Two thirds of our planet are covered by sea.
Two thirds of our planet are still unexplored. (Hans Hass)
Lord, you are so immense, intelligent and intangible, that we think you are incomprehensible, impenetrable, inscrutable. Somehow that gives us the idea that you cannot know or understand us, our environment, our planet. We act as if you made our planet and left it – floating in the cosmos, ignored and neglected. While we – we think we own the place and can do what we like. You have given us dominion over the fish of the sea, the birds of the air, the cattle and all the wild things of earth. Leaving two thirds of our planet unexplored, we wonder why our treatment of our planet causes things to go wrong.
We consider the effect of the budget in Australia; the collapse into chaos in Libya; the declaration of martial law in Thailand. We acknowledge the interlinking of all these things.
We consider the collapse of the Antarctic ice shelf; the flooding in the Balkans; the wild fires in California, US. How can we do other than acknowledge the interlinking of all these things?
We consider the intensifying conflict with Boko Haran in Nigeria; the prophesied famine in South Sudan; the deaths of children in a bus fire in Fundacion, Colombia. We see so many links, yet fail to acknowledge them.
We pray for the families, friends and those missing, and in thanksgiving for those found: in the North Sea on the missing fishing boat Water Rail (just reported found safe!); in the Atlantic on the yacht Cheeki Rafiki; in the Indian Ocean with the long-missing plane MH370. So many links, too many to acknowledge.
We acknowledge the interlinking of all these things. Lord, you know our planet intimately, you understand the linking which we are only now learning to accept. Teach us the way of the world, the way it really works: the unexplored, interlinked parts which we ignore and neglect, sailing over, flying over and all the time pretending aren’t there.
Two thirds of our planet are covered by sea.
Two thirds of our planet are still unexplored.
Grant us the wonder, the desire, to explore the way our planet is one interlinked system, carefully made by your hand. Grant us the wisdom to live as one integrated planet with your hand to guide us.
Amen.
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