Two Celtic songs from the Wild Goose Collective affiliated with the Community of Iona spoke to me this morning in prayer. Textually and melodically these songs reunited my being with the wider creation. The first, an interpretation of Psalm 138 for the opening of Morning Prayer, starts with these words:
I shall praise you, O God, from my soul
Though my song be at odds with the will of earthly gods:
I shall praise you, O God, from my soul.
Don't dull my mind with fickle thoughts of grace without a ground.
I need to know that God is real, I need to know that Christ can feel the need to touch and love and heal the world - including me!
Don't speak of piety and prayers divorced from human need;
Don't talk of spirit without flesh like harvest without seed.
Last night I read in Steven Chase's fascinating and dense work, Nature as Spiritual Practice, of the subtle but real distinctions between the words earth, nature, and creation. Each celebrates connections, yet each also focuses attention on discrete specialties as well. What I am learning to see is how layer upon layer of creation shares a living inter-connection between things seen and those experienced by faith. Between flora and fauna in nature and humankind on earth. Between we who dwell on earth and the sacred throughout the cosmos. I suspect my growing appreciation for the intricate ways all of life is united will inform Sunday's meditation. I am going to walk around with this notion for another day before beginning my Scripture study and intentional writing. Besides, today there's outdoor work to be done in the sun before the anticipated rains of tomorrow.
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