Today I’m permitting myself the indulgence of reproducing material from some of the books I’ve most enjoyed writing and that continue to mean the most to me. First, from Are You Listening (first published in 1998; reprinted in 2004):
It was beautiful
Introduction
One of the wonderful things about life is its constant ability to surprise us. Just when we think we’ve seen it all, an experience comes along that leaves us gasping in astonishment, undreamt-of horizons suddenly opened to us. And it’s not only the unfamiliar which has this power to amaze – it can equally often be the ordinary, everyday things of life, known to us so well that we’ve come to take them for granted. Suddenly they can take on a wholly unsuspected dimension, to the eye of faith speaking of God – the song of a bird, the cry of a baby, the sight of a rainbow, the pattern of a snowflake, the sound of the sea, or perhaps the simple beauty of a flower.
Read
See how the wild flowers grow; pay attention to them. They do not labour or weave, yet I can assure you that not even Solomon in all his grandeur was bedecked like one of these. Matthew 6:28, 29
Reflective prayer
It was beautiful, Lord,
more lovely than I’d ever begun to realise –
a single rose,
newly opened,
still wet with the morning dew –
and I stood there gazing,
utterly enchanted by its simple perfection.
Just another flower –
that’s how I’d seen it before –
pleasant enough,
attractive,
yet hardly wonderful.
But now, as I stooped to view it closely,
as I caught its perfume
and noted each delicate petal,
I glimpsed a miracle,
a work of art,
an astonishing labour of love.
And I saw you there, Lord,
your hand,
your presence –
the gentleness of your touch,
the order of your mind,
the tenderness of your heart.
I saw your love expressed in that one fragile bloom,
symbol of a world put together with inexpressible care –
a world full of delight,
able to stir our imaginations and thrill our hearts,
to move and inspire us beyond words,
to touch our souls with a taste of heaven.
My child,
you think it beautiful, that flower?
I’m glad, for it’s meant to be,
though all too few see it.
But if you think that’s special,
look around you at this world I’ve made –
its diversity of life,
its variety and interest,
so endlessly complex,
so infinitely fascinating.
Look at the sky –
the glow of the sun,
the twinkle of the stars,
the vastness of the heavens.
And most of all,
look at yourself and your fellow human beings –
your awesome array of talents,
your incredible potential,
the amazing miracle of human life.
Here too is beauty,
most astonishing of all.
In the laughter of a child and the vigour of youth,
in the embrace of lovers and the joy of parents,
in the experience of maturity
and the wisdom of age,
I am present,
for you are all the work of my hands,
a testimony to my purpose,
a reminder of my never-failing love.
So look again, my child, at that simple flower,
at the loveliness of this world,
only see there not just the wonder of me,
but the wonder of you!
Read
Sovereign Lord, how awesome is your name in all the earth! You have established your glory over the heavens. When I gaze at the heavens, your handiwork, the moon and stars that you brought into being, what are human beings that you should consider them, mortals that you value them? Yet you have made them scarcely lower than God and crowned them with glory and honour. You have given them authority over your creation and put all things under their feet. Psalm 8:1, 3-6
Next, a session from The Teacher: A Simple Guide to Daily Life, published in 2016:
Hope
I looked at the world and saw so much evil and sorrow, and so few signs of hope. What had seemed full of promise lay trodden in the dust, and there seemed no grounds to look forward; just the same old catalogue of woes destined endlessly to repeat themselves.
And I said to the Teacher, ‘Is the future truly so bleak? Can we not hope for a better tomorrow?’
‘You have a future,’ answered the Teacher. ‘Your hope will not prove to have been in vain.’
And my heart stirred at the prospect of new beginnings: a world released from its shackles, healed from its ills, cured of its madness, absolved from its folly. Yet as swiftly as hope rose, so it subsided, for had I not heard such promises before, only to see them broken?
‘I want to believe,’ I mused, ‘for where would we be without hope? But so often it seems in vain. Speak more to me on this.’
And the Teacher answered, ‘Hope unfulfilled makes the heart sick, whereas hope realised is like a tree of life.’
And I saw then that, despite all that counts against it, we must keep faith, trusting in the future – not just of our world but of ourselves, what life holds in store for us. For without hope there is no meaning, no life, no anything. Though dreams are dashed and confidence shattered, we must still believe that life can change; that next time will be different. For as daffodils bloom afresh in the springtime and swallows return once more, so will hope rise again, refusing to be denied. And as the nightingale sings even in the darkness, so shall our soul sing even through the deepest night.
I saw also that a person without hope is like a flame starved of oxygen, that a people without hope is like a field starved of water, that a world without hope is like a life starved of breath.
And I understood that hope alone makes fulfilment possible, holding out the prospect of change and the inspiration to keep on striving. Not vainly clutching at straws but rather daring to believe: a faith that in all the brokenness of humanity, all the aching heartbreak of this world, there is yet something precious, of infinite potential, that will somehow win through.
So then, however much you have been hurt, however often betrayed, however often disillusioned, nurture the seed of hope within you – the faith that good can come out of evil and joy out of sorrow – for only thus can we heal our broken world, turning its ugliness into a thing of beauty, its wilderness into a burgeoning of new life.
Third, a section from Daily Prayer 2, published in 2012:
Conserving creation
Read
O Lord, how numerous and varied is your handiwork! The world brims over with your creatures; in your wisdom you have created them all. Psalm 104:24
Ponder
I went to Bristol Zoo a while back with my family. It was a very different experience from when I visited with my parents nearly thirty years earlier as a student. Then, zoos were seen primarily simply as places to exhibit animals. Today, by contrast, they see themselves as being in the vanguard of conservation, their breeding programmes and the like helping to safeguard the survival of many endangered species. Sadly, however, the threat to numerous creatures globally continues to grow, and many face the prospect of being wiped out for ever. Every day, it is reckoned, some life form or other becomes extinct. Does that matter? Some would say not, but most people, I think, recognise the awesome diversity of the natural world as something to celebrate and nurture.
Christians should feel that all the more, for at the heart of our faith is the conviction that all life comes from God. In other words, every living thing, whatever it may be, is not here by chance but as part of the delicate web of life. If we lose these, who can say what the long-term consequences may be? We are privileged to live in a wonderful world. What will we leave for generations to come?
Ask yourself
How far do you see environmental responsibility as integral to Christian discipleship? Has the Church taken this aspect of faith as seriously as it should have? What are you doing to help make a difference?
Pray
Eternal God, thank you for the place you have given humankind in creation, fashioning us in your image and giving us the ability to shape and control our environment. Save us, though, from valuing ourselves too much and the rest of creation too little; from failing to treat our environment with the care and respect you expect. Forgive the wanton destruction of habitats and mindless slaughter of endangered species for commercial gain; the putting of human interests before all others. Forgive the way we have impoverished our countryside, our world and our lives through our failure to steward this planet’s resources as wisely as we should. Teach us to recognise the beauty, wonder and diversity of the natural world and to fulfil our responsibilities towards it, understanding that it is not ours to use and abuse at will but is held in trust for future generations to enjoy in turn. Through honouring your creation, may we also honour you. Amen.
Remember
Every wild creature of the forest is mine, the livestock on a multitude of hills. I know every one of the birds of the air, and everything that stirs in a field is mine as well. Psalm 50:10, 11
Close
Teach me, Lord, that if I abuse creation then I insult you, the creator. Help me to honour you by respecting the work of your hands. Amen.
Finally, from my book Poems to Help You Pray, published in 2006, two poetic prayers once more on the theme of the environment and the beauty of the natural world:
The wonder of creation
Read
The heavens proclaim the glory of God. Psalm 19:1
Pray
The beauty of dew in the morning
and the chorus of birds in the trees,
the thrill of a new day dawning,
the hum of life on the breeze;
so much within creation
enthuses and uplifts.
O Lord, you bring elation
through all your many gifts.
Through the peace of twilight falling,
the sun setting low in the sky,
the sound of a blackbird calling,
the sparkling stars on high;
through these, O Lord, you bless us,
your power in each displayed.
Receive my praise and worship
for all that you have made.
A world of splendour
Read
You are worthy, O Lord our God, to receive glory and honour and power, for all things were made by you, their creation and existence down to your will. Revelation 4:11
Pray
Lord, you created a world rich in splendour,
touched with a beauty no words can express,
able to move me to outbursts of wonder,
so much to savour and so much to bless.
Mountains and moorlands rise up to the heavens,
rivers and streams tumble down to the sea,
gifts that amaze in profusion surround me,
each a reflection of your majesty.
Promise of springtime and harvest of autumn,
cold winter mornings and warm summer days,
season by season brings cause for rejoicing,
reason to thank you and reason to praise.
Deep in the forest, remote in the desert,
down in the ocean or high in the air;
life in abundance is everywhere round me,
proof of your power and sign of your care.
Lord, you have given a world rich in splendour,
touched with a beauty that fills me with awe;
hear now my praises, I bring you my worship,
with all creation I kneel and adore.