Lord, our God,
Your earth whispered
but we did not hear. Your earth spoke but we did not listen. Your earth
screamed but we turned her off. And so “it” was born...It was not born to
punish us… It was born to awaken us…. The earth cried out for help...Massive
flooding. But we didn't listen, Lord. Burning fires. But we didn't listen.
Strong hurricanes. But we didn't listen. Terrifying Tornadoes. But we didn't
listen. We still don't listen to the earth when….. Ocean animals are dying due
to pollutants in the waters. Glaciers melting at an alarming rate. Severe
drought.
Lord, we didn't
listen to how much negativity the earth is receiving. Non-stop wars. Non-stop
greed. We just kept going on with our lives… No matter how much hate there was….
No matter how many killings daily…. It was more important to get that latest
iPhone than worry about what the earth was trying to tell us…
But now “it” is here….
And it has made the
world stop in its tracks. It has made us finally listen.
Lord, it has made us
take refuge. It has made us stop thinking about materialistic things…. Now, we
are like the earth... We are only worried about OUR survival.
How does that feel,
we wondered, Lord?
It gives us fever….
as the fires burn on earth.
It gives us
respiratory issues…. as pollution filled the earth’s air.
It gives us weakness
as the earth weakens every day. It took away our comforts…. Our outings. The
things we would use to forget about the planet and its pain. And it made the
world stop...And now...
We realize, Lord, now
that China has better air quality…. Skies are clear blue because factories are
not spewing pollution unto the earth's air. The water in Venice is clean because
the gondola boats that pollute the water are not being used.
We are asked, Lord,
now to take time to reflect on what is important in our life. Again, it is not
here to punish us.... It is here to Awaken us... When all this is over and it
is gone... May we remember these moments….
May we listen to the
earth. Listen to our soul. May we stop polluting the earth. May we stop fighting
amongst each other. May we stop caring too much about materialistic things. And
start loving our neighbors. May we start caring about the earth and all its
creatures. May we start believing in you as our Creator. Because, we fear, next
time it may come back even stronger....
God of peace, your
presence in the world often goes undetected, unnoticed. You pass through the
locked doors that our fear erects, and you call forth the life that exists on
the other side. Penetrate the locked doors of our minds and hearts, remove our
fears and anxieties, inspire us to rejoice at the sight of new life in us, and
bring us into the peace of your Kingdom.
In Jesus’ name. Amen.