Proper 22 / Pentecost 20 / OT 27
Devotional
Water From the Well
Lectionary Devotional For Cycle A
Object:
The heavens are telling the glory of God; and the firmament proclaims his handiwork. Day to day pours forth speech, and night to night declares knowledge. There is no speech, nor are there words; their voice is not heard.
-- Psalm 19:1-3
There is a sense in which the intricate design of creation proclaims the loving hand of the Creator. This psalm could have provided the foundation for Paul's statement in Romans 1:19-20, "For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For since the creation of the world his eternal power and divine nature, invisible though they are, have been understood and seen through the things he has made." Yet, for many it is a speech that is not heard. People can live in the midst of this miraculous universe designed to balance the fragile elements that sustain all life and presume that nothing more than an accident created it. The existence of this marvelous envelope in which we live does not in itself command a response from its creatures. The beauty of the heavens does not speak the word "You shall not steal" or "You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor."
The law of the Lord is God's gift that informs us, in a way that nature cannot, of how we can respond to this mysterious power that orders the universe. It is the law of the Lord spoken through revelation that "revives the soul" and connects the creature with the Creator. By God's commands we know that our life has meaning and purpose beyond mere survival. To be commanded "to not make for yourself an idol" suggests that God is beyond any aspect of creation and cannot be captured in the works of our hands. To be commanded "not to covet" tells us life is more than the possessions we gather. To hear the command of the God of the universe tells us our lives have meaning and are connected to the one who created us.
-- Psalm 19:1-3
There is a sense in which the intricate design of creation proclaims the loving hand of the Creator. This psalm could have provided the foundation for Paul's statement in Romans 1:19-20, "For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For since the creation of the world his eternal power and divine nature, invisible though they are, have been understood and seen through the things he has made." Yet, for many it is a speech that is not heard. People can live in the midst of this miraculous universe designed to balance the fragile elements that sustain all life and presume that nothing more than an accident created it. The existence of this marvelous envelope in which we live does not in itself command a response from its creatures. The beauty of the heavens does not speak the word "You shall not steal" or "You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor."
The law of the Lord is God's gift that informs us, in a way that nature cannot, of how we can respond to this mysterious power that orders the universe. It is the law of the Lord spoken through revelation that "revives the soul" and connects the creature with the Creator. By God's commands we know that our life has meaning and purpose beyond mere survival. To be commanded "to not make for yourself an idol" suggests that God is beyond any aspect of creation and cannot be captured in the works of our hands. To be commanded "not to covet" tells us life is more than the possessions we gather. To hear the command of the God of the universe tells us our lives have meaning and are connected to the one who created us.
