UCA SA - Reflection for the Week

The heavens declare the glory of God

Today marks the beginning of Spring and the start of the Season of Creation. It is a time when the sun begins to emerge more, the need for jumpers and jackets becomes less and those of us who suffer from hay fever begin a routine of tissues and antihistamines.

Psalm 19 is one of my favourite psalms. It begins:

The heavens declare the glory of God;
the skies proclaim the work of his hands.
Day after day they pour forth speech;
night after night they reveal knowledge.
They have no speech, they use no words;
no sound is heard from them.
Yet their voice goes out into all the earth,
their words to the ends of the world.

God’s ability to speak through creation is very real to me. While I was in my Period of Discernment, I went for a walk in the nearby bushland after the rains had stopped for the day. I sat awhile next to a grass tree covered in glistening raindrop. Each one, encouraged by the gentle breeze, shuffled its way to the end of the needle-like leaves before falling to the ground. One drop of water grasped my attention. I followed its journey along the leaf until it reached the end. It remained, hanging stubbornly to the leaf, and I asked it out loud, “What are you waiting for? Just fall!”. That drop of water did not speak in words, but somehow the voice of God spoke clearly to me and threw my question back at me challenging me to respond to God’s calling in my life.

Another day, while walking a creek line, the worries of my world weighed heavily upon me. A small feather fluttered into my path. Each time I attempted to pick it up the wind played its game, taking it beyond my reach. The feather accompanied me on my walk, and its lightness spoke to my heaviness without words. That feather had no words, but its sound was heard in my life.

Many people find communing with nature good for their soul. An hour by the beach or a morning in a forest has significant benefits for people’s health and wellbeing. Psalm 19, however, takes a further step. Our encounters with creation are also moments in the presence of God. The heavens, the earth, the plants, the creatures declare the glory of God.

So, as the sun beckons us to spend more time outside and we reacquaint ourselves with the natural world around us, let us listen deeply to creation. Although there are no words, our God speaks loudly to the ends of the world through the world around us.

– Cathie Lambert