Reflections in Nature

Road to Healing – Lenten Journey 2014
Day 13:
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For the last few days we’ve been looking to God as a necessary part of this journey we are on. We have resolved that healing is from within and without. We look within and without to find the all the attributes of God, the completeness, the beauty and the perfection. In that perfection, illness and disease cannot exist, only good health and harmony prevail.

Today we take a look at a reflection written by Sirach which calls our attention to the God within nature and the seen universe. Listen in and do not get ahead of the path. Tomorrow, we will unfold one more secret that will give us the fullest understanding of God. This writing from Sirach comes to us from around 200 years before Christ. Here we see the beauty of nature and see the perfection of God.

I will now call to mind the works of the Lord, and will declare what I have seen. The sun looks down on everything with its light, and the work of the Lord is full of his glory. He searches out the abyss and the human heart; he understands their innermost secrets. How desirable are all his works, and how sparkling they are to see! Who could ever tire of seeing his glory?

The pride of the higher realms is the clear vault of the sky, as glorious to behold as the sight of the heavens. The sun, when it appears, proclaims as it rises what a marvelous instrument it is, the work of the Most High.

At noon it parches the land, and who can withstand its burning heat? A man tending a furnace works in burning heat, but three times as hot is the sun scorching the mountains; it breathes out fiery vapors, and its bright rays blind the eyes.

It is the moon that marks the changing seasons, governing the times, their everlasting sign. From the moon comes the sign for festal days, a light that wanes when it completes its course. The new moon, as its name suggests, renews itself; how marvelous it is in this change, a beacon to the hosts on high, shining in the vault of the heavens!

The glory of the stars is the beauty of heaven, a glittering array in the heights of the Lord. On the orders of the Holy One they stand in their appointed places; they never relax in their watches. Look at the rainbow, and praise him who made it; it is exceedingly beautiful in its brightness. It encircles the sky with its glorious arc; the hands of the Most High have stretched it out.

By his command he sends the driving snow and speeds the lightnings of his judgment. Therefore the storehouses are opened, and the clouds fly out like birds. In his majesty he gives the clouds their strength, and the hailstones are broken in pieces.

The voice of his thunder rebukes the earth; when he appears, the mountains shake. At his will the south wind blows; so do the storm from the north and the whirlwind.

He scatters the snow like birds flying down, and its descent is like locusts alighting. The eye is dazzled by the beauty of its whiteness, and the mind is amazed as it falls. He pours frost over the earth like salt, and icicles form like pointed thorns.

The cold north wind blows, and ice freezes on the water; it settles on every pool of water, and the water puts it on like a breastplate. He consumes the mountains and burns up the wilderness, and withers the tender grass like fire.

A mist quickly heals all things; the falling dew gives refreshment from the heat. By his plan he stilled the deep and planted islands in it. Those who sail the sea tell of its dangers, and we marvel at what we hear.

We could say more but could never say enough; let the final word be: “He is the all.” Where can we find the strength to praise him? For he is greater than all his works. (Sirac 42)

I leave you with this passage for you to contemplate on this 13th day of the Lenten Journey. Tomorrow, when we return, we will be instructed in the most profound expression and understanding of God. I look forward to greeting you then, and together, continuing on the Road to Healing.

Produced by Suzie Shatarevyan for epostle.net
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