Today’s Readings: Psalm 96; Ezra 6:1-22; Matthew 13:10-17; Revelation 5:1-10
One of the things I treasure about The United Church of Christ is its wisdom in authorizing ministries that are “outside the box”. Take my friend Peter Sawtell, for example. Peter is an ordained ministry in Denver, CO who is the founder and Executive Director of an organization called Eco-Justice Ministries (EJM).
Among EJM’s primary purposes is to help churches “answer the call to care for God’s creation.” Peter’s ministry has increased my capacity to appreciate the ecological dimensions of many passages of Scripture. Today’s reading from the psalms is a perfect example of this.
Before I met Peter, I would have read a passage like Psalm 96:11-12 – a passage that reads “Let’s hear it from the Sky, with Earth joining in, and a huge round of applause from Sea. Let Wilderness turn cartwheels; animals, come dance; put every tree of the forest in the choir” – and received those words exclusively on a poetic level. After meeting Peter, however, I have grown to appreciate the power of what it means to be in relation with a God that draws all aspects of creation in a wonderful celebration of this thing called life!
As you move through your day today, I would encourage you to pay more attention than usual to the natural world and see if you can find glimpses of the celebration of which the psalmist spoke. Til next time…
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For those of you who would like to support the vision & ministry of Woodland Hills Community Church (the faith community I serve that continues to encourage me to minister outside the box), please click on the link just above.
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