HOMILY: “May the words of my mouth/ and the thoughts of my heart/ be pleasing in your sight, Adonai,/ my rock and my redeemer!”

So concludes our psalm for today, a three-fold prayer-poem. The sum of the first part of the psalm can be stated simply: the world witnesses to God. The second part is a precisely constructed passage exalting the virtues, benefits and desirability of the torah (God’s “law”, or “instruction”). The third part is a prayer for God’s help/grace …
 

HOMILY: The final chapter of the book/letter of Revelation depicts a heavenly city on Earth – the descent of a New Jerusalem – where the Lamb of God (nonviolence) rules, and God’s name (love/liberation …) is reflected in human faces. We are shown a street, a life-giving river and fruitful/medicinal trees. The vision is one of harmony, sustainability; illumination, salvation (wellness and wholeness).

This movement from above to below is significant. The vision counters conventional (otherworldly) notions of transcendence and calls us to lower our sights – to look around us for signs of truth, goodness and beauty – just as rivers flow from high to lowlands and to the sea …

HOMILY: When have you been moved by an encounter in and on the land? Working the soil, feeling the coolness or warmth of the earth … on your own, with others (companions, strangers), seen or unseen? Walking or running through rugged terrain … viewing or painting a landscape of some kind – with a sense of participation, anticipation …

HOMILY: Last Sunday morning, amidst regenerating forest on Gumbaynggirr Country (Mid North Coast), I awoke to a cacophony of bird calls, growing light, the condensation gathering on my tent.

I was on a forest protection pilgrimage, together with others from the Uniting Church’s Forest Advocacy Ministry.