By Sr. Doreen, SSJD
Christopher Robin said to Pooh: “The whole world is a series of miracles, but we’re so used to them we call them ordinary things.”
George Manley Hopkins said: “The world is charged with the grandeur of God … It will flame out, like shining from shook foil; it gathers to a greatness, like the ooze of oil crushed.
Why do men then now not reck his rod? Generations have trod, have trod, have trod; and all is seared with trade; bleared, smeared with toil; and wears man’s smudge and shares man’s smell: the soil is bare now, nor can foot feel, being shod.
And for all this, nature is never spent; there lives the dearest freshness deep down things.
And though the last lights off the black West went oh morning, at the brown brink eastward, springs –
Because the Holy Ghost over the bent world broods with warm breast and with ah! Bright wings.”
What can be our response to this dearest freshness deep down things – this miracle of the splendor of creation (that includes all of creation – us as well!) that we often miss, by calling them ordinary things? Many of the psalms teach us to lend our voice to all creation, a creation made anew, instant by instant, at God’s hands. Psalm 96 is one of those psalms that begins with “Sing to God a new song; sing to God all the whole earth. Sing and bless God’s holy name; proclaim the good news of recovery from day to day. Declare God’s glory among the nations, God’s wonders among all peoples …”
I began to think that above all we should see creation, this miracle of ordinary things, as the expression of God’s joy, and the dance of God’s love. This is so, as every creature and all of creation is a messenger of God, a representative of God, a sacrament – and outward and visible sign of an inward and spiritual grace – a gift, a blessing, a miracle given to us. It makes everyone and everything worthy, someone or something to be listened to and accepted, precious.
In the midst of these ponderings, Jeremiah helps me speak out my concern: “How long will the land mourn, and the grass of every field wither? For the wickedness of those who live in it the animals and the birds are swept away; and because people said God is blind to our ways (they think it doesn’t matter).” (Jeremiah 12:4) We know that repeated cycles of this abuse have caused an environmental concern and crisis and a climate change that produces poverty, insecurity, and desperation. There is a connection between environmental ruin and the problems which communities face every day: the hunger, the anger, the brokenness, the violence. It is a connection. And it is this connection that for most of us energizes us into whatever action we can offer – it is this that guides us from apathy to action, from being observers to doers in the hope that those actions, however small or great, can make a difference.
I always find myself humbly kneeling down in my heart, soul searching. Before I condemn the waste and abuse of others, I ask not to be blind to the waste and destruction within my own lifestyle, my own home and community, my own soul. Please God give me a heart of humility and a commitment to change. Margaret Clarkson (a gifted and natural writer) in one of her books “Lord of the Universe” wrote: “Lord of the universe, hope of the world, how your creation cries out for release! Looks for you, longs for you, watches and waits, prays for your kingdom of justice and peace!”
Romans 8:18-21 (Message Translation) “That’s why I don’t think there’s any comparison between the present hard times and the coming good times. The created world itself can hardly wait for what is coming next. Everything in creation is being more or less held back. God reins it in until both creation and all the creatures are ready and can be released at the same moment into the glorious times ahead. Meanwhile, the joyful anticipation deepens.”
Amongst many examples of this ‘waiting and impatience for rebirth’ over the past few years as we watched fires and floods destroy so much, was the fire in Jasper National Park. As winter begins to come to an end and snow begins to melt and move into spring, we watch the areas of the fire for rebirth. As Emily Burns writes about the Redwood Forest fires of the West Coast “There are few things that are as encouraging as the whole forest floor carpeted with the green of new growth. Whether it is the emergence of ferns or the saplings from the seeds of giant sequoias released by fire, it is not uncommon to see signs of new life all around after a fire. While there is much loss after a fire, we can look to nature for signs of hope and resiliency.” She goes on to say that while nature does have a resilience to recover it is not invulnerable. It needs care and maintenance to ensure that the area not only survives but thrives long into the future. Maintaining the right balance is not only important for the health of our forests, but for the health of our communities. The air we breathe, the waterways we rely on, and the communities we’ve built all hang in the balance of our environment.
It is easy to also apply this to our own seasons of life – and to the life of the world around us. Out of the chaos and loss of those dark seasons, small signs of new birth, nurtured and encouraged, can spring into new life.
One of the signs of hope that I find helpful in the practice of visio divina is spending time contemplating the plant called fireweed. The name fireweed stems from its ability to colonize areas burned by fire rapidly. It was one of the first plants to appear after the eruption of Mt. St. Helens in 1980. Known as rosebay willowherb in Great Britain, fireweed quickly colonized burned ground after the bombing of London in World War II, bringing color to an otherwise grim landscape. Fireweed is the official floral emblem of the Yukon Territory in Canada. In my travels in many areas in British Columbia I have seen in the aftermath of either a forest fire or of clear cutting of forests, the abundant growth of the fireweed. In a very real way it becomes examples, helping us to see the groaning of creation as not death but birth pangs, to see in suffering a promise for the future because they cry against the inhumanity of the present. We all need help to glimpse in the struggle new life as the dawn of justice, in the Cross the pathway to resurrection, and in the suffering the seeds of joy.
And so, it becomes important for us that above all we should see creation, this miracle of ordinary things, as the expression of God’s joy, and the dance of God’s love. Even in the midst of the struggle and the chaos we need to believe that every creature and all of creation is a messenger of God, a representative of God, a sacrament – and outward and visible sign of an inward and spiritual grace – a gift, a blessing, a miracle given to us. It makes everyone and everything worthy, someone or something to be listened to and accepted, precious. For as Romans 8:38-39 says (Message Translation): “Do you think anyone or anything is going to be able to drive a wedge between us and God’s love for us? There is no way! Not trouble, not hard times, not hatred, not hunger, not homelessness, not bullying political leaders … not anything in all creation … absolutely nothing can get between us and God’s love.”
Joyful, joyful, we adore Thee, God of glory, Lord of love.
Hearts unfold like flowers before Thee, opening to the sun above.
Melt the clouds of sin and sadness; drive the gloom of doubt away;
Giver of immortal gladness, fill us with the light of day.
All Thy works with joy surround Thee, earth and heaven reflect Thy rays,
Stars and angels sing around Thee, centre of unbroken praise.
Field and forest, vale and mountain, flowery meadow, flashing sea,
Chanting bird and flowing fountain, call us to rejoice in Thee.
Thou art giving and forgiving, ever blessing, ever blest
Wee spring of the joy of living, ocean depth of happy rest!
Thou are Father and our Mother, all who live in love are Thine;
Teach us how to love each other, lift us to the joy divine.
(written by Henry van Dyke – hymn #425 Common Praise, Anglican Church of Canada)
May the Earth-maker, Pain-bearer; Life-giver – may the Creator – give us eyes to see the new creation springing forth. Give us ears to hear the laughter of new life. Set the feet of our heart dancing to the rhythm of resurrection and help us see the sacramental nature of the cosmos and the possibilities of each moment. All the world is a series of miracles, charged with the grandeur of God. It is our sacred responsibility.
We may call it ordinary, but the whole world really is a series of miracles!
