Earth Day

“In the spring, at the end of the day, you should smell like dirt."— Margaret Atwood

Today is Earth Day – soon our farmers will be working their fields preparing for another planting, growing and harvest season.  Thus far we’ve experienced cooler temperatures but we know warmer days are just around the corner. 

Especially in this community we take our responsibilities seriously to be good stewards of the land. Our natural resources are gifts from our Creator and we take pride in preserving them.

From the Catechism Luther explains in the explanation to the First Article of the Apostles Creed: “I believe in God, the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth.

What does this mean? I believe that God has made me and all creatures; that He has given me my body and soul, eyes, ears, and all my members, my reason and all my senses, and still takes care of them. He also gives me clothing and shoes, food and drink, house and home, wife and children, land, animals, and all I have. He richly and daily provides me with all that I need to support this body and life. He defends me against all danger and guards and protects me from all evil. All this He does only out of fatherly, divine goodness and mercy, without any merit or worthiness in me. For all this it is my duty to thank and praise, serve and obey Him.    

Commenting on the 4th Petition of the Lord’s Prayer “Give us this day our daily bread,” Luther goes on to explain:  

What does this mean? God certainly gives daily bread to everyone without our prayers, even to all evil people, but we pray in this petition that God would lead us to realize this and to receive our daily bread with thanksgiving.

What is meant by daily bread? Daily bread includes everything that has to do with the support and needs of the body, such as food, drink, clothing, shoes, house, home, land, animals, money, goods, a devout husband or wife, devout children, devout workers, devout and faithful rulers, good government, good weather, peace, health, self-control, good reputation, good friends, faithful neighbors, and the like.

Job 26:8-9 “He binds up the waters in his thick clouds, and the cloud is not split open under them. He covers the face of the full moon and spreads over it his cloud.”

Author of Life, You wrap the waters in Your clouds, and the cloud does not burst under them without Your command. You obscure the face of the full moon and spread Your cloud over it at a perfect distance so that we are not blinded by its reflection of light. Lord, nature shows just a small fragment of Your beauty and Your complexity. I pray that You bless us with good weather this season so that we may appreciate Your beauty more and more each day, Amen.

Genesis 8:22 "While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night, shall not cease."

Holy God, I magnify You Name because You hold the control over all Creation in Your hands. While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease unless You say so. Lord, I pray for good weather in this season, I pray that the days are great as well as the nights. I pray that nature pleases me in this season, Amen.

Proverbs 3:19-20  "The LORD by wisdom founded the earth; by understanding he established the heavens;  by his knowledge the deeps broke open, and the clouds drop down the dew."

Father of Lights, it is by Your wisdom that the earth was founded! It was by Your understanding that You established the heavens! By Your knowledge the deeps were broken up and the skies drip with dew. Worthy are You Lord, for You are the author of the intricacies seen within Creation. We pray that You order Creation to cater to us so that we can experience good weather this year, Amen.