Living in the Spirit
June 10, 2014

 Scripture Reading: Genesis 1:1-2:4a

God blessed them, and God said to them, ‘Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air and over every living thing that moves upon the earth.’ God said, ‘See, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit; you shall have them for food. And to every beast of the earth, and to every bird of the air, and to everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life, I have given every green plant for food.’ And it was so. God saw everything that he had made, and indeed, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day. –Genesis 1:28-31

 The Hebrew word ruach besides meaning wind and spirit also can be translated as breath.  I am by no means an expert on American Indian culture, but it is my understanding that the spiritual relationship between “the people” and other animals and plants is sacred. The concept of the Great Spirit is one that includes the integral linkages between all that is living springing from this One. It seems to me that is exactly what our scripture today is saying. Not only identifying the interconnectedness of all of God’s creation, but also acknowledging that it is good.

Do we perceive this relationship as a scared trust, or do we understand these gifts of God as resources to be exploited?  This is a fundamental question that must be grappled with as we deal with our responsibility to fill and subdue and have dominion over all living things on the earth.

While we may value highly oil and gas, gold and silver, mink and sable, the most precious resource on our earth is our children. They are the ones who will carry on our sacred responsibilities into the future. Yet, one in four of them lives in poverty in America. They are throw away laborers in the Congo digging minerals from the earth that keep our cell phones working. They are cash cows in the international sex trade industry. Our priorities are upside down.

Once we accept our sacred responsibility to care for our children, perhaps we will get in synch with God to assure that our earth and its plants and animals are cared for properly, too.

Prayer: Breathe on me, breath of God,
              Fill me with life anew,
             That I may love what Thou dost love,
             And do what Thou wouldst do. Amen. –Edwin Hatch

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of American. Used by permission. All rights reserved.