As we’re coming to the end of a holiday weekend, the words “Oh beautiful for spacious skies, for amber waves of grain” echo in my head. This year is so much different from the 4th of July last year. This year we are much more comfortable around other people and have reason to celebrate as vaccination numbers rise and Corona Virus cases decrease. You may even have had a 4th of July picnic and gotten to see fireworks.
As we think about the gifts that God has given to us, we appreciate the creation that surrounds us. Yesterday in worship we focused on air and sky. We are so much more cognizant of the air we breathe than we were 15 months ago. We appreciate our time outdoors and fresh air. We worry about indoor air quality and things like air pollution and smoke from forest fires far away. We pay attention to weather patterns and especially weather extremes that seem to be more and more common.
The Bible begins in Genesis chapter 1 with a poetic description of how God is actor who created all of this:
In the beginning when God created the heavens and the earth, 2the earth was a formless void and darkness covered the face of the deep, while a wind from God swept over the face of the waters. 3Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light. 4And God saw that the light was good; and God separated the light from the darkness. 5God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day.
6And God said, “Let there be a dome in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters.” 7So God made the dome and separated the waters that were under the dome from the waters that were above the dome. And it was so. 8God called the dome Sky.
God created this vast earth and has entrusted it to our care. I encourage you to think about how are you caring for the air that we breathe? How are we collectively as a faith community and as a state and nation caring for this beautiful creation?
-Pastor Betsy
Let us pray:
Holy God, send upon us now your Holy Spirit, whose breath revives us for life, whose fire rouses us to love. Enfold in your arms all who share this holy food. Nurture in us the fruits of the Spirit, that we may be a living tree, sharing your bounty with all the world. Amen.