Sacred Texts

July 21 Ninth Sunday after Pentecost

Psalm 139:1-12  "Suppose I had wings like the dawning day and flew across the sea...."

Or Lake Superior. If we flew like the sunrise, it would take us __ min to get from Sault Ste Marie to Superior and Duluth. __min would find us at Eagle Harbor, MI. __ more would get us to Thunder Bay, Ont. But wherever we might go in the Lake Superior watershed, God would be there already. In many places, so would a church.

Matthew 13:24-30 Wheat and Weeds

One of the traits of primitive cultures is that there is no waste. In Ancient Futures, Helena Norberg-Hodge describes the Ladahk civilization in Kashmir as a closed loop. Everything they "took" from the environment got returned to it. (Well, I suppose if you get really picky, they burned animal dung which I guess took something out of the loop!) She has a wonderful description of a dzo (an oxen like animal) as a natural collector. As it grazed, it would collect and concentrate the plant energy of a wide area of sparsely planted ground into hair, meat, dung, and power. Thomas Berry suggests the primary responsibility of a school (by extension, a community) is to teach itself (children and others) how to live appropriately in that place. How are we doing? How much waste do we produce? (After a recent vacation bible school day on the creation, there were 5 plastic juice bottles in our garbage can!) How big is our environmental footprint. (You might check www.earthday.net for an environmental footprint calculator!)

Diversity - there have been studies that show some plants and "weeds" actually have a positive symbiotic relationship. Natural chemicals in the weeds kill or repel insect pests that would otherwise attack the "wheat" or require treatment with pesticides. Which forest is healthier - monocrop or mixed?

A prayer

God of all creation, how wonderfully your world does on it's own. Give us the wisdom to live carefully in your world, cherishing and protecting it's wonderful diversity of plant, animal, and human cultures. Help us see clearly what we take from the world, and what we give back. And may our presence here be a blessing. Amen.

Have a Lake Superior or Watershed imaged prayer or lectionary thought you'd like us to post? Send it, along with your name and email to: webmaster@lakesuperiorinterfaith.com