XCVII
Keep Sublime Alive
(7/2)
The heavens are telling the glory of God, the sky proclaims God’s handiwork. (Psalm 19:1)
Each summer, since I moved to Cape Cod seven years ago today, sometime in June, I spy a bumper sticker, declaring “keep sublime alive.” I’m not looking for it, but when I see it each summer, I sigh, “ahhhhh.” When I notice it for the first time in the Craigville Beach Association parking lot, I have a moment of simple joy. “Keep sublime alive.”
At first I thought it was comment about the beauty of the earth, the magnificent world in which we live. Later I was told it likely referred to a California band by the name of Sublime (a ska punk band, according to some descriptions, but you best look that up on line!)
Still, that first time I see the bumper sticker (this year, it was June 10), I think of the beauty of the earth, sand, sky, and sea, and the wonder of the place I call home.
We need to keep sublime alive in this time of pandemic. We need higher ground, greater perspective, and eyes that delight in the world. Smart people will continue to be careful – they won’t rush off to restaurants or gather in crowds without masks. Wise people will seek the sublime, the beautiful, as a reminder that as deadly as this virus is, the universe is much more grand and durable. Pandemics will come and go. God’s beauty will last forever. Keep sublime alive!
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Holy One, help us to keep sublime alive. Open our senses to beauty. Let us notice beauty everywhere, and out of our inspiration, seek to protect the beauty of this good earth. Amen.
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