Immediately following on the heels of Pentecost, a Sunday where the Holy Spirit is front and center, we Christians jump right into another important day in our calendar.
Trinity Sunday, which just passed, is not about seeking to understand fully the mystery of the Trinity, but rather a day to wonder at it. The mystery is the point, the three in one and one in three, the God who is all three and each one of the three is fully God.
As we wonder at that mystery, Psalm 8 shows up in the lectionary and invites us to take stock of the world around us, the gift that is creation. A gift born out of the love of this Holy Mystery.
Psalm 8:1-4:
O Lord, our Sovereign, how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory above the heavens.
Out of the mouths of babes and infants you have founded a bulwark because of your foes, to silence the enemy and the avenger.
When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars that you have established;
what are human beings that you are mindful of them, mortals that you care for them?
Father, Mother, Creator, Prime Mover, we call you many different things, sputtering to find words that ultimately pale when describing your awesome nature.
Even as we stumble over the words to describe you, we are caught by the beauty of creation, a reflection of your being. Inspire us to feel your holy heartbeat in the ground below us. Help us to feel your holy breath in the wind as it surrounds us.
We look out across the created world and we can’t help but see where your hand has touched, where your arms have embraced. As stewards, we ask that you inspire that same loving care in us. Remind us that the world is more than a playground for human beings, that it is a part of who we are. As a greater whole, show us that a pain inflicted on any small part of creation is felt by us all.
Guide us, we pray, as we walk this world, and empower us as we seek to care for it and for one another. AMEN