Yesterday we spoke of the power, impact, and importance of words. This week we begin reflections on Psalm 19, and again there is reference to words, communication and speech. The psalm begins, “The heavens are telling the glory of God.” There are other speech related references:
the firmament proclaims
day to day pours forth speech
night to night declares knowledge
The words “speech”, “voice”, “words”, and “whispering” are used in the Psalm. Creation speaks of God by fulfilling its intended purpose. The processes of nature declare God. Just by being, the natural world makes its testimony.
Here we want to note that in the Gospel of John, Jesus is referred to as the word of God. Jesus is God’s declaration, God’s proclamation, God’s communication. Jesus, by being, by being himself, conveys God. All that Jesus is and does declares God.
As part of creation and the human family, we, too, are God’s words. Each one of us as a person, is a word of God. We have the capacity to declare, to proclaim, to voice, to whisper God. In who we are, by being, in what we do, in our actual words, we speak God when we live love: Love for ourselves, love for others, love for the unlovely, love for creation. When we live love, we speak God. We communicate God to one another. Everything said and done in love is God speaking.
In the United Church of Christ, we have adopted the motto, “Never place a period where God has placed a comma – God is still speaking.” Yes, God is still speaking. And we are the words.
Prayer
Nature speaks of beauty, order, complexity, diversity, and interdependence. We know that our world also needs to hear compassion, mercy, peace, justice, and love. That message needs to be spoken by the human species. May God’s word be spoken in the world not only through the nature, but also through us. Amen.
Lakewood United Church of Christ 