I cannot believe it is June already, my very weed ridden garden is telling me, “yes, Katharine, it is June”. Of course, I can’t believe it is 2013 either so quickly has time whizzed by.
It seems we have experienced the whole four distinct seasons in the month of May this year, everything from snow on the ground, freezing rain, cool spring temperatures and quite uncomfortably hot and humid weather with some strong winds, heavy rain and loud thunder thrown in. No longer do we have the pleasure of easing from the snow and ice of winter into the balmy summer season. It is as if Mother Nature is suffering from dementia or she is really upset with us.
I believe she has every reason to be upset. I believe we have ignored the prophetic voices far too long. The unpredictable violent weather patterns we have experienced in recent years and the terrible destruction we saw this past few days in Oklahoma are the consequences of our denial.
One reason we need to deny or close our ears to the prophetic voices is because if we listened and accepted the reality of what is obviously happening, we would have to change our life style dramatically just to slow down but not return to what it used to be like during my early childhood.
We as people of “the faith in One God” believe that we were given dominion over creation as it says in Genesis 1:26-29:
Then God said, “Let us make humankind in our image, according to our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the wild animals of the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth.”
So God created humankind[c] in his image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air and over every living thing that moves upon the earth.”
God said, “See, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit; you shall have them for food.”
There is something wrong with our interpretation of “Dominion” We seem to think creation is ours to destroy and we are doing an A one job.
Eugene Peterson’s interpretation is a little different:
God spoke: “Let us make human beings in our image, make them reflecting our nature so they can be responsible for the fish in the sea the birds in the air, the cattle and, yes, Earth itself and every animal that moves on the face of Earth.”
God created human beings; he created them godlike, reflecting God’s nature. He created them male and female. God blessed them: “Prosper! Reproduce! Fill Earth! Take charge! Be responsible for fish in the sea and birds in the air, for every living thing that moves on the face of Earth.”
This summer as we experience creation, let us take responsibility for our surroundings.
Blessings
Katharine