Nature Preaches

Sermon given at Sydenstricker UMC 2/26/17

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^NRS  Psalm 19:1 <To the leader. A Psalm of David.> The heavens are telling the glory of God; and the firmament proclaims his handiwork. ² Day to day pours forth speech, and night to night declares knowledge. ³ There is no speech, nor are there words; their voice is not heard; ⁴ yet their voice goes out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world. In the heavens he has set a tent for the sun, ⁵ which comes out like a bridegroom from his wedding canopy, and like a strong man runs its course with joy. ⁶ Its rising is from the end of the heavens, and its circuit to the end of them; and nothing is hid from its heat. ⁷ The law of the LORD is perfect, reviving the soul; the decrees of the LORD are sure, making wise the simple; ⁸ the precepts of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the LORD is clear, enlightening the eyes; ⁹ the fear of the LORD is pure, enduring forever; the ordinances of the LORD are true and righteous altogether.

Have you ever spent time just enjoying the creation of God? A number of years ago a songwriter Mac Davis wrote a song that reminds us of this.

“Did you ever take a walk through the forest
Stop and dream a while among the trees
Well you can look up through the leaves right straight to heaven
You can almost hear the voice of God
In each any every breeze

You got to Stop and Smell the Roses
You've got to count your many blessings everyday
You're gonna find your way to heaven is a rough and rocky road
If you don't Stop and Smell the Roses along the way”

Have you ever taken the time to walk through the woods, along a trail, next to a river or lake and enjoyed the focus of nature? Have you listened to the voice of God in the sound of the Dove or the Whippoorwill as it sings its melody and when they answer each other across the distance? If we don’t take the time to share in the beauty of creation that God has given us, how are we ever going to have the opportunity to know God? David shares it with us the Psalm when he says that the heavens are telling us of the glory of God. I love to get to a place where I can look up into the heavens and see the Milky Way as it cuts across the heavens right above us. And to marvel at the flight of a hummingbird as it makes its way from flower to flower grabbing the nectar of creation as sustenance for life.

The American Indian has at the very center of its understanding, to take in the beauty of the world around us and become one with it. I took a class some months back and was reminded again of the understanding of life in everything around us. We were reminded that life is sacrificed in order to allow life to grow and prosper. From the very essence of life in water as it falls from the sky, soaks into the ground where it gives up itself in the nutrients that are taken by the plants as it works its way into the water table, there to give up its essence to the formation of springs and rivers. Then the waters work their way toward the oceans, often evaporating into the heavens to start the cycle all over again. Meanwhile animals and even we humans find nourishment and sustenance in the cool waters. The plants give up their essence to the Birds, the Bees and other animals as food for sustenance to live. Animals give up their lives for larger animals as food for life and that includes those that give up their essence for our dinner table. Even trees give up their essence; sacrifice themselves if you will for our tables, chairs and homes. All of lives, the circle of life as it was famously called in the Lion King, gives and gets from this wonderful thing we call creation. But do we pay attention to the beauty and sacrifice in it? Do we see God working in the blossoming of the flowers, in the budding of the trees and in the song of the birds at the feeders? I would say that most of the time the answer is no.  

If we truly want to know God, to experience God and to share with God then we must learn to recognize God in the natural world around us. The very essence of the natural world reveals God. Take for example the complexity of our human bodies and the synchronization of the world around us. That we could by chance evolve into a place where the spin rate of the world, the gravitational forces and connection to our sun create a place where air is trapped if you will, in between the physical earth and the void of outer space is incredible if not impossible. That scientists even now are in agreement that it took some form of a third party intervention to get the Big Bang of creation going shouts to the existence of God. That the vastness of nature also shouts to the existence of a being far greater, far more intelligent and far more benevolent than anything we can imagine or devise.

Some years back I watched a great movie about an angel who falls in love with a doctor. He finds out that even for angels there is choice and so he chooses to leave the boundaries of the angelic world for those of the human one. What he misses most every day is the song that comes when the sun rises. I think it is a great way of sharing the beauty of creation that as the sun rises there is a great singing that takes place in the world. I have lived in the country much of my life. As the dawn approaches and then happens we too are allowed to hear this heavenly chorus. Just before the break of dawn there begins a great crescendo of voices including the birds, many vocal species of larger grasshoppers and katydids that continues for several minutes as the sun rises into the sky. It truly is breathtaking if you get a chance to hear it without the sounds of the world around us drowning it out. And then there are the tree frogs. By some great focus of creation they begin their singing at the exact second that the sun disappears in the western sky. For those of us who grew up around them, they are the clock by which we define night. How can we not experience God in those moments?

I read this devotion the other day that I want to share with you today. “Some of my fondest memories as a child and early teen are of times when I would take walks through the woods behind my parent's home to sit on top of a hill overlooking a small community that sat nestled below it.  As I sat there in the stillness of God's creation, listening to the sound of the birds and watching the beauty of the trees and flowers around me, I felt His presence in a way that was equal to any church service I have ever participated in.  My faith was nurtured on that hilltop, and in times when my faith grows weary, I find myself returning to nature to restore and replenish the faith that is deep within my soul.

Many of us have had our most meaningful spiritual experiences in relationship to the environment.  Beauty provokes us to transcend our mundane concerns, shortcomings and conflicts.  We have heard the voice of God in our woods and waterways, in bird song or the remarkable delicacy of a flower.   Yet, there are those around us who readily abandon the idea of a higher power, or ascribe all this complexity to the whim of chaos.  For me, when I look into the eyes of nature, and see all the beauty that God has placed here for us to enjoy, there is no denying His presence in the world He created, or in my life. In those still, quiet moments when I am intertwined with Him, He is as real as the air I breathe, and His voice speaks to me as softly as a gentle breeze. 

I often find myself looking at the clouds by day and the sunset by night, admiring the colors and the way that God seems to paint His beauty across the sky for all to see.  He is quite the artist and nothing can compare to the beauty that He sets before us.  This spring, I have particularly been impressed by the colors of the leaves and blooms that have covered the landscapes.  And, have you ever seen so many different shades of green?   It is amazing !!!”

Sounds a lot like the words of David as he looked upon the heavens and heard the voice of God speaking to him. In nature we see God’s wisdom and intelligence in the divine design of it. How careful each piece comes together and who we human beings are carefully added to this complex existence we call our world. How we see the goodness of God in the life cycle of all creation. But we only see it when we take a moment, open our eyes and our senses to it, and then share in the world around us. Nature can and will preach to us the beauty and majesty of God if we only will stop and smell the roses along the way.