2nd November 2024
The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of her hands. Psalm 19:1
You Lord, are the source of all good things:
We praise you.
You call us to tend and care for your creation:
May we strive to do your will.
You have made us as brothers and sisters with all that lives:
May we live together in peace.
A reading – Psalm 119: 4-6, 18-19,27- How to live:
You, O Lord, have charged that we should diligently keep your commandments.
O that my ways were made so direct that I might keep your statutes.
Then should I not be put to shame, because I have regard for all your commandments.
Open my eyes, that I may see the wonders of your law.
I am a stranger upon earth; hide not your commandments from me.
Make me understand the way of your commandments, and so shall I meditate on your wondrous works.
If the idea of obeying commandments sounds too authoritarian, too black and white, think of God’s commandments as the instruction manual for the world, the user’s guide, best practices for living – or even as an expanded set of the rules of nature.
A further reading, Isaiah 55: 6-9:
As the rain and the snow come down from above, and return not again but water the earth,
‘Bringing forth life and giving growth, seed for sowing and bread to eat,
‘So is my word that goes forth from my mouth; it will not return to me fruitless,
‘But it will accomplish that which I purpose, and succeed in the task I gave it.’
For the sun and moon
that mete out the seasons,
and measure out the days and weeks:
We thank you, Lord our creator.
For chlorophyll and photosynthesis,
for leaves and phytoplankton,
that turn sunlight into energy:
We thank you, Lord our creator.
For H2O in all its forms,
for evaporation and precipitation that waters the earth
and quickens life.
We thank you, Lord our creator.
For the air we breathe,
a fluctuating mix of gases
whose balance must be conserved for life to bloom:
We thank you, Lord our creator.
For rocks and mountains,
erosion and sedimentation,
that lays out a rich blanket of soil:
We thank you, Lord our creator.
For DNA building blocks
that see life adapt and evolve,
reminders of our network of kinship:
We thank you, Lord our creator.
For flora and fauna that twist and twine,
building habitats and
grounding ecosystems:
We thank you, Lord our creator.
As ‘Johnny-come-lately’ to this world,
Lord grant us the humility to learn from what is already here,
to look with awe and wonder at what is happily established,
to treat with respect ecosystems built up over millennia,
to study and understand the laws of nature,
to observe and respond to the natural cycles that maintain life,
to cooperate with others
and with sensitivity to share this space where all can be at home.
Amen.
The Grace
The Green Tau 