Thoughts for the Day

Praise is due to you,
O God, in Zion;
and to you shall vows be performed....

By your strength you established the mountains;
you are girded with might.
You silence the roaring of the seas,
the roaring of their waves,
the tumult of the peoples.
Those who live at earth’s farthest bounds are awed by your signs;
you make the gateways of the morning and the evening shout for joy.

You visit the earth and water it,
you greatly enrich it;
the river of God is full of water;
you provide the people with grain,
for so you have prepared it.
You water its furrows abundantly,
settling its ridges,
softening it with showers,
and blessing its growth.
You crown the year with your bounty;
your wagon tracks overflow with richness.
The pastures of the wilderness overflow,
the hills gird themselves with joy,
the meadows clothe themselves with flocks,
the valleys deck themselves with grain,
they shout and sing together for joy.

(Lectionary, New Revised Standard Version)

Thoughts

Having worked for much of my life in rural areas Rogation is one of my favourite times of the year - a time when we are concerned with the planting of seeds and cuttings; when we see the appearance of new-born animals; when we ask God's blessings on the things of nature; and we ask His help for all involved in bringing to us our food. For me, God is the great Designer and Technician of our whole world, whether you believe that He created the world in six days, or whether like me, you believe in Darwin and the origin of species. Either way it is God who designed the whole of creation, and He who allows us to be a part of this as stewards of His world.

Unfortunately, we are pretty poor stewards. We all know that we are destroying our world, but perhaps today we could determine to increase making changes to our life. Here are some simple ideas that all of us should adopt if we haven't already done so, some of which will help our pockets as well:

• Turn running taps off, install water-butts, and use less water.
• Turn the thermostat on your heating down, and use less fossil fuel.
• Make a conscious decision this week to walk or cycle somewhere and not use the car.
• Re-use plastic bags, and containers, and diminish your reliance on them in any way possible.
• Re-use and re-cycle all that you can, to cut down on what you throw away.
• Plant a tree, or more than one.

And finally we all need to confess our sin as poor stewards, and ask for God's help.

Lord God,
You created this beautiful world
of which we are stewards.
Forgive us our blindness and ignorance,
and our lack of desire to do anything
to stop the destruction of the earth.
Help each one of us to make real changes
to our lives to improve the situation,
and to teach others how to care for
the fragile eco-system we have inherited.
Amen.