Isaiah 61.10-62.3, Psalm 148, Luke 2.15-21
The First Sunday of Christmas, 27th December 2020
Clapham and online
Psalm 148: part 1
1 Alleluia. Praise the Lord from the
heavens; praise him in the heights.
2 Praise him, all you his angels;
praise him, all his host.
3 Praise him, sun and moon;
praise him, all you stars of light.
4 Praise him, heaven of heavens,
and you waters above the heavens.
5 Let them praise the name of the Lord,
for he commanded and they were created.
6 He made them fast for ever and ever;
he gave them a law
which shall not pass away.
I was driving through Gargrave the other evening and was surprised to see a large gathering of people on the hard standing outside The Dalesman. What was this, I wondered for a moment: a lockdown protest?, a large party of hikers spilling out from the tearoom? But it soon became clear that this was the village coming together - at a safe distance of course - to sing carols heartily and with smiles on their faces.
One thing is certain this Christmastime - that people’s passion for singing is not diminished. It wasn’t just in Gargrave of course; witness the wonderful outdoor carol services we’ve had here, and those you’ve seen or heard about in so many other towns and villages. There are some things about us which we can’t hold back for long. One is that we are born to sing. Or as a Psalmist might say - we are made for praise.
We’re like Isaiah, whose heart exploded with these words: “I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, my whole being shall exult in my God.” There’s a sense here that it’s not just that we can choose to use our bodies and our lungs to praise God - it’s more that God himself has created us in such a way that we are most ourselves when we are praising him.
Here’s a thought for the year’s end. Just as at Christmas we enjoyed the rare opportunity to have a good sing together, so, earlier in the year, did the rest of Creation. Recall last spring when commerce went silent and nature sang; when the roads emptied and the creatures emerged to fill the void and occupy the spaces we usually dominate. It was one of the most remarkable aspects of that first lockdown, the rest of creation’s flourishing whilst we were retreating. Something we might have cause to rejoice over, but which may also give us pause for humble thought.
Think how it feels, missing singing together, being isolated and silenced by forces beyond our control - is this how it usually is for the earth and its creatures, with their voices, the ways they express themselves, suppressed under human domination?
For it’s not just we humans who are made to praise. In God’s great Universe it’s never just about us. The composer of Psalm 148 helps us celebrate this wonderful truth: that all Creation is made for praise. From the heavens with their angels, the sun, moon and shining stars, to all the creatures of land, sea and sky, and people of all classes and all ages. Praising the Creator: this is the common task of all Creation, the vocation of every living being together.
Do you share my hope that 2021 will be a year for mending what has been broken in recent times? If that is our intention then surely one of our most creative and essential tasks will be to help the earth to find its voice again. To make a habit of stepping back so that the creatures and seas, mountains and trees, can step forward as we form a combined choir of praise - each one of us giving the others space to express ourselves truly as we are.
On a global scale this is vital, given the knowledge that we have that climate change and pandemics have the same root cause - the commercial destruction of vast territories, whose trees absorb and store the carbon dioxide that would otherwise drive global heating, and whose creatures host the viruses which remain safely self-contained within their habitats until disturbances or destruction force the animals into human territory where transmission can take place. [1]
The rainforests are often called ‘the lungs of the planet’, but they are being fatally asphyxiated by our insatiable demands for more - beef, crops, oil - ravaging them at the rate of 150 acres a minute. [2] If we could only hear their choking voices saying ‘I can’t breathe’. And if you can’t breathe, you can by no means sing.
If our empires are set on a way which squeezes the earth until it expires, our faith is in one whose Spirit restores breath to dying lungs - and with whose help we may hear the forests sing again. [3]
May 2021 be a year when we each, in our place, find our own ways to create room for the creatures and the earth around us to thrive. If we’re inclined towards lobbying, by letter writing and other means we can keep nudging along those in the corridors of power. On a local scale we can do this together: many Parish Councils including ours are now committed to actively promoting biodiversity and reducing carbon emissions in their work and the wider community. [4]
Isn’t it good when we sing together? Isn’t it wonderful to consider that we become most ourselves when we find ways to share with the rest of Creation in singing the praise of the Creator?
Psalm 148: part 2
7 Praise the Lord from the earth,
you sea monsters and all deeps;
8 Fire and hail, snow and mist,
tempestuous wind, fulfilling his word;
9 Mountains and all hills,
fruit trees and all cedars;
10 Wild beasts and all cattle,
creeping things and birds on the wing;
11 Kings of the earth and all peoples,
princes and all rulers of the world;
12 Young men and women,
old and young together;
let them praise the name of the Lord.
13 For his name only is exalted,
his splendour above earth and heaven.
14 He has raised up the horn of his people
and praise for all his faithful servants,
the children of Israel, a people who are near him. Alleluia.
Notes
[1] See Andreas Malm, Corona, Climate, Chronic Emergency. War Communism in the Twenty-First Century.
[2] Rainforest Facts: The Disappearing Rainforests. Rain-Tree.com.
[3] Ezekiel 37.1-14.
[4] See Clapham cum Newby Parish Council meeting of 8 December 2020: To consider a suggestion that, further to the Climate Emergency resolutions of the House of Commons (May 2019), Craven District Council (August 2019) and the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority (September 2019), the Parish Council resolve to declare a Climate Emergency. Minutes when available will be published on the Clapham, North Yorkshire village website: Parish Council page.
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