Hello Friends,
This is Mark Gladman,
Brother Frederick James,
The Monk in Docs.
Welcome back to our series of scripture reflections on the Psalms.
The world is full of God.
Let's take a moment to bring ourselves fully into this time.
Closing our eyes if it's safe to do so.
Letting the weight of the things that we've brought into this moment just fall away.
Taking a nice deep breath in.
And now.
.
.
Just notice that air as it moves through into your lungs.
The ground beneath your feet.
As we reflect on the countless forms of life carrying on their existence that's beyond our awareness even in this moment,
As we turn today to Psalm 104.
Which is a celebration of the living world and the God who sustains it.
We often talk about the natural world in terms of what it gives us.
We need the land to grow food,
Rivers to provide water,
Trees to offer shade and shelter.
We value animals for their companionship,
Their usefulness or their beauty.
We measure places by what we can do there.
And what we can take from them and how they serve our needs.
There's nothing wrong with being grateful for what creation provides,
But something changes when we begin to imagine that the world exists only for us.
Psalm 104,
Though,
Gives us a very different vision.
It's a great song of creation,
Full of mountains and springs.
Wild animals and birds,
Trees and seas.
The world is alive with activity.
Creatures find their food,
Rivers flow through the land,
And the earth teems with life.
All of this belongs within the generosity of God.
The psalm even imagines God providing for creatures whose lives have little to do with human purposes.
They live,
Feed,
Shelter,
Flourish within a world that's not a human home,
But a home for an astonishing abundance of life.
So today,
Let this psalm widen your imagination.
What might it mean to see the world?
Not as something provided for us,
But as a community of life in which we have been given a place.
We're reflecting today on Psalm 104,
Verses 10 to 24.
And so listen for the abundance of life.
Within these verses.
Notice the creatures,
The places and the movement of the world.
Is there an image or a detail that draws your attention?
Maybe something that you have seen in the world yourself or something that you've never really considered before.
Just allow that to sit with you in the silence that follows.
You make springs gush forth in the valleys,
They flow between the hills,
Giving drink to every wild animal.
The wild asses quench their thirst.
By the streams the birds of the air have their habitation,
They sing among the branches.
From your lofty abode you water the mountains.
The earth is satisfied with the fruit of your work.
He caused the grass to grow for the cattle and plants for people to cultivate to bring forth food from the earth and wine to gladden the human heart.
Oil to make the face shine and bread to strengthen the human heart.
The trees of the field are watered abundantly.
The cedars of Lebanon that he planted.
In them the birds build their nests.
The stalk has its home in the fir trees.
The high mountains are for the wild goats.
The rocks are a refuge for the conies.
You have made the moon to mark the seasons.
The sun knows its time for setting.
You make darkness and it is night.
And all the animals out of the forest come creeping out.
The young lion roars for their prey,
Seeking their food from God.
When the sun rises,
They withdraw and lie down in their dens.
People go out to their work and to their labour until the evening.
O Lord,
How manifold are your works!
In wisdom you have made them all.
The earth is full of your creatures.
One of the things about Psalm 104 is how much life it contains.
The springs provide water for wild animals,
Birds make their home in trees,
The wild mountains provide refuge for wild goats.
The Earth produces food and the sea is filled with creatures beyond counting.
Each has its place,
Each participates in the life of this world.
The psalm doesn't seem troubled by the fact that much of this life happens beyond human observation or control.
The world isn't waiting for us to notice it before it becomes meaningful.
It's already alive with the generosity of its creator.
And that can be difficult for us to receive.
Because we're so accustomed to organizing the world around ourselves,
Often without realizing how easily we do it.
But Psalm 104 invites us to look beyond our needs and recognise a wider community of life.
Think for a moment about a creature that you've encountered recently,
Maybe a bird in a tree,
An insect moving through the grass,
You saw a lizard warming itself in the sun.
Its life isn't a lesser version of ours.
It has its own place in the unfolding of creation.
And so maybe part of our spiritual life is learning to see these other lives with greater attention.
Not asking what they mean to us,
But allowing ourselves to wonder at their existence.
We are not visitors to a world that belongs exclusively to us.
We are fellow creatures.
Dependent upon the same Earth,
Receiving life within the same extraordinary generosity.
So as we enter our second reading,
Let that thought settle.
What might change if you moved throughout the world today with a little less ownership?
And a little more wonder.
And as you listen to the psalm again,
Notice the breadth of the world described here.
Allow your attention to move beyond human life.
And rest with the many creatures who share this world with us and then allow that to sit with you in the silence that follows.
You make springs gush forth in the valleys,
They flow between the hills,
Giving drink to every wild animal.
The wild asses quench their thirst.
By the streams the birds of the air have their habitation,
They sing among the branches.
From your lofty abode you water the mountains.
The earth is satisfied with the fruit of your work.
He caused the grass to grow for the cattle and plants for people to cultivate to bring forth food from the earth and wine to gladden the human heart.
Oil to make the face shine and bread to strengthen the human heart.
The trees of the field are watered abundantly.
The cedars of Lebanon that he planted.
In them the birds build their nests.
The stalk has its home in the fir trees.
The high mountains are for the wild goats.
The rocks are a refuge for the conies.
You have made the moon to mark the seasons.
The sun knows its time for setting.
You make darkness and it is night.
And all the animals out of the forest come creeping out.
The young lion roars for their prey,
Seeking their food from God.
When the sun rises,
They withdraw and lie down in their dens.
People go out to their work and to their labour until the evening.
O Lord,
How manifold are your works!
In wisdom you have made them all.
The earth is full of your creatures.
God of the Living World.
You filled the earth with life in forms we know and in countless forms we've never seen.
Open our eyes to the abundance that surrounds us.
Teach us to receive creation.
Not just as gift for our use,
But as a world alive with your generosity.
Help us honour the lives of other creatures,
To respect the places where they flourish and remember that we too are part of this great community of life.
Where we've taken without gratitude,
Teach us to receive with care.
Where we've overlooked what is small,
Help us to notice.
And where we've imagined ourselves as the owners of this world.
Remind us that we are its guests,
Its neighbours and its caretakers.
May we live with a deeper sense of belonging,
Grateful for the earth that sustains us and attentive to the life that flourishes around us.
And may grace,
Peace and love be with us and remain with us today and always.
Amen.
Thank you,
Friends.
Until tomorrow,
Remember to stop and look around,
Remembering that the world is full of God.
Bye for now.
