In the Book of Daniel chapter 3, there is (in Catholic bibles anyway) the account of the Three Youths in the Fiery Furnace. Daniel's friends are bound with chains and thrown into the fiery pit for having refused to fall down and worship Nebuchadnezzar's golden-god.
When the king shows up to be sure they're gone forever, he sees the youths very much alive. More wondrous still, a fourth figure is seen with them, perhaps an angel companion leading them in a canticle, praising the God of creation and beauty.
When the king shows up to be sure they're gone forever, he sees the youths very much alive. More wondrous still, a fourth figure is seen with them, perhaps an angel companion leading them in a canticle, praising the God of creation and beauty.
The litany-like song invites every animate and inanimate thing to praise and extol God. "Bless" is the praise-word they use.
angels and powers
sun and moon and stars of the sky
fire and heat
winter and summer
drops of dew and flakes of snow
frost and cold
ice and sleet
shining light and enfolding dark
snow clouds and thunderbolts, all bless the Lord...
Have a look for yourself and be lifted up anytime, but especially on Sunday morning. But there was a windy day this autumn week that caused me to pull out my camera-phone to catch the twenty-three second scene in the little video above. This is the tall clump of zebra grass outside the chapel door. The variegated yellow-green leaves were bright, and the soft coppery fans on the long stems bent this way and then that way - and the sound of the wind and the stream nearby. It was all right there in front of me!
Glorify the Lord. O mountains and hills
and all that grows upon the earth,
O bless the Lord.
Glorify the Lord O springs of water, seas and streams,
breezes and winds,
O bless the Lord.
We can add aspects of our own lives to the canticle - inviting it all to the praise God as well:
Households and businesses,
factories and farms.
solar panels and wind turbines,
Instagram, Twitter and Facebook, all bless the Lord.
Rockets and satellites,
electric cars and high speed rail,
air turned to water and movable houses, all bless the Lord.
Time zones, and telescopes,
microscopes and bio tech breakthroughs,
CT Scans and GPS tracking, all bless the Lord.
Muslims and Jews,
Catholics and Orthodox,
Protestants and Mormons,
Hindus and Buddhists,
reconcilers and peacemakers, all bless the Lord.
We could spend the whole day, offering to God everything we have created out of our capacities and gifts. Bottom line: Enjoy God! Praise God in all things, everywhere and all times.
