Day 28 of Lent: Praise God with All Creation

Let everything that breathes praise the Lord! Psalm 150:6

According to the biblical tradition, the nonhuman world groans, but it also teaches, praises, and plays.  Read Psalms 148-150 and you will experience an eternal hymn welling up from all creation and from your own inner life.  Every created thing rejoices in the wonder of life, and so do you.

Authentic praise is experienced in fullness in our lives in concert with all creation.  God does not need our praise, but we need to praise God in order to attune ourselves with the rhythm of universal love and creativity and to experience God's own joyful song in our lives.

When we rejoice in our lives and share our joy through acts of generosity, kindness, and hospitality, we praise the Creator by become creators ourselves and appreciating the wonder of God's creativity in ourselves and in our world.  We praise God by being fully alive to the beauty and wonder of our unique and precious life and the wonder of all things.

The glory of God is reflected in the flowers of the fields, the twinkling starts, and flowing rivers.  St. Francis of Assisi wrote a poem that we sing in church now and then that commands all the parts of creation to praise God.  It is called "All Creatures of Our God and King."  As it names each various part of creation, the phrases "Alleluia" or "O Praise God" are interjected into the stanzas.  Alleluia means "Praise God" in Hebrew so we are praising God throughout the hymn as we sing it.

We find joy and our place in the universe as we become lively and creative participants in the world around us.  As God's beloved children in a world of beloved creatures, we can rejoice in our partnership with God in all things.

Include in your prayers today:
I thank you, God, for the wonder of all being.
I thank you, God, for the wonder of those close to me.
I thank you, God, for the creatures that share life with me.
I breathe joy with all creation.

Prayer:
In silence, O God, we breathe.  In silence, we pray.  In silence, we open to your breath in our breath, enlivening, inspiring, awakening, creating, and healing.  Breathe in and through us that we might breathe out your joy, healing, and love as partners with you in creation.  Amen.