagle with strong wings and beautiful feathers once flew to Lebanon. It broke the top branch off a cedar tree, then carried it to a nation of merchants and left it in one of their cities. The eagle also took seed from Israel and planted it in a fertile field with plenty of water, like a willow tree beside a stream. The seed sprouted and grew into a grapevine that spread over the ground. It had lots of leaves and strong, deep roots, and its branches grew upward toward the eagle.
There was another eagle with strong wings and thick feathers. The roots and branches of the grapevine soon turned toward this eagle, hoping it would bring water for the soil. But the vine was already growing in fertile soil, where there was plenty of water to produce healthy leaves and large grapes.
Now tell me, Ezekiel, do you think this grapevine will live? Or will the first eagle pull it up by its roots and pluck off the grapes and let its new leaves die? The eagle could easily kill it without the help of a large and powerful army. The grapevine is strong and healthy, but as soon as the scorching desert wind blows, it will quickly wither.
Likewise the gospel reading is there to teach us truths & uses the natural world to do that – St Mark:
Again Jesus said:
God’s kingdom is like what happens when a farmer scatters seed in a field. 27 The farmer sleeps at night and is up and around during the day. Yet the seeds keep sprouting and growing, and he doesn’t understand how. 28 It is the ground that makes the seeds sprout and grow into plants that produce grain. 29 Then when harvest season comes and the grain is ripe, the farmer cuts it with a sickle.[a]
A Mustard Seed
30 Finally, Jesus said:
What is God’s kingdom like? What story can I use to explain it? 31 It is like what happens when a mustard seed is planted in the ground. It is the smallest seed in all the world. 32 But once it is planted, it grows larger than any garden plant. It even puts out branches that are big enough for birds to nest in its shade.
We have found some reflections on creation to go with these two scripture texts & hope you are enjoying June.
The blessing is A Repose Blessing from New Dawn.
God, bless to me this day, God, bless to me this night;
Bless, O bless, thou God of Grace, each day & hour of my life.
God bless the path on which I go,
God bless the earth beneath my feet.
Bless, O God, give to me your love,
Bless, O God, my rest & my repose.
Repeat the first two lines.
All you works of God, bless your creator,
Praise her & glorify her for ever.
Let the wide earth bless the creator;
Let the arching heavens bless the creator;
Let the whole universe bless the creator;
Praise her & glorify her for ever.
Storm & mighty wind bless your creator;
Bitter cold & scorching sun bless your creator;
Mist & cloud & tender rain bless your creator;
Praise her & glorify her for ever.
Seed & sapling, tree & vivid flower, bless your creator;
Bareness, & promise of greenness & flourishing, bless your creator;
Wintertime & springtime bless your creator;
Praise her & glorify her for ever.
You creatures of God bless your creator;
All who creep & soar & dance across the earth, bless your creator;
Praise her & glorify her for ever.
You new-born babies, the young & the old, the mature & the ageing, bless your creator;
All you dying, bless your creator;
Praise her & glorify her for ever.
In pain & desolation, let us bless our creator;
In the place of delight, let us bless our creator;
In time of waiting, let us bless our creator;
Praise her & glorify her for ever.
Let all who live & grow & breathe bless our creator,
Praise her & glorify her for ever.
Earth, Teach Me
Earth teach me quiet – as the grasses are still with new 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 mothers nurture their young.
Earth teach me courage – as the tree that stands alone.
Earth teach me limitation – as the ant that crawls on the ground.
Earth teach me freedom – as the eagle that soars in the sky.
Earth teach me acceptance – as the leaves that die each fall.
Earth teach me renewal – as the seed that 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
Once we know that the entire physical world around us, all of creation, is both the hiding place and the revelation place for God, this world becomes home, safe, enchanted, offering grace to any who look deeply.
The old story was of victimization, marginalization, oppression, oppressors; and the new story would see all of us evolving, self-expanding, and finding a new place in this wonderful cosmology that is a reality we have not paid attention to. —