Entries

Day 16

Ps 92(91): 13-16

The just will flourish like the palm tree

and grow like a Lebanon cedar.

Planted in the house of the Lord

they will flourish in the courts of our God,

still bearing fruit when they are old,

still full of sap, still green,

to proclaim that the Lord is just.

In him, my rock, there is no wrong.

The Cedar Tree (Jessica Powers)

In the beginning, in the unbeginning

of endlessness and of eternity,

God saw this tree.

He saw these cedar branches bending low

under the full exhaustion of the snow.

And since He set no wind of day to rising,

this burden of beauty and this burden of cold,

(whether the wood breaks or the branches hold)

must be of His devising.

There is a cedar similarly decked

deep in the winter of my intellect

under the snow, the snow,

the scales of light its limitations tell.

I clasp this thought: from all eternity

God who is good looked down upon this tree

white in the weighted air,

and of another cedar reckoned well.

He knew how much each tree, each twig could bear.

He counted every snowflake as it fell.

Musical Selection (Dan Schutte)

I will play for you on my harp,
With my lute and ten-stringed lyre.
I will fill the night with your song;
I will sing of your ways. O Lord.

Good it is that we should sing
To honor your great name.
To thank you for your love at dawn,
Your faithfulness through night.

Great and wide Your kindness, Lord
and fathoms deep Your love.
The wicked heart canno conceive,
The foolish heart shall fail.

Upon my head you pour your oil;
You mark me as Your own.
And filled with gladness I shall sing;
My horn shall sound Your call.

The just shall grow as tall as palms,
Like cedars they shall stand.
And planted firmly on their God,
They shall not break nor bow.

Meditation

Although “our own days seem to be showing signs of a certain regression… each new generation must take up the struggles and attainments of past generations, while setting its sights even higher. This is the path. Goodness, together with love, justice and solidarity, are not achieved once and for all; they have to be realized each day”.For there to be solid and lasting advances, I would insist that, “preference should be given to multilateral agreements between States”.

It is not helpful to confuse multilateralism with a world authority concentrated in one person or in an elite with excessive power: “When we talk about the possibility of some form of world authority regulated by law, we need not necessarily think of a personal authority”. We are speaking above all of “more effective world organizations, equipped with the power to provide for the global common good, the elimination of hunger and poverty and the sure defence of fundamental human rights”. The issue is that they must be endowed with real authority, in such a way as to “provide for” the attainment of certain essential goals. In this way, there could come about a multilateralism that is not dependent on changing political conditions or the interests of a certain few, and possesses a stable efficacy.

It continues to be regrettable that global crises are being squandered when they could be the occasions to bring about beneficial changes. This is what happened in the 2007-2008 financial crisis and again in the Covid-19 crisis. For “the actual strategies developed worldwide in the wake of [those crises] fostered greater individualism, less integration and increased freedom for the truly powerful, who always find a way to escape unscathed”. (LD 34-36)

Prayer

Creator God,

Out of chaos you brought order.

Out of nothingness you brought life.

In the middle of all life stands the tree.

Trees provide the air that nurtures all your creation.

Birds make them their homes.

Cats climb them for protection.

Trees recycle life that has come before.

Bless the trees of this word, loving God.

Remind us to serve as their caregivers and protectors.

Give them long limbs and long life.

The gift of their breath is as special to us as the breath of the Holy Spirit. Amen. — Rev. Dr. Chuck Currie

Archives