God’s wisdom – The Green Tau

Proper 10, 7th Sunday after Trinity

19th July 2026

Reflection with readings below.

We have heard in previous weeks of Paul wrestling because, although he know what he should do, he does what he shouldn’t do. We have heard Jesus and the Pharisees puzzle why a ‘good’ person chooses to mix with ‘bad’ people – and that it is those who are ill who need the attention of the doctor. We have considered that sin might be ignoring – or being ignorant of – and pursuing the opposite of, God’s wisdom. And we have considered systemic sin – sin we are sucked into not by choice but because it is a sin that embraces the whole system or structure within which we live.

For example, God’s wisdom tells us to welcome the stranger but we in the UK live within a system where the current law makes many strangers unwelcome – and indeed turns them away. This system makes it impossible to fully fulfil God’s word. This is not to say we shouldn’t repent of the sin, nor that we shouldn’t try to do as best we can to welcome the stranger, nor that we shouldn’t try to change the system. However as individuals are ability will be limited.

The parable from today’s gospel may be one way of exploring the issue of systemic sin. We believe and trust that the world which God has entrusted to us, is inherently good.But we are also acutely aware that systems have grown up within our societies that are not inherently good. Systems that have different objectives from those desired by God. Think of our economic system. God’s desire is for the flourishing of all people alike, for the flourishing of the natural environment, for flourishing biodiversity. Our economic system is predicated on the objective of maximising profit. It is not concerned with who gets the profit but the systems bent is such that once someone has wealth they will tend to grow richer, whilst someone who hasn’t will start off from a disadvantage. The system is also bent in favour of things which have a clearly identifiable monetary value – it favours building houses which have a market determined price, rather than the value of family life. It favours things that can be bought and sold – it favours oil and gas which have a market determined price rather than clean air, for air is too fluid and uncontainable to be bought and sold.

It would be lovely to be able to completely uproot the economic system that we have and get rid of its systemic evil. But to do so would – at least in the short term – lead to loss of jobs and livelihoods; it would cause the collapse of shops and supply chains leading to theft and rioting; it would lead to power cuts, the failure of water supply and sewage systems, the collapse of social care infrastructure etc etc.

This stickiness should not prevent us from trying to prune and reshape – and overcome and replace – the economic system we have inherited.

Last week, members of synod debated a motion calling on the Church Commissioners to restore and protect 30% of the land they control for nature – for the restoration and conservation of biodiversity. The motioned failed even though it is clear to everyone that we have already lost so much biodiversity that it threatens the health and wellbeing of our future. Declining biodiversity will lead to more flooding, poorer soils, more disease, less protection from the elements, poorer harvests, less happiness.

The motioned failed because the way we farm the land is tied up within an economic system that can put a price on a tonne of wheat but not on sky full of swallows, that can put a price on a pint of milk but not on a stretch of clean river, that can put a price on a plank of wood but not on the life of an oak tree.

The motion failed because farm tenants are paid to grow crops, not to supply clean air; to rear cattle, not to maintain flood plains; to produce eggs, not to protect pollinators. The motion failed because farm tenants have to maximise profits to pay rents, and because the Commissioners have to maximise returns on investment to finance the Church. The motion failed because we as consumers want cheap food or – as is often the case – because the economic system does not pay us enough to pay a fair price for fairly produced food. The motion failed because we as consumers don’t want to pay for clean air, for fertile soils, for flood management etc. Or maybe because there is no way as consumers we can buy these life-giving products? The motion failed because as consumers we want to eat more meat and dairy rather than eating more plant based items – and therefore require a land-use pattern which allocates land for livestock rather than nature.

What then should we do? What then is the wisdom of God? The people of Ancient Israel took on board God-given laws that required that the land have time to rest and recover, that fields and trees should not be stripped to the bone, that the harvest should be shared with the vulnerable. The prophets passed on God’s wisdom about caring for the land, caring for the vulnerable, and being in a good relationship with God and with all that God has created. Jesus taught the importance of questioning the rules and traditions we grow up with, about sharing what we do have, about avoiding greed, about caring for the vulnerable and for those society despises. We have the radical example of the early church pooling and sharing their resources.

As Christians we have a wisdom that counters the systems we live within. It is not always a wisdom we can follow as individuals because we maybe so constrained by those systems – the degree of constraint depending upon personal circumstances – but as communities and as the Church we do have more scope to be counter-cultural. We could – surely – mandate the Church Commissioners to use funds to support tenants willing to restore and enhance nature on the land they farm. We could – surely – mandate that the Church Commissioners could accept a lower rate of return on farm investments. But at the same time we would have to accept a smaller distribution of funds for the Church and instead look to our own pockets to make up the shortfall (depending on our means as per the early church).

We could at the same time, look to our own lifestyles – choosing a diet that is compatible with the restoration of more land for nature. We could reprioritise our spending to support nature.

As a Church – as a significant land owner and as a prophetic voice – we could challenge the system that allows the degradation of nature at the expense of profit. We could challenge the system that doesn’t provide every citizen with a fair wage. We could challenge the system that doesn’t ensure every citizen has access to affordable healthy food. We could challenge the system that doesn’t protect the environment for the wellbeing of generations to come.

As individuals and as a Church, we are called to speak out and act to bring in the reign – the rule – of God so that God’s will is done on Earth as in Heaven.

Isaiah 44:6-8

Thus says the Lord, the King of Israel,
and his Redeemer, the Lord of hosts:

I am the first and I am the last;
besides me there is no god.

Who is like me? Let them proclaim it,
let them declare and set it forth before me.

Who has announced from of old the things to come?
Let them tell us what is yet to be.

Do not fear, or be afraid;
have I not told you from of old and declared it?
You are my witnesses!

Is there any god besides me?
There is no other rock; I know not one.

Psalm 86:11-17

11 Teach me your way, O Lord,
and I will walk in your truth; *
knit my heart to you that I may fear your Name.

12 I will thank you, O Lord my God, with all my heart, *
and glorify your Name for evermore.

13 For great is your love toward me; *
you have delivered me from the nethermost Pit.

14 The arrogant rise up against me, O God,
and a band of violent men seeks my life; *
they have not set you before their eyes.

15 But you, O Lord, are gracious and full of compassion, *
slow to anger, and full of kindness and truth.

16 Turn to me and have mercy upon me; *
give your strength to your servant;
and save the child of your handmaid.

17 Show me a sign of your favour,
so that those who hate me may see it and be ashamed; *
because you, O Lord, have helped me and comforted me.

Romans 8:12-25

Brothers and sisters, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh– for if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God. For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received a spirit of adoption. When we cry, “Abba! Father!” it is that very Spirit bearing witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ– if, in fact, we suffer with him so that we may also be glorified with him.

I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory about to be revealed to us. For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the children of God; for the creation was subjected to futility, not of its own will but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to decay and will obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. We know that the whole creation has been groaning in labor pains until now; and not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly while we wait for adoption, the redemption of our bodies. For in hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what is seen? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.

Matthew 13:24-30,36-43

Jesus put before the crowd another parable: “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to someone who sowed good seed in his field; but while everybody was asleep, an enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and then went away. So when the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared as well. And the slaves of the householder came and said to him, ‘Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? Where, then, did these weeds come from?’ He answered, ‘An enemy has done this.’ The slaves said to him, ‘Then do you want us to go and gather them?’ But he replied, ‘No; for in gathering the weeds you would uproot the wheat along with them. Let both of them grow together until the harvest; and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, Collect the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn.’”

Then he left the crowds and went into the house. And his disciples approached him, saying, “Explain to us the parable of the weeds of the field.” He answered, “The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man; the field is the world, and the good seed are the children of the kingdom; the weeds are the children of the evil one, and the enemy who sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are angels. Just as the weeds are collected and burned up with fire, so will it be at the end of the age. The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will collect out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all evildoers, and they will throw them into the furnace of fire, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Let anyone with ears listen!”

9th November 2025

Reflection with readings below

The first chapter of the book of Haggai is set a month before today’s passage. In it Haggai is told by God that it is not yet time to rebuild the Lord’s house. But then God speaks again asking Haggai to consider the wellbeing of the people – they have planted much but harvested little; they have something to drink but not enough to satisfy their thirst; they have clothes but not enough to keep warm. And God says “Give careful thought to your ways.”

It seems that God is setting the ground – maybe enacting a parable – that challenges the people to understand that there are different ways of living. They can live according to the ways of the past, of convention, which don’t satisfy their needs, or they can live according to the ways of God which will satisfy all their needs. And so it is in the next month that God’s word to Haggai calls on the people to restore God’s house and so restore their own well-being – and handsomely so with much wealth!

For the people of Judah, the temple was the house of God that had been destroyed by the Babylonian invaders. Now that some of those exiled to Babylon have returned to Jerusalem, the desire is to rebuild the temple. But for us in the 2st century might we rather consider the Earth as being God’s house?

“The God who made the world and all things in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands” Acts 17:24

And if we look at the Earth as God’s temple, do we see it as a place that has been well cared for, a place of peace and beauty? Or do we see a place that is broken and damaged, and in need of repair?

When we look at the wellbeing of our fellow creatures (human and nonhuman)do we not see communities that do not have enough to eat and drink, that do not have adequate clothing and protection? Could that be because we are not living in accordance with God’s ways? Are we misusing the world’s resources such that the needs of many are not satisfied? Surely it is therefore time to reassess and redirect the way we live?

Absolutely! Time and again we hear scientists warning us that our continued use of fossil fuels and of greenhouse gas emitting practices is continuing to fuel the climate crisis. We are now on track for more than 2C of warming. This will ensure brings even more extreme weather events – droughts, storms, wild fires and hurricanes such as Melissa last week – more food shortages (over the last three years, British farmers have lost the equivalent of a year’s supply of bread because of adverse weather affecting harvests) – more deaths from excess heat, the increasing loss of species and destruction of delicate ecosystems, etc.

We also hear social welfare and justice campaigners telling us that the gap between rich and poor is growing; that people’s lives are being diminished not because the resources aren’t there, but because they are not being made available; that they are not being shared fairly. We hear that mental ill health is rocketing; that corporate power is trumping democracy; that the justice systems favours governments over individuals, and big businesses over everyone. Injustice is endemic world wide.

And we hear of governments ignoring the warning signs, of governments focusing on those with loudest voices, of governments focusing on the next election not our corporate long term survival. Next week COP30 begins its deliberations. Participating nations knew well in advance that they would have to come to this meeting with updated plans to reduce their national emissions in line with the net zero targets. In fact they have known this since the signing the Paris Agreement in 2015. Yet many have not even submitted a plan, and of those that have, none have been sufficiently ambitious to keep the world on track to avoid even a 2C rise in temperatures!

Absolutely it is time to reassess and redirect the way we live.

Haggai 1:15b-2:9

In the second year of King Darius, in the seventh month, on the twenty-first day of the month, the word of the Lord came by the prophet Haggai, saying: Speak now to Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and to the remnant of the people, and say, Who is left among you that saw this house in its former glory? How does it look to you now? Is it not in your sight as nothing? Yet now take courage, O Zerubbabel, says the Lord; take courage, O Joshua, son of Jehozadak, the high priest; take courage, all you people of the land, says the Lord; work, for I am with you, says the Lord of hosts, according to the promise that I made you when you came out of Egypt. My spirit abides among you; do not fear. For thus says the Lord of hosts: Once again, in a little while, I will shake the heavens and the earth and the sea and the dry land; and I will shake all the nations, so that the treasure of all nations shall come, and I will fill this house with splendour, says the Lord of hosts. The silver is mine, and the gold is mine, says the Lord of hosts. The latter splendour of this house shall be greater than the former, says the Lord of hosts; and in this place I will give prosperity, says the Lord of hosts.

Psalm 145:1-5, 18-22

1 I will exalt you, O God my King, *
and bless your Name for ever and ever.

2 Every day will I bless you *
and praise your Name for ever and ever.

3 Great is the Lord and greatly to be praised; *
there is no end to his greatness.

4 One generation shall praise your works to another *
and shall declare your power.

5 I will ponder the glorious splendour of your majesty *
and all your marvellous works.

18 The Lord is righteous in all his ways *
and loving in all his works.

19 The Lord is near to those who call upon him, *
to all who call upon him faithfully.

20 He fulfils the desire of those who fear him; *
he hears their cry and helps them.

21 The Lord preserves all those who love him, *
but he destroys all the wicked.

22 My mouth shall speak the praise of the Lord; *
let all flesh bless his holy Name for ever and ever.

2 Thessalonians 2:1-5, 13-17

As to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered together to him, we beg you, brothers and sisters, not to be quickly shaken in mind or alarmed, either by spirit or by word or by letter, as though from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord is already here. Let no one deceive you in any way; for that day will not come unless the rebellion comes first and the lawless one is revealed, the one destined for destruction. He opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, declaring himself to be God. Do you not remember that I told you these things when I was still with you?

But we must always give thanks to God for you, brothers and sisters beloved by the Lord, because God chose you as the first fruits for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and through belief in the truth. For this purpose he called you through our proclamation of the good news, so that you may obtain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. So then, brothers and sisters, stand firm and hold fast to the traditions that you were taught by us, either by word of mouth or by our letter.

Now may our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and through grace gave us eternal comfort and good hope, comfort your hearts and strengthen them in every good work and word.

Luke 20:27-38

Some Sadducees, those who say there is no resurrection, came to Jesus and asked him a question, “Teacher, Moses wrote for us that if a man’s brother dies, leaving a wife but no children, the man shall marry the widow and raise up children for his brother. Now there were seven brothers; the first married, and died childless; then the second and the third married her, and so in the same way all seven died childless. Finally the woman also died. In the resurrection, therefore, whose wife will the woman be? For the seven had married her.”

Jesus said to them, “Those who belong to this age marry and are given in marriage; but those who are considered worthy of a place in that age and in the resurrection from the dead neither marry nor are given in marriage. Indeed they cannot die anymore, because they are like angels and are children of God, being children of the resurrection. And the fact that the dead are raised Moses himself showed, in the story about the bush, where he speaks of the Lord as the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. Now he is God not of the dead, but of the living; for to him all of them are alive.”

Proper 24

19th October 2025

Reflection with readings below.

The prophet Jeremiah is passing on to the people God’s reassurance that there will come for them a time of peace and the rebuilding of their community – salvation – but that it will also be a time of judgement. Part of the process of the rebuilding will be understanding where they themselves have got it wrong. Then they will be ready to start over: God will give them a new heart.

Despite all the trauma God’s people have been going through, including the realisation that Babylonian domination will be their burden for the long haul, and the realisation that their own folly has brought them to this place of desolation, Jeremiah is assuring them that God still loves them.

But Jeremiah’s words – as well as offering us hope – are also a reminder that sometimes -often – our wrong doings and errors will impact not just us but generations to come. That is certainly true of our excessive consumption of the Earth’s resources and our increasing emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases. Without a doubt what we are handing onto the next generation is a severely depleted, damaged world.

Like Jeremiah’s contemporaries, we need new hearts so that we can reshape our lives to live simply and sustainably, to live in harmony with – rather than in the destruction of -the Earth’s precious environment. And not just us as individuals but our communities and governments, businesses and global institutions, that all need new hearts. New hearts that will transform the way we live with each other, the way we share, restore and conserve resources. We need social and economic policies focused not on maximising profits but on maximising benefits for the common good.

Why do we spend money on AI and other profit maximising actions, that take peoples jobs away, and leave us living in a world where unemployment and poverty are increasing? Why do we not focus on creating meaningful jobs that give people a sense of value, that give the opportunity to be self supporting, and even give the ability to pay taxes?

We do we create trade deals that leave poorer nations struggling to provide their people with schools, medicines and education? That leave them even poorer and unable to invest in infrastructure to adapt to the onslaught of the climate crisis? And why then, having failed to address the global inequalities that trap such nations in the grasp of poverty, are we surprised that those of their citizens who can afford the cost, should seek to make new lives in the west?

Surely we have failed to learn from God that wisdom and knowledge which would shows us how to live in comfort and harmony with all our neighbours – human and nonhuman? The Psalmist and the writer of the letter to Timothy are clear that it is in the teachings of scripture and in knowledge of God’s words that we will learn how to live such lives. It is also clear that we can all benefit from good teachers – from prophets even – that can open up and unpack God’s wisdom, who can make God’s word alive for each generation, who are willing to be both persistent and patient in expounding this gospel. Teachers, preachers and prophets who can inspire and inform us, sharing God’s vision for a better, blessed world.

In today’s gospel the key word is persistence. Here the virtue of persistence is linked to prayer – persistent prayer is a good thing. I am not sure that the words ascribed to Jesus really means that God is more likely to listen to our prayers if they are persistent – as in repeated endlessly. I don’t think God ignores prayers that aren’t endlessly repeated – that sounds too much as if we need to persuade God to listen. Rather I think it is that we have to be persistent in prayer because human frailty and/or stupidity means that the same need for prayer is going to reoccur time and again, and that having to raise issue as a topic of prayer should not dissuade us from raising that issue with God. Day in day out we will find ourselves needing to pray for peace, needing to pray for wisdom for our leaders, needing to pray for forgiveness for our own failures, needing to pray for a change of course in the way we make use of/ abuse the Earth’s resources etc etc. Prayer is not just about words, it is about making those words into actions, into a changed heart. Persistent prayer is more then just persistent words but also persistent actions. It is about always walking the talk, regularly and repeatedly, until the change God desires happens.

Here persistence in prayer is about not giving up on hope for a better future. It is about being faithful rather than necessarily being successful. Faithful in the belief that God desires a better future for everyone, faithful in the belief that God believes that we humans can change and that we can be part of the process of salvation. So even if we find ourselves in a similar situation to Jeremiah, a situation where the future doesn’t look bright, we must be constant in believing that in God’s timescale there is a better future, and be persistent in praying for what ever needs to change to get there.

Jeremiah 31:27-34

The days are surely coming, says the Lord, when I will sow the house of Israel and the house of Judah with the seed of humans and the seed of animals. And just as I have watched over them to pluck up and break down, to overthrow, destroy, and bring evil, so I will watch over them to build and to plant, says the Lord. In those days they shall no longer say:

“The parents have eaten sour grapes,
and the children’s teeth are set on edge.”

But all shall die for their own sins; the teeth of everyone who eats sour grapes shall be set on edge.

The days are surely coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah. It will not be like the covenant that I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt– a covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, says the Lord. But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. No longer shall they teach one another, or say to each other, “Know the Lord,” for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, says the Lord; for I will forgive their iniquity, and remember their sin no more.

Psalm 119:97-104

97 Oh, how I love your law! *
all the day long it is in my mind.

98 Your commandment has made me wiser than my enemies, *
and it is always with me.

99 I have more understanding than all my teachers, *
for your decrees are my study.

100 I am wiser than the elders, *
because I observe your commandments.

101 I restrain my feet from every evil way, *
that I may keep your word.

102 I do not shrink from your judgments, *
because you yourself have taught me.

103 How sweet are your words to my taste! *
they are sweeter than honey to my mouth.

104 Through your commandments I gain understanding; *
therefore I hate every lying way.

2 Timothy 3:14-4:5

As for you, continue in what you have learned and firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it, and how from childhood you have known the sacred writings that are able to instruct you for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, so that everyone who belongs to God may be proficient, equipped for every good work.

In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I solemnly urge you: proclaim the message; be persistent whether the time is favourable or unfavourable; convince, rebuke, and encourage, with the utmost patience in teaching. For the time is coming when people will not put up with sound doctrine, but having itching ears, they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own desires, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander away to myths. As for you, always be sober, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, carry out your ministry fully.

Luke 18:1-8

Jesus told his disciples a parable about their need to pray always and not to lose heart. He said, “In a certain city there was a judge who neither feared God nor had respect for people. In that city there was a widow who kept coming to him and saying, `Grant me justice against my opponent.’ For a while he refused; but later he said to himself, `Though I have no fear of God and no respect for anyone, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will grant her justice, so that she may not wear me out by continually coming.'” And the Lord said, “Listen to what the unjust judge says. And will not God grant justice to his chosen ones who cry to him day and night? Will he delay long in helping them? I tell you, he will quickly grant justice to them. And yet, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?”

Counting on … Lent 31

16th April 2025

For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse. Romans 1:20

St Paul reminds us that God’s wisdom is writ clear and large in the world that God has created. It is to our detriment if we overlook that so-visible source of truth.

Counting on … Lent 24

7th April 2025

“Even the stork in the sky knows her appointed seasons, and the dove, the swift and the thrush observe the time of their migration. But my people do not know the requirements of the LORD.”

Jeremiah 8:7

The birds – indeed all creatures – know intuitively how to live in a harmonious way with the seasons. Because they are in tune with nature, they are also in tune with God. However we humans – just as in Jeremiah’s day – are often not in tune with God; we fail to understand that God wants us to live in tune with nature, with its seasons, its limitations and its joys.

Sadly many people are completely unaware of the changing seasons, because they enclose themselves in an artificial world where you can eat strawberries and avocados all year round, where you rely on heating and air con for a constant T-shirt-wearing temperature, where you seal yourself away from adverse weather in a door to door car service, and where the light from screens not the sun tells you the time of day.

Yet there can be so many opportunities for us to explore the seasons in local parks, nature reserves, in our gardens, via the local farmers’ market, down by a river or by the sea.

Prayers with Psalm 104

15th April 2025

The Lord God took and placed the human in the garden of Eden to till it and keep it. And the Lord God commanded Adam, ‘You may freely eat of every tree of the garden; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall die.’ Genesis 2: 15-17

A reading: Psalm 104:1-24 from The Message
O my soul, bless God!

God, my God, how great you are!

beautifully, gloriously robed,

Dressed up in sunshine,

and all heaven stretched out for your tent.

You built your palace on the ocean deeps,

made a chariot out of clouds and took off on wind-wings.

You commandeered winds as messengers,

appointed fire and flame as ambassadors.

You set earth on a firm foundation

so that nothing can shake it, ever.

You blanketed earth with ocean,

covered the mountains with deep waters;

Then you roared and the water ran away—

your thunder crash put it to flight.

Mountains pushed up, valleys spread out

in the places you assigned them.

You set boundaries between earth and sea;

never again will earth be flooded.

You started the springs and rivers,

sent them flowing among the hills.

All the wild animals now drink their fill,

wild donkeys quench their thirst.

Along the riverbanks the birds build nests,

ravens make their voices heard.

You water the mountains from your heavenly cisterns;

earth is supplied with plenty of water.

You make grass grow for the livestock,

hay for the animals that plow the ground.

Oh yes, God brings grain from the land,

wine to make people happy,

Their faces glowing with health,

a people well-fed and hearty.

God’s trees are well-watered—

the Lebanon cedars he planted.

Birds build their nests in those trees;

look—the stork at home in the treetop.

Mountain goats climb about the cliffs;

badgers burrow among the rocks.

The moon keeps track of the seasons,

the sun is in charge of each day.

When it’s dark and night takes over,

all the forest creatures come out.

The young lions roar for their prey,

clamouring to God for their supper.

When the sun comes up, they vanish,

lazily stretched out in their dens.

Meanwhile, men and women go out to work,

busy at their jobs until evening.

What a wildly wonderful world, God!

You made it all, with Wisdom at your side,

made earth overflow with your wonderful creations.

Response:
Lord God, where did we go astray?

How have we managed to destroy so many habitats,

kill off so many species,

poison the air we breathe and the waters we drink?

How is it that we even endanger the lives of our fellow human beings?

Why have we ignored the warning signs that our greed was costing the earth?

Lord God, have mercy on us.

Grant us time to repent and repair.

Open our eyes and ears to receive your wisdom.

Speed our hearts and minds to do your will,

to restore justice and harmony.

Empower our hands and feet to revitalise our care for the earth.

Renew our commitment to care for all you give us.

Amen.

The blessings of creation

5th October 2024

The Spirit of God has made me, and the breath of the Almighty gives me life. Job 33:4

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:

Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth?
Tell me, if you have understanding.

Who determined its measurements—surely you know!
Or who stretched the line upon it?

On what were its bases sunk,
or who laid its cornerstone

when the morning stars sang together
and all the heavenly beings shouted for joy? Job 38:4-7

Lord, we should not cease to be amazed at the wonder of creation,

the diversity of colour, shape and size,

the ingenious adaptations of plants and animals,

the interconnectedness of all living things.

Response:

Then Job answered the Lord: ‘See, I am of small account; what shall I answer you?
I lay my hand on my mouth. I have spoken once, and I will not answer;
twice, but will proceed no further.’ Job 40:3-5

Lord, we should not forget the immense timespan of creation,

the geological age that have gone before us,

and the ages yet to come.

Forgive us when we exaggerate our importance,

when we claim knowledge we do not have

and when we exceed our competence.

A further reading:

But ask the animals, and they will teach you;
the birds of the air, and they will tell you;

ask the plants of the earth, and they will teach you;
and the fish of the sea will declare to you.

Who among all these does not know
that the hand of the Lord has done this?

In his hand is the life of every living thing
and the breath of every human being. Job 12:7-10, 13

Lord, teach us wisdom.

Give us humility to learn from others,

patience to observe what is true,

and contrition to make amends for our mistakes.

Show us how to find joy in simple things,

contentment with less,

and delight in companionship with all creation.

A final reading:

May the glory of the Lord endure for ever;
may the Lord rejoice in his works—

who looks on the earth and it trembles,
who touches the mountains and they smoke.

I will sing to the Lord as long as I live;
I will sing praise to my God while I have being.

May my meditation be pleasing to him,
for I rejoice in the Lord. Psalm 104: 31-34

Lord, may your creation flourish,

may we ever be thrilled by what we see,

uplifted by what we experience,

and delighted by what we can offer you.

The Grace.