“Julian of Norwich, the fourteenth-‐century Christian
mystic, said most simply but most radically that we are not just made by God,
we are made of God. We are not just fashioned from afar by a distant Creator.
We are born from the very womb of the Divine. This is why Julian so loves to
refer to God as Mother as well as Father. She sees us as coming forth from the
essence of the One who is the Source of all things.
What does it mean that we are made of God rather than simply
by God?
In part it means that the wisdom of God is deep within us,
deeper than the ignorance of what we have done. It is to say that the creativity of God is
deep within us, deeper than any barrenness in our lives or relationships,
deeper than any endings in our families or our world. Within us—as a sheer gift
of God—is the capacity to bring forth what has never been before, including
what has never been imagined before.
Above
all else, as Julian says, the love-‐longings of God are at the heart of our
being. We and all things have come forth from the One. Deep within us are holy,
natural longings for oneness, primal sacred drives for union. We may live in
tragic exile from these longings, or we may have spent a whole lifetime not
knowing how to truly satisfy them, but they are there at the heart of our
being, waiting to be born afresh.”[1]
Today is the first Sunday in the season of creation. There are 5 Sundays in the season of Creation
First is forest Sunday, then land Sunday, then wilderness Sunday, followed by river Sunday and concluding with a celebration of St. Francis that usually
includes a blessing of the animals.
Since we are still in a process of putting things together and figuring
things out anew I decided to wait to do the blessings of the animals more towards
the spring and will look at inviting the UU to join us as well.
Now the reason and the logic behind this season of creation
is to remind ourselves that well…we are not the center of the universe. We are not Gods only creatures and creations
and in that as all are created by God.
As we and all things around us are born of God, created by God,
expansions of Gods mind even then we are all related and should care for all
this planet as such.
But todays focus is on the forest. Some cannot see the forest for the trees as
the saying goes but have you ever pondered this. Many see the forest just as a collection of
trees and often timse looked upon as a resource for profit. But the forest is much more than its trees;
“Forests are essential for life on earth. Three hundred
million people worldwide live in forests and 1.6 billion depend on them for
their livelihoods. Forests also provide habitat for a vast array of plants and
animals, many of which are still undiscovered. They protect our watersheds. They
inspire wonder and provide places for recreation. They supply the oxygen we
need to survive. They provide the timber for products we use every day.
Forests are so much more than a collection of trees. Forests
are home to 80% of the world’s terrestrial biodiversity. These ecosystems are
complex webs of organisms that include plants, animals, fungi and bacteria.
Forests take many forms, depending on their latitude, local soil, rainfall and
prevailing temperatures. Coniferous forests are dominated by cone-bearing
trees, like pines and firs that can thrive in northern latitudes where these
forests are often found. Many temperate forests house both coniferous and
broad-leafed trees, such as oaks and elms, which can turn beautiful shades of
orange, yellow and red in the fall.
The most biologically diverse and complex forests on earth
are tropical rainforests, where rainfall is abundant and temperatures are
always warm. Forests also play a critical role in mitigating climate change
because they act as a carbon sink—soaking up carbon dioxide and other
greenhouse gases that would otherwise be free in the atmosphere and contribute
to ongoing changes in climate patterns.”[2]
This means that currently 1 in 4 people depend directly on
the forest for their livelihood. As many as 120 prescription drugs worldwide
derive directly from plants found in forests. Deforestation accounts for 11
percent of human-caused greenhouse gas emissions.[3]
The forests are the lungs of this planet and we have basically given our planet
a case of COPD. Earth is finding it hard
to breath.
I just find the forest a magnificent place to walk with
God. The forest Gives us a sample of
what life was once when man and animal lived in harmony. Muir woods or better yet Armstrong woods are
great examples of the wonder of these glorious examples of Gods hand here on
earth. If you have an opportunity to
visit the Coastal redwood forests I encourage you to do so because your soul
and the way you look at this earth will never be the same again.
The coastal redwood forest is a unique and beautiful
creation and it exists only here. “Coast redwoods range from southern Oregon to
central California, extending not more than fifty miles inland- only as far as
the coastal climate has its influence. Fog plays a vital role in the survival
of these trees, protecting them from the summer drought conditions typical of
this area. They also need abundant winter rain and moderate year-round
temperatures. In ideal conditions a coast redwood can grow 2-3 feet in height
annually, but when the trees are stressed from lack of moisture and sunlight
they may grow as little as one inch per year.”[4]
The Climate shift and our now extreme heat is a threat to coastal redwoods.
If the redwoods are threatened then so are all that live under
them. For you see the forest is not just
the trees and there is a communal life that depends on the redwoods. First off
they have a shallow root system and so the intertwine with each other and
provide support so that they can grow tall.
Their canopy allows for other trees and shrubs to grow with it. Such as DOUGLAS FIR, BIG LEAF MAPLE,
CALIFORNIA BAY LAUREL, TAN OAK, CALIFORNIA HAZEL, WOODROSE, REDWOOD
TRILLIUM,REDWOOD SORREL, SWORD FERN, and the BRACKEN FERN.[5]
All these plants exist cooperatively because of the canopy
the redwoods provide. The forest is a
cooperative community that exists in peace.
Its only true enemy is man for we are the cause of its pain, its deforestation. We are the cause of the increase in green
house gasses that make it hard for our earths lungs to breathe. We our arrogance and ignorance now have to
work to correct the damage that we have done.
Even a forest fire when all is said and done the forest emerges again
like phoenix.
So today I would encourage you to take some time explore our
woods and forests. Take a step into the
awe inspiring cathedral that is our redwood forests and walk with God for a
minute. If you pause you will hear the
gentle sound of creation, you will hear god walking besides you in the gentle
trickle of the creeks, in the buzzing of the insects and in the chirping of the
birds.
Let your heart be filled and inspired by the Gift that God
has left for us so close by the redwood forests and offer a gift in return. Pledge to plant a tree, maybe to contribute
to preservation of the forests around the world. Pledge to try and recycle more so we need to
cut down less trees and allow the forests time to heal so that our planet can
breathe properly again and so can we . amen.
[1] John Philip
Newell, The Rebirthing of God: Christianity's struggle for New Beginnings
(Woodstock, Vermont: Christian Journeys/SkyLight Paths Publishing, 2014).
[2] worldwildlife
fund, “Forest Habitat,” world wildlife fund, 2017, accessed August 29, 2017,
http://www.worldwildlife.org/habitats/forest-habitat.
[3] Conservation
international, “Forests,” Conservation internationa, 2017, accessed August 29,
2017, http://www.conservation.org/what/pages/forests.aspx?gclid=Cj0KCQjwoZTNBRCWARIsAOMZHmFeVcpqOxWvovTMdKcfwkRiqA5eOjpBQ12xBQukZ8JySR5lywA0sioaArnuEALw_wcB.
[4] “Coastal
redwoods,” Ca Department of Parks and recreation, 2017, accessed August 29,
2017, https://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=22257.
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