July 22, 2010 Earth to Humanity: You are Really Blowing It Excerpt from Hosea 4:1-19 Therefore
the land mourns, Reflection by Lillian Daniel News flash from the Gulf of Mexico―the fish of the sea and the birds of the air have had it. So have the people who once earned their living through fishing. So have the families of the people who died on the oilrig. So have the volunteers who wash oil off of drowning birds and pick up sticky goop from the shores. Earth to humanity―you people are really blowing it. In this Old Testament reading, the prophet Hosea says just that. God's natural creation cries out in agony due to the selfish behavior of God's people. What had they done back then? Did they forget to put out the recycling or fly when they could have taken the bus? No, Hosea lived too early for those current day mistakes. But even back then, God sent a prophet to warn us that it's not just about how we treat one another. The earth and its other inhabitants matter, too. These days I prefer the term global weirding to global warming. To an average person, the weather doesn't seem to be getting steadily warmer, but it sure is getting weirder. Clearly, we can mess with our environment with devastating effects. But we are also able to hide from those effects, by ducking into an air-conditioned room or by turning off the television to avoid disturbing scenes. Today, let's not ignore those scenes. Let's not ignore the weather. If the fish and the birds are crying, let's listen. Prayer
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