Public Domain Courtesy NASA/JPL-Caltech.
This is one of the most famous photographs ever taken: The Blue Marble, taken on the 7th December 1972 from Apollo 17. It has been said that the pictures taken from space starting in 1946, and famously earthrise taken on Christmas eve 1968, helped to galvanise the environmental movement. It was the first time that man had seen the earth from the outside, to see how fragile, and how beautiful it looked, and these images are now seen as one of man’s defining moments.
This year our theme is to connect with nature. We are going to use the Celtic celebrations (some of which have been sidelined) such as Imbolc and Lammas to go through the year noticing the changes around us, centering ourselves in nature, and connecting to GOD through it. But why? As we planned together I found this quote:
“We often forget that WE ARE NATURE. Nature is not something separate from us. So when we say that we have lost our connection to nature, we’ve lost our connection to ourselves.”
Andy Goldsworthy, sculptor
As we read Psalm 104 we see that GOD has been gazing at His creation with love since it was made. But rather than a distant, disinterested engineer who first span the cogs and gears into life to simply sit back and watch it working: the watchmaker analogy. God is at work, busy sustaining and renewing life itself.
This psalm places humans squarely within nature. It puts us on a level playing field with donkeys, goats, and rock badgers.
We humans have a tendency to think that the world revolves around us. Yep Genesis does tell us that there’s a special place for us in creation. We were made for relationship with GOD, We’re made in GOD’s image, and Psalm 8 tells us that we’ve been crowned with glory and that creation has been put under our feet, but it’s God’s name that is majestic. GOD is the ruler, GOD is clothed with majesty and splendour. However, great GOD Has made us – GOD made us. And the word in Hebrew here for made which is used time and time again is “making”. GOD is making us. Without GOD, creation would fall. This psalm acts as a reminder that we cannot and should not consider ourselves equal to GOD. However, smaller we delve into the atom – GOD’s creating hand is there creating smaller and smaller particles. However, far we stare into the universe Gods’ creation is stretching before us.
GOD is the creator and the sustainer, and we need to know our place.
“The psalmist was convinced that everything derived from and was ultimately dependent upon GOD. “Nature” as we call it today, is not divine, but it is sacred.”
J Clinton McCann jr
A few years ago I was in a meeting of ministers, a we were asked where we felt closest to GOD. Out of 40 people only two said it was inside. Everyone else talked about running, gardening, walking, dog walking etc. The more natural our surroundings, the more awe inspiring, something inside just connects. Let’s spend this year leaning into, and celebrating our faith in-step with nature.
- Where do you feel most connected with nature?
- Have you ever been awed by nature? When was it? What did it feel like?
- How do you feel about connecting with “faith in-step with nature?
- Do something this week to connect with nature. Now’s a great time to plant tomatoes for the summer, or to plan a walk you go do every week to observe the changing seasons.
I’ve been a member of BCFX for about 2 years. I love it. It’s home and hearth, welcome and challenge, ebb and flow.
