a radical unity...

Now that the Season of Creation has come to a close - the new liturgical season

celebrated ecumenically as a way to deepen human solidarity with the holy throughout the cosmos - those who join me for our Sunday morning reflections on FB live will return to readings from the Common Lectionary of the Ecumenical Church. This practice not only grounds us the shared Bible texts being used for worship throughout the world, but also invites us into a vision and rhythm of life greater than our own. Without this window into the bigger picture, it is too easy for me to become self-absorbed and/or overwhelmed by the events surrounding me. Being connected to sisters and brothers throughout the world in prayer, study, and the practice of sharing common readings in worship helps nurture a measure of stillness and solidarity within.

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.

The second, a contemporary hymn set to a traditional Celtic melody, was equally counter cultural:

Don't tell me of a faith that fears to face the world around;

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.