God sends out a command to the earth,

a word that runs very swiftly,

God gives snow like woold, scattering frost like ashes.

God scatters hail like bread crumbs.

Who can stand against God’s cold?

The LORD sends forth the word and melts them;

the wind blows, and the waters flow.

Psalm 147:15- 18 (ELW version)

love how one scripture line can become a message or a conversation about a multitude of things!  Psalm 147, the psalm appointed for the Second Sunday of Christmas for Year A,  is a hymn of praise that includes Creation. The latter part of the Psalm, my focus today from the lectionary, is the third of the three parts of the psalm: (1)praise for divine provision, (2) praise for divine command over creation, and (3) praise for covenant and relationship.

For the Second Sunday of Christmas I invite you to focus with me on the appointed psalm, specifically on its middle part, for divine command over creation, verses 15-18.

God sends out a command to the earth,

a word that runs very swiftly,

God gives snow like woold, scattering frost like ashes.

God scatters hail like bread crumbs.

Who can stand against God’s cold?

The LORD sends forth the word and melts them;

the wind blows, and the waters flow.

SThis depicts God as the ultimate meteorologist and chemist; the one who commands and transforms the weather and the seasons.  The elements are instruments of the Divine Word.  This reminds us of the interconnected systems of the planet, all subject to and sustained by the Creator’s will.

Years ago, I went to college to pursue a degree in Meteorology.  It took longer than I hoped it would, but finally, in 2004, after 6+ years in undergraduate college education, I finally graduated!  I was all smiles and happy tears when I walked across that stage to receive that long anticipated diploma.  My Bachelor of Science in Earth Sciences with an emphasis in Meteorology degree was finally in my hand.  The work it took to get there was worth it!

 I finally felt like I had a glimpse of understanding of how God commands and transforms the weather and the seasons on our planet.  I understood some of the interconnected systems, and was beginning to understand how these various weather patterns affected us, the people, and the animals, and the vegetation.  Meteorology enabled me to recognize what was at work to help all of God’s creation thrive, and also what hindered us.

I reflected often, and still do, on the immense power of nature and how quickly it can change. We are not the masters of these forces, but are reliant on God, the One, the Creator who commands them.  This motivates me to respect the natural world’s power and fragility.

As one example, think of the water cycle.  The water cycle is the way the water moves from the Earth’s surface to the air, and back down again.  It involves four main processes: condensation, precipitation, collection and evaporation.  In the water cycle, the water is constantly moving and changing form.  The water cycle helps to provide fresh water for plants and animals to drink, and contributes to regulating the Earth’s temperature by distributing heat energy. 

it’s a part of our weather and climate every single day.  It moves throughout our entire planet, interconnecting systems day in and day out.  All of us in our world,  this planet, are interconnected.  We may not have any understanding of what’s going on with the people or animals or vegetation on the other side of the world, but whatever is going on over there, is affecting us over here, because their water cycle, is our water cycle. 

We are not the masters or inventors of the water cycle: God is. When human beings behave as though we are the masters of the Earth, as if we can control even the weather and the water cycles, we are disrupting the very elemental movements of Earth, God’s creation. We are acting on a falsehood, and that falsehood is already causing suffering and disruption for plants, animals, and people.  As the water cycle is disrupted, enormous imbalances are occurring, with extreme drought and mountain run-off depriving creatures of water, and extreme rainfall and flooding lead to great destruction.

I live in northern Minnesota and I am in constant awe of the beauty that God provides with elements of the water cycle.  Snow that can blanket the ground thicker than wool, frost that sparkles as far as the eye can see, hail that can fall as tiny specs of ice pellets, or as big as baseballs, crushing things as it falls from the mighty sky.  Quite often at least once each winter, we are pushed into a deep, frozen, cold snap..  where the high temperatures can be as low as -15 degrees and then when you factor in the wind chill on top of that, it feels remarkable colder than that.  Then God provides us beauty in the way of Sun Dogs, beautiful rainbows that appear to come up from the ground, straight up, on either side of the bright sun.  God really can inspire us with beauty in remarkable ways.

Psalm 147, verses 15-18 show us how God is actively and immediately involved in the ongoing creation and governance of the world.  And how often do you pause when you see a rapid change in weather?  A sudden storm or a quick thaw?  They are living, breathing examples of Divine will, the same divine will that we celebrate in the season of Christmas, God the author of all weather patterns, also God the infant in the manger.  The Psalmist today invites us to recognize the presence of God our Creator in every ecological system.  And I am forever grateful.

Let us pray:

O Lord, Ruler of the winds and water, we praise you for your mighty hand at work in the snow, the frost and the flowing waters.  Thank you for your word that sustains heavens and guides our lives.  Open our eyes to see your power in every season, and strengthen our resolve to care for this beautiful Earth, as a sign of our obedience and love. 

Amen!