EarthWords - connecting Scripture
and Creation
"Creation flavored" thoughts on the lectionary texts
Date: October 29
Text: Psalm 34.1-8 (19-22)
"This poor man cried and the Lord saved him..."
Thoughts
I love the subtitle - "A psalm of David when he feigned madness...." So how did what seemed like insanity get in
the Bible?! Or is this what David sang when he got away after pretending to be insane? One definition of insanity
is to keep doing the same thing and expect a different result. So if we want the world to stop heating up so fast maybe
we should make some changes in our lives?
vs2 "Let the afflicted hear..." The CEV has "All who are helpless..." Would that include
animals whose habitat is being taken over by development? Does the Lord hear and respond to their plight?
vs 8 "Taste and see that the Lord is good"! (on the other hand, here the CEV has a rather lame "Discover
that the Lord is good".) What would you look at - a sunrise? autumn leaves? a stream? birds?
chipmunks? Or would it be something "human"? If you were going to hand out treats in church so the congregation
could really "taste" the goodness of God, would it be Halloween candy? apples? a carrot? cookies?
milk and honey?
Text: Job 42.1-6 Job responds to God
Thoughts
"I talked about things I didn't understand." Note that God has presented God's greatness and power
in terms of the wonder of nature, and mostly in terms of intimacy with the animals more than powerful storms or destructive
ability. Here and there a storm image, but mostly it's been noticing how the creation "works and works together".
How much of the creation do we understand? Enough?
(Reading on -) Job is now twice as rich as before! Has his ecological footprint doubled?
Text: Mark 10.46-52 Bartimaeus sees!
Thoughts
Obviously the main point of the story is that Bartimaeus "sees/understands/comprehends/catches sight of" God's dream
and purpose in Jesus, but along with that, what do you suppose he just "looked at and couldn't believe his eyes"? What
are your favorite things to look at? In Addicted to Hurry, Kirk Byron Jones suggests one way to live
at a "savoring pace" is periodically to "see slowly", to look at something out the window for 15-20 seconds.
What do you see out your window?
What about people who (for whatever reason) never get to see God's wild/pure/natural creation? Can you see nature
on tv? Richard Louv in Last Child in the Woods notes an ad for an SUV where the vehicle is charging through a natural
scene while the kids in the back seat are watching a movie on the built-in DVD player!
Prayer
Dear God,
in our blindness we continue our frantic activities that must seem insane to your all-seeing eyes.
Open our eyes to see your world.
Open our minds to know your will.
Open our spirits to share your dream.
And may our words and actions flow from that vision. Amen.
One thing to do -
Job was blessed with increased possessions. Could decreased possessions also be a blessing? Find one thing
to divest yourself of today.
