Unheard Sermons

"There is not a flower that opens, not a seed that falls into the ground, and not an ear of wheat that nods on the end of its stalk in the wind that does not preach and proclaim the greatness and the mercy of God in the world."  So wrote Thomas Merton in his autobiography of faith entitled, "The Seven Storey Mountain."  Such is the world in which we live, but do not see.  We see something different. We see something to serve us.  We see something put in place to use, exploit, and sustain us.  Its value is determined not by the Creator's purpose, but our need. It is no wonder that our ecological systems are under such stress.  

Part of the problem has to do with the distance we have moved from the creation.  We have moved far enough away not to see it.  Today folks are more likely to marvel at the beauty of the nighttime skyline of sprawling cities than they are to look in wonder at the opened bud of a flower, or the bee that pollinates it. We see, but then sometimes what we see is not what is really there to see and hear.  The creation is alive as a manifestation of the presence of the Creator God.  We are content to see a lesser thing.

As each part of creation does what it was created to do and in doing so fulfill its purpose for being, it brings glory to God.  As each part of the creation lives in a relationship of dependency with every other part of the creation, it has within it the potential to reflect God's glory and to be His voice in the world around us.  When we fail to see this divine reality we end up thinking that the creation revolves around us and our needs.  With those eyes that do not really see, we walk farther and farther away from the Garden where we able to not only live in the presence of the Creator, but to live with Him in a holy partnership.