Week of Prayer - Joy - the Foundational Melody of the Kingdom of Godनमुना

JOY IN CREATION

VERSES

Yet he has not left himself without testimony: he has shown kindness by giving you rain from heaven and crops in their seasons; he provides you with plenty of food and fills your hearts with joy. (Acts 14,17)

MEDITATION

You, who are thinking, breathing, feeling your heart beating and life flowing through your veins, haven’t you ever wondered about this abnormal, bizarre, extraordinary thing that is life? Not only your life but all life and all created things! Shouldn’t we rather have been part of nothingness forever? By what grace did we enter into existence? Becoming aware of this tremendous privilege of existence is a source of joy for us as creatures and children of God. A joy that we share and that connects us to the entire creation.

The Bible begins with the joyful exuberance of the world created by God. In Genesis 1,20, God says: «Let the water teem with living creatures, and birds fly above the earth across the vault of the sky.» The infinite variety of colors, shapes, and expressions of life is like a shout of joy and praise. In Psalm 148, the heavenly bodies, the trees of the field, the animals, and all nations praise the Lord for having created them. «They have no speech, they use no words; no sound is heard from them. Yet their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world.» (Ps 19,4-5)

The joy in creation is the answer to the joy of God himself: «May the glory of the Lord endure forever; may the Lord rejoice in his works!» (Ps 104,31) The joy we feel at being alive connects us to the joy of God, who deeply desired for us to exist.

On my faith journey, I gradually realized how much my view of God and redemption through Jesus Christ was reduced to human existence as if the rest of creation were merely a backdrop or a self-service shop in which the only thing that mattered concerned human beings. By discovering the richness of creation and an honest reading of the Bible, I realized that God’s love, plans, and redemption extend to all of His creation (cf. Col 1,20). «Look at Behemoth, which I made along with you.» (Job 40,15)

God’s abundance and generosity are other sources of joy in the creation that produces everything we need to live. They are God’s gifts for His children. Everybody can rejoice in them. Like manna, there is enough for everyone.

QUESTIONS FOR REFLECTION

· The joy in creation: Are my eyes opened to the joy of creatures? Do I come into contact with the flowers in the field and the birds in the sky, and have I listened to their songs of joy?

· The joy of God: Have I taken in the joy of the creator, which he expressed when he created the world and which we experience anew every morning and every spring?

· The abundance of creation: Have I realized that we depend on nature for life and that it provides us with everything we need? Is this proof for me of God’s love and generosity? Is it a reason for joy?

PRAYER TOPICS

· For open hearts that take in God’s joy over all creation. Let us join the praise of all of God’s creatures.

· That the often excessive desires in our lives are not a reason to destroy creation and its creatures which manifest God’s joy.

· For all those who have a special calling to care for God’s creation, may they be blessed and guided so that the joy we find in it may endure and glorify God’s name.

SUGGESTED PRAYER

My God, Your joy can be heard in the deep forest, in the lapping of the waves, in the breeze caressing the flowers. What grace You give me to live. I want to share Your joy and make it resound! Lord, You know my struggles in the face of what we do to Your creation. Help me fix my eyes on You and abandon my idols called consumption, obsession with always more, conformism, and laziness. My desire, Lord, is to honor You, and I need You to change my life. Lord, let Your joy be my motivation! Amen.

Steve Tanner

President of A Rocha Suisse