Daily Worship

The Nature of the Land

Fiona Campbell October 09, 2016 0 0

Deuteronomy 1

19 Then, as the Lord our God commanded us, we set out from Horeb and went towards the hill country of the Amorites through all that vast and dreadful wilderness that you have seen, and so we reached Kadesh Barnea. 20 Then I said to you, ‘You have reached the hill country of the Amorites, which the Lord our God is giving us. 21 See, the Lord your God has given you the land. Go up and take possession of it as the Lord, the God of your ancestors, told you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.’

This week we are looking at The Land, a subject which strikes very deep in the hearts of Scots and raises complex issues for both them and the people of the Hebrews whom we read about in the book of Deuteronomy.   The narrative of Deuteronomy tells of Moses leading the Hebrews through the wilderness and into battle with various peoples of the lands God has promised to them.   These are not easy things to read about from our very different perspective in the 21st century, but they tell us much about our deep human need to belong to a land where we feel safe and able to work and raise our families.

 

If I go for a country walk, Lord

I open heart and mind to my surroundings : 

the wind, the birdsong, the view unfolding before me.

Thank you for the wonder of nature above, below and around me.

This land of ours is both workplace and playground;  heritage and home.   

For some, a burden, for others a blessing.

Thank you Lord for its beauty and variety : the sunshine and rain -

the green, the grey, the blue and the gold.

This land is old Lord :  the names on mossy

gravestones saw the Jacobites march through their village,  or the bombed-out tenements of 1941.

I’m so familiar with my Land today, that I forget its yesteryears :

Help me not to take this land and its freedoms for granted. 

Remind me of my heritage, and accept my thanks for all that it means in life today.

I pray for all who have come here hoping for a new home, that they will

find a welcome,  a safe haven and a place of fulfilling work.

I pray for all who work the land, who study its plant-life and animals, and seek

to introduce young people to wildness and wonder.

Your creation astounds me Lord – from the hedgehog to the golden eagle 

and the spider’s web whose beauty far outweighs the needs of its function !

Amen