God in Creation

As this autumn season draws in and the leaves being to turn a darker shade of orange I am reminded of the Psalm 65, which evokes the glory of God in creation. By assigning human attributes to the landscape, the Psalmist  highlights the harmony between human beings and nature:

“The pastures of the wilderness over flow
The hills gird themselves with flocks
meadows clothe themselves with flocks
the valleys deck themselves with grain,
they shout and sing together for joy” (Psalm 65).

One thing lockdown has given us a few precious glimpses of nature’s ability to recover. Air pollution levels have fallen, wild life has returned to parks and rivers. As the traffic slowed conservationists recorded an increase in the number of the England’s most loved hedgehogs. And hedgehogs aren't the only animals who have benefited from the recent drop in road traffic - the lockdown may prove quite the boon for British bee numbers as well. In his book God in Creation,  the German theologian Jurgen Moltmann advocates a new ecological approach where the  relationships of mutuality between human beings, nature and creation can flourish. Hopefully one tiny benefit of the pandemic is that we have had time to question our attitudes to  creation and commit to coexisting with wildlife. ‘In his hand is the life of every creature and the breath of every human being’(Job. 12.10). And I end with one of my favourite prayers from the Holy Island Prayer Book.

Oh Son of God change my heart,
Your spirit composes the songs of the birds and the bars of the bees.
Your creation is 1 million wondrous miracles,
Beautiful to look upon.
I ask you just one more miracle: beautify my soul.

To God the Father, who created the world,
To God the Son, who redeemed the world,
to God the Holy Spirit, who sustains the world,
be all praise and glory, now and forever Amen.