From the Rector: A Song of Creation
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Saturday, August 29, 2020
Glorify the Lord, all you works of the Lord,
praise him and highly exalt him for ever.
Most Saturdays at Morning Prayer we read together Canticle 12, A Song of Creation (BCP p. 88). This text comes from the Prayer of Azariah and the Song of the Three Jews in the Apocrypha. Even though it is a longer canticle, we always enjoy saying it. It invites the entire creation to “praise him and highly exalt him for ever.” If you read the text with Rite 1 language, the wording is “praise him and magnify him for ever.” Regardless of the rite, this canticle invites the sun and the moon, the seasons and the weather, the animals and the sea creatures, as well as the people of God, living and departed, to enter into the eternal song of praise to God.
Much of society has Saturday as a day of rest, and on that day of rest humans often enjoy the creation. In Hawai’i under normal circumstances, this might include hikes and gatherings in our parks. Due to the pandemic, these outdoor pleasures have been paused, but one can still traverse the beach and swim or surf in the ocean. We can still give praise to God with the whales, turtles, and even sharks!
But while we are quarantined again at home, no doubt we have seen the news, including the devastation that has happened due to Hurricane Laura in Louisiana. In the islands we recently had our own scare when Hurricane Douglas skimmed us to the north. The creation can be so beautiful and yet so devastating at the same time. In Hawai’i we adore the beauty of the ocean, but we also know the saying, “never turn your back on the ocean.”
When we say Canticle 12 on Saturdays, the proper antiphon for Saturday states, “God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good.” This reference to the Genesis story of creation reminds us that in God’s eyes the entire creation is good. We know this from our times of enjoyment in God’s world, but it can be harder to comprehend when natural disasters strike.
And yet, when disasters do strike, whether it be hurricanes, forest fires, derechos (this was a new one for me to learn recently), or volcanic eruptions, we find ourselves awed at the power of God’s creation, even when it is destruction, because the chaos often births life. God has empowered Mother Nature to ultimately win and replenish herself, and thereby we must respect the creation.
As we remain at home during this time, it may seem that we cannot enjoy God’s creation. We should not forget that our very lives are a part of God’s creation, and part of the reason we are quarantining is so that we can protect the good – protect human lives. The time will surely arrive again when we may enjoy the mountains, beaches, and seas together, but for now we shelter in place for the safety of human lives, and the entire creation will be better for it..
