Above:  The Two Reports of the Spies

Image in the Public Domain

God, Affliction, Judgment, and Mercy

JUNE 3 and 4, 2021

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The Collect:

All-powerful God, in Jesus Christ you turned death into life and defeat into victory.

Increase our faith and trust in him,

that we may triumph over all evil in the strength

of the same Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord.  Amen.

–Evangelical Lutheran Worship (2006), page 39

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The Assigned Readings:

Isaiah 28:9-13 (Thursday)

Deuteronomy 1:34-40 (Friday)

Psalm 130 (Both Days)

1 Peter 4:7-19 (Thursday)

2 Corinthians 5:1-5 (Friday)

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Out of the depths have I called to you, O LORD

LORD, hear my voice;

let your ears consider well the voice of my supplication.

If you, LORD, were to note what is done amiss,

O Lord, who could stand?

–Psalm 130:1-2, Book of Common Worship (1993)

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Who indeed?

We read of judgment, mercy, and affliction in the pericopes for these two days.  Faithfulness to God, especially when the depiction of God is that of one with a short fuse, is especially dangerous.  And even when texts depict God as having more patience, persistent faithlessness remains perilous.  The readings from the New Testament add the element of enduring suffering for the sake of righteousness faithfully.  Trust in God and rejoice, they advise.

I recognize that judgment and mercy exist in God.  Sometimes the former precedes the latter, but, on other occasions, mercy for some entails judgment on others.  I prefer a utopia in which all is peace, love, mutuality, faithfulness to God, and other virtues, but that is not this world.  If, for example, the oppressors refuse to refrain from oppressing, is not the deliverance of the oppressed sometimes the doom of the oppressors?  We human beings make our decisions and must live with the consequences of them.  Nevertheless, I choose to emphasize the mercy of God, but not to the exclusion of judgment.  (I am not a universalist.)  The depiction of God in much of the Torah disturbs me, for the divine temper seems too quick.  I prefer the God of Psalm 130.

Nevertheless, enduring suffering for the sake of righteousness patiently and with rejoicing is something I have not mastered.  I am glad that my circumstances have not led to such suffering.  Yet I have endured some suffering with great impatience, finding God to be present with me during the ideal.  I have rejoiced in the spiritual growth I have experienced in real time and after the fact, with the benefit of hindsight.  Divine mercy has been especially evident in difficult circumstances.

I conclude that trusting God to fulfill divine promises is wise, for God is faithful.  None of my doubts have led to divine retribution, fortunately.  God has never failed me, but I have failed God often.  Reducing the number of instances of failure is among the spiritual goals I am pursuing via grace.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

MARCH 17, 2015 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF SAINT PATRICK, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOP OF ARMAGH

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https://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2015/03/17/god-affliction-judgment-and-mercy/

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Above:  One of My Globes

Image Source = Kenneth Randolph Taylor

The World and the Kingdom of God

JUNE 4-6, 2020

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The Collects:

Almighty Creator and ever-living God: we worship your glory, eternal Three-in-One,

and we praise your power, majestic One-in-Three.

Keep us steadfast in this faith, defend us in all adversity,

and bring us at last into your presence, where you live in endless joy and love,

Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

or

God of heaven and earth, before the foundation of the universe

and the beginning of time you are the triune God:

Author of creation, eternal Word of salvation, life-giving Spirit of wisdom.

Guide us to all truth by your Spirit, that we may proclaim all that Christ has revealed

and rejoice in the glory he shares with us.

Glory and praise to you, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, now and forever. Amen.

—Evangelical Lutheran Worship (2006), page 37

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The Assigned Readings:

Job 38:1-11 (Thursday)

Job 38:12-21 (Friday)

Job 38:22-38 (Saturday)

Psalm 8 (All Days)

2 Timothy 1:8-12a (Thursday)

2 Timothy 1:12b-14 (Friday)

John 14:15-17 (Saturday)

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What we do not understand about God and related topics outweighs what we know about them. Why, for example, do good people suffer? The Book of Job tells us that God permitted the suffering of the eponymous character. That is a difficult answer, but it is the one the text provides in Chapters 1 and 2. We know of the reasons for the sufferings of the Apostle Paul; his witness created many enemies. The Gospel of Christ does that frequently. Jesus did, after all, die on a cross—and not for any sin he had committed, for he had committed none.

The glorification of our Lord and Savior in the Fourth Gospel was his crucifixion. This was a twist many people did not expect, for crucifixion was a mode of execution the Roman Empire reserved for those it considered the worst of the worst. It was a mark of shame and public humiliation. And this became Christ’s glorification? The twist was—and remains—a wonderful one.

In the name of that crucified and resurrected Lord and Savior, through whom we have access to the gift of the Holy Spirit—God’s active power on earth—in John 14:16, we can have eternal life in this world and the next one. The same world which did not know Jesus or the Holy Spirit killed him, St. Paul the Apostle, and a great company of martyrs. It continues to make martyrs. Yet the Kingdom of God, like a great week, goes where it will.

So may we say with the author of Psalm 8,

O Lord our governor,

how glorious is your name in all the world.

–Verse 1, Common Worship (2000)

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

MAY 16, 2014 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF SAINTS ANDREW FOURNET AND ELIZABETH BICHIER, COFOUNDERS OF THE DAUGHTERS OF THE CROSS; AND SAINT MICHAEL GARICOITS, FOUNDER OF THE PRIESTS OF THE SACRED HEART OF BETHARRAM

THE FEAST OF SAINT JOHN NEPOMUCENE, ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIEST

THE FEAST OF THE MARTYRS OF SUDAN

THE FEAST OF TE WARA HAURAKI, ANGLICAN MISSIONARY

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https://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2014/05/29/the-world-and-the-kingdom-of-god/

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Above:  Jesus Heals Two Blind Men, by Julius Schnorr

Image in the Public Domain

Divine Judgment and Mercy

THURSDAY-SATURDAY, JUNE 4-6, 2020

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The Collect:

O God, you are the source of life and the ground of our being.

By the power of your Spirit bring healing to this wounded world,

and raise us to the new life of your Son, Jesus Christ our Savior and Lord. Amen.

—Evangelical Lutheran Worship (2006), page 38

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The Assigned Readings:

Lamentations 1:7-11 (Thursday)

Lamentations 3:40-58 (Friday)

Exodus 34:1-9 (Saturday)

Psalm 50:7-15 (All Days)

2 Peter 2:17-22 (Thursday)

Acts 28:1-10 (Friday)

Matthew 9:27-34 (Saturday)

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Hear, O my people, and I will speak:

“I will testify against you, O Israel;

for I am God, your God….”

–Psalm 50:7, Common Worship (2000)

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The assigned readings for these three days juxtapose divine judgment and mercy. The metaphors for the consequences of sin are quite graphic. They do not make for good mealtime conversation, but at least they convey the point well.

There is also extravagant mercy with God. In Matthew 9:27-34, for example, Jesus healed two blind men and a mute whom others in his culture considered a demoniac. I, being a product of the Scientific Revolution and the subsequent Enlightenment, reject the Hellenistic notion that demonic possession causes muteness. No, I seek psychological explanations. None of that changes the reality of restoration to community. Those three men were marginal prior to their healing. The blind men might have even accepted the commonplace assumption that someone’s sin had caused their lack of vision. The lifting of that spiritual burden must have been wonderful also.

We must exercise caution to avoid becoming trapped in a simplistic and false concept of God. Such a false concept is an idol, for it occupies the place God should fill. With God there are great depths of mercy yet also the reality of potential judgment. As a prayer for Good Friday from The Book of Common Prayer (1979) reads:

Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the living God, we pray you to set your passion, cross, and death between your judgment and our souls, now and in the hour of our death. Give mercy and grace to the living; pardon and rest to the dead; to your holy Church peace and concord; and to us sinners everlasting life and glory; for with the Father and the Holy Spirit you live and reign, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

–Page 282

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

MAY 14, 2014 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF FRANCIS MAKEMIE, FATHER OF U.S. PRESBYTERIANISM

THE FEAST OF EDWARD HENRY BICKERSTETH, ANGLICAN BISHOP OF EXETER

THE FEAST OF JOHN ROBERTS/IEUAN GWYLLT, FOUNDER OF WELSH SINGING FESTIVALS

THE FEAST OF NGAKUKU, ANGLICAN MISSIONARY

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https://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2014/05/28/divine-judgment-and-mercy/

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Above:  Church of Lazarus, Bethany, Palestine, 1940-1946

Image Source = Library of Congress

Ecclesiastes and John, Part VIII:  Embracing Life Instead of Fleeing Death

JUNE 4, 2021

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Blessed Lord, who caused all holy scriptures to be written for our learning:

Grant us so to hear them, read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest them,

that we may embrace and ever hold fast the blessed hope of everlasting life,

which you have given us in our Savior Jesus Christ;

who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,

one God, for ever and ever.  Amen.

–The Book of Common Prayer (1979), page 236

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The Assigned Readings:

Ecclesiastes 12:1-14

Psalm 54 (Morning)

Psalms 28 and 99 (Evening)

John 11:1-16

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As we have read elsewhere in Ecclesiastes, everybody will die.  This has a negative connotation in that text, as if death is not a desirable life transition.  For many people it is not one, but I have a different opinion.  Yes, the manner of one’s exit can be unpleasant and fearsome.  Consider the case of Jesus, en route to Jerusalem in John 11; he was a few days away from a crucifixion.

As for Lazarus, he had died.  He was indisputably dead.  Mary and Martha, his sisters, cared very much about his fact.  Yet, as the rest of Chapter 11 tells us, it was not an irreversible state in his case.  The man would die again, but not before his raising showed Christ’s power.

It is one thing to fear being dead and other to fear dying.  I fear certain ways of dying yet have no fear of being dead.  I have approached death’s door a few times.  These experiences have liberated me from my fear of death itself and enabled me to embrace life itself.  Life is far more than the opposite of death.  To love life for what it is, not what it is not, is appropriate.  And to do this is one way to express Christ’s power in us and to testify to it.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

JULY 6, 2012 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF SAINTS VINCENTIA GEROSA AND BARTHOLOMEA CAPITANIO, COFOUNDERS OF THE SISTERS OF CHARITY OF LOVERE

THE FEAST OF ISAIAH, BIBLICAL PROPHET

THE FEAST OF JAN HUS, PROTO-PROTESTANT MARTYR

THE FEAST OF SAINT PALLADIUS, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOP

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http://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2013/04/23/ecclesiastes-and-john-part-viii-embracing-life-instead-of-fleeing-death/

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Above:  An Old Family Bible

Image Source = David Ball

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God of glory,

as we prepare to study the Bible,

may we approach the texts with our minds open,

our intellects engaged,

and our spirits receptive to your leading,

so that we will understand them correctly

and derive from them the appropriate lessons.

Then may we act on those lessons.

For the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ,

Amen.

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KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

OCTOBER 7, 2011 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF HENRY MELCHIOR MUHLENBERG, SHEPHERD OF LUTHERANISM IN THE AMERICAN COLONIES

THE FEAST OF FRED KAAN, HYMNWRITER

THE FEAST OF JOHN WOOLMAN, ABOLITIONIST

Above:  First Paragraph of the Shema in Hebrew

Finally, a Sincere Question!

JUNE 4, 2020

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2 Timothy 2:8-15 (Revised English Bible):

Remember the theme of my gospel:  Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, born of David’s line.  For preaching this I am exposed to hardship, even to the point of being fettered like a criminal; but the word of God is not fettered.  All this I endure for the sake of God’s chosen ones, in the hope that they too may attain the glorious and eternal salvation which is in Christ Jesus.

Here is a saying you may trust:

If we have died with him, we shall live with him;

if we endure, we shall reign with him;

if we disown him, he will disown us;

if we are faithless, he remains faithful,

for he cannot disown himself.

Keep on reminding people of this, and charge them solemnly before God to stop disputing about mere words; it does not good, and only ruins those who listen.  Try hard to show yourself worthy of God’s approval, as a worker with no cause for shame; keep strictly to the true gospel….

Psalm 25:1-12 (1979 Book of Common Prayer):

1  To you, O LORD, I lift up my soul;

my God, I put my trust in you;

let me not be humiliated,

nor let my enemies triumph over me.

2  Let none who look to you be put to shame;

let the treacherous be disappointed in their schemes.

3  Show me your ways, O LORD,

and teach me your paths.

4  Lead me in your truth and teach me,

for you are the God of my salvation;

in you have I trusted all the day long.

5  Remember, O LORD, your compassion and love,

for they are from everlasting.

6  Remember not the sins of my youth and my transgressions;

remember me according to your love

and for the sake of your goodness, O LORD.

7  Gracious and upright is the LORD;

therefore he teaches sinners in his way.

8  He guides the humble in doing right

and teaches his way to the lowly.

9  All the paths of the LORD are love and faithfulness

to those who keep his covenant and his testimonies.

10  For your Name’s sake, O LORD,

forgive my sin, for it is great.

11  Who are they who fear the LORD?

he will teach them the way that they should choose.

12  They shall dwell in prosperity,

and their offspring shall inherit the land.

Mark 12:28-34 (Revised English Bible):

Then one of the scribes, who had been listening to these discussions and had observed how well Jesus answered, came forward and asked him,

Which is the first of all the commandments?

He answered,

The first is, “Hear, O Israel:  the Lord our God is the one Lord, and you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.”   The second is this:  “You must love your neighbour as yourself.”  No other commandment is greater than these.

The scribe said to him,

Well said, Teacher.  You are right in saying that God is one and beside him there is no other.  And to love him with all your heart, all your understanding, and all your strength, and to love your neighbour as yourself–that means far more than any whole-offerings and sacrifices.

When Jesus saw how thoughtfully he answered, he said to him,

You are not far from the kingdom of God.

After that nobody dared put any more questions to him.

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The Collect:

O God, your never-failing providence sets in order all things both in heaven and earth:  Put away from us, we entreat you, all hurtful things, and give us those things which are profitable for us; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.  Amen.

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A Related Post:

Week of Proper 4:  Thursday, Year 1:

https://ordinarytimedevotions.wordpress.com/2010/11/16/week-of-proper-4-thursday-year-1/

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This time I borrow the text of the devotion from myself, specifically the Year 1 counterpart to this post.

KRT

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THE SHEMA

Hear, Israel:  the LORD is our God, the LORD our one God; and you must love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.  These commandments which I give you this day are to be remembered and taken to heart; repeat them to your children, and speak to them both indoors and out of doors, when you lie down and when you get up.  Bind them as a sign on your hand and wear them as a pendant on your forehead; write them on the doorposts of your houses and on your gates.

–Deuteronomy 6:4-9 (Revised English Bible)

The recent arc of the Markan narrative in the lectionary has been one of Jesus fielding insincere questions.  But, at the end of this part of the story, a scribe asks an intelligent and sincere question:  What is the greatest commandment.  This man receives a reply unlike the one Jesus had for the Sadducees just a few verses ago:  “You are so far from the truth!”  In this case, Jesus quotes the Shema, a duly famous part of the Law of Moses, and amends it:  We must love our neighbors as we love ourselves.  The scribe agrees with the answer, and Jesus says that the man is near to the kingdom of God.  Did the scribe complete the journey?  The texts are silent on that point, but I hope the answer is affirmative.

Too often certain people and institutions who claim the Christian label become caught up in legalism and call this holiness.  For example, the Church of God (Anderson, Indiana) began in the 1800s as a Restorationist body claiming the Bible alone as its source of authority in matters of doctrine and practice.  For a while men were not allowed to wear neckties to church; the denomination was that strict.  The Anderson, Indiana, group liberalized by 1910-1911, when it permitted men to wear neckties to church.  This was one issue that prompted the Church of God (Guthrie, Oklahoma) to break away; it opposed neckties.  (My source =Encyclopedia of American Religions)

In the 1960s, in rural Kathleen, Georgia, parents began to offer a regular Saturday night chaperoned dance at the fellowship hall of Andrew Chapel Methodist Church.  This was an event for local youth, so they would have something positive to do on the weekend.  One night, the pastor of a local Baptist church made an unfortunate scene at one of these dances when he complained loudly about all the allegedly sinful dancing taking place indoors.  Some of his parishioners were at that dance, and that pastor had to seek other employment shortly thereafter.  (My source = the United Methodist minister who had served as pastor of Andrew Chapel in the 1960s)

These are just two examples of what has happened when people seeking to obey God become so lost in the trees that they lose sight of the forest.  If we will focus on loving people as ourselves, for example, many details will fall into place.  It is laudable to love the Bible, but not to seek permission for every minute detail (such as whether it is proper to wear a necktie) in its pages.  And the denunciation of all dancing as sinful is an old saw, one that ought to die.

The scriptures say that God wants to be gracious to us.  May we respond favorably to God and extend grace to others, as we have opportunity.  Yesterday I had the chance to be extraordinarily kind to a student experiencing a medical situation.  It will not derail her progress in my course; I will not permit it to do so.  I mention this for one reason:  Everything I have learned from my formative years tells me that my decision was the only proper one.  So, when the opportunity to function as an agent of grace presented itself, I never considered doing anything else.  Yes, I broke rules to do this, but God has broken rules in order to extend grace to many of us again and again.  I have learned the meaning of the words of Jesus:  “Go and do likewise.”

All praise to the God of mercy!

KRT

Above:  The Missal (1902), by John William Waterhouse (1849-1917)

Image in the Public Domain

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Here I share with everyone a proposed form of the Prayers of the People, for congregational use, for the Season After Pentecost.  Anyone may modify this form to fit local needs and update it as people leave or enter office.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

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The congregational response to “We pray to you, O God” is “Hear our prayer.”

As God’s people, sanctified by the Holy Spirit, we ask that our lives may become prayer pleasing to you, and that all people and institutions which profess to follow our Lord, may express God’s love and grace to others.

We pray to you, O God,

Hear our prayer.

That

• Barack, our President;
• Nathan, our Governor;
• Nancy, our Mayor;
• And all other government officials and all influential persons

may exercise their power and authority wisely and for the common good, so that all people everywhere may be treated with dignity and respect, dwell in safety, and have everything they need,

we pray to you, O God,

Hear our prayer.

That we may love you with our whole heart and life and strength, and love our neighbors as ourselves,

we pray to you, O God,

Hear our prayer.

That we may be good stewards of Mother Earth,

we pray to you, O God,

Hear our prayer.

We intercede for

• (first names here);
• And our men and women in the armed forces, especially (names here);
• And all people struggling with vocational and career issues.

I invite your prayers, silent or aloud.

(Pause)

We pray to you, O God,

Hear our prayer.

We thank you for

• (names here), who celebrate their birthdays this week;
• And (names here), who celebrate their wedding anniversaries this week.

I invite your thanksgivings, silent or aloud.

(Pause)

We pray to you, O God,

Hear our prayer.

That all who have passed from this life to the next will know the boundless joy and peace of eternal rest,

we pray to you, O God,

Hear our prayer.

The celebrant concludes with a collect.

Above:  Everything is In the Past, by Vassily Maximov

Image in the Public Domain

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Sovereign Lord of life,

may we not imprison ourselves in the past,

dwelling on disappointments and plotting revenge

or resting on our laurels.

Instead, may we learn the appropriate lessons from the past,

live in the present faithfully, and

look to the future faithfully.

May we be and remain open to

all the possibilities you present for us to fulfill our vocations.

And, in so doing, may we become the persons we need to become

–for your glory and the sake others.

In the name of God, the Holy and Undivided Trinity.  Amen.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

MARCH 11, 2010

THE FEAST OF ALEXANDER FLEMING

Published originally at GATHERED PRAYERS COLLECTED BY KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR on July 17, 2010

Allegory of Faith, by Luis Salvador Carmona

Image Source = Luis Garcia

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Sovereign God,

I confess that I have sought control in matters small, medium, and large.

This has been a recurring, unfortunate, and sinful pattern.

Why have I not learned better that human control is purely illusory?

Why am I stubborn in this sin?

Deliver me–deliver all of us–I pray you–from this sin,

so that trust in you may replace the idolatrous quest for control,

that love for you and all your children may abound,

and that Shalom may result.

In the name of God, the Holy and Undivided Trinity.  Amen.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

MARCH 10, 2010 (THE FEAST OF GEOFFREY STUDDERT KENNEDY)

Published originally at GATHERED PRAYERS COLLECTED BY KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR on July 17, 2010

Blue Hills

An Image I Found Installed on My Computer

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Thank you, God, for this beautiful day.

Nature is stunningly beautiful–

a visual, audio, and olfactory feast.

Birds sing,

crickets chirp,

and cats vocalize.

Mountains astound us with their majesty,

plains amaze us with their expansiveness,

and valleys move us to awe and wonder with their beauty.

The sky seems like a magnificent dome,

and the soil nurtures much of our food.

We praise and thank you

for the endless grandeur and beauty of creation.

Amen.

Published originally at GATHERED PRAYERS COLLECTED BY KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR on July 20, 2010