The earth is the Lord's



I've been thinking lately about the earth and the role of the natural world in our Spiritual lives. Specifically how should followers of Jesus respond to caring for and protecting the earth. What role do we play?

There was a spiritual leader named Hildegard of Bingen (1098 – 1179) that became the abbess of a Benedictine community. She became inspired to connect God's Creation with our spiritual lives. Her term for the grace of God inherent in all living things was viriditas, or greenness, endearing her in our generation to followers of creation spirituality. Hildegard’s holistic approach to God and humanity is relevant today, particularly to those longing for wholeness and healing for all of creation.

She wrote, "We shall awaken from our dullness and rise vigorously toward justice. If we fall in love with creation deeper and deeper, we will respond to its endangerment with passion.”

We know God's hand was creatively involved in crafting this planet we live on and it is worth our time to consider it's care and health as part of our lives and health.

There are many places in Scripture that calls us to this care including Psalm 104:24-25, "How many are your works, Lord! In wisdom you made them all; the earth is full of your creatures. There is the sea, vast and spacious, teeming with creatures beyond number — living things both large and small.”

And, Psalm 24, "The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it..."

As commonprayer.net posted, "Lord, when you invited Adam to name the animals, you invited us all to participate in your creative work. Teach us to rejoice in your creation and assist in its care, that we, your humble creatures, may in all things give you praise. Amen."

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