Rivers clap their hands in glee

Sunday May 10^th, Psalm 98: Let the sea and everything in it shout his praise! Let the earth and all living things join in. Let the rivers clap their hands in glee! Let the hills sing out their songs of joy before the LORD. For the LORD is coming to judge the earth. We are not alone in being loved by God. When God looked at creation and all that had been made, God said, “It is good.”  That pronouncement of goodness was not just for you and me.  That goodness was not just for humanity which includes some that we might put in the category of enemy.  That goodness was not only for the part of creation “made in God’s image,” but also for all of creation. It was less a statement of pride than a proclamation of, and creation of the innate attributes of the goodness that comes from God.  All people will rejoice at the coming of the Lord. All creatures will rejoice at the coming of the Lord. All creation will rejoice at the coming of the Lord. We are called, out of respect for God, to show a little respect for the rest of God’s creation. This Psalm is about the whole of God’s creation, but it is also about a calling.  It is a calling to you, to me, and those we in our smallness would deem enemy.  It is a calling to see one another as brothers and sisters, created in the image of God.  It is a calling to see one another as created in the image of Love.  It is a call in to see all of creation created for the purpose of the mutual benefit of all creation.  It is a calling to recognizing that the demise of one part of creation, lessens all of creation.  It is a calling to see God in all that surrounds you.