XCI
Make a Joyful Noise
(6/26)
Make a joyful noise to God, all the earth; sing the glory of God’s name; give God glorious praise. Come and see what God has done. (Psalm 66:1-2, 5)
“Come and see what God as done,” the Psalmist intones. What God has done is the source of our joy. But we need to be attentive. How often to we walk by something beautiful, being too busy to note God’s handiwork and give thanks.
In the Color Purple, Alice Walker challenges those whose eyes are turned away from beauty. She even thinks it makes God angry. “I think it pisses God off if you walk by the color purple in a field somewhere and don’t notice it. People think pleasing God is all God cares about. But any fool living in the world can see it always trying to please us back.”
What beauties will you see today? What wonders will you notice. They are all around, and also inside you. Think of the sun shimmering on the waves, the feel of the breeze, an osprey diving into the water, a whale breaching, a child playing, your heart beating and T-cells keeping you safe, think of the beauty of a beloved’s face, and the power of words to change the world.
Yes, there is pain and trouble and we need to comfort and confront. But we ponder life’s troubles only because of the steady, consistent, and certain movements of our planet and the often- unnoticed air, earth, and environment that sustains us.
Let us be careful. Let us seek justice. But also let us rejoice in beauty, love, and constancy, and let gratitude fill every day.
Here’s a virtual choir singing Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah” – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XIDim9aYWds
+++
Thank you for the beauty of the earth, the wonder of each day, the constancy of our turning earth, the goodness of loved ones, the sacrifice of first responders, the care that sustains us. Amen.
Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In