World Nature Conservation Day & Psalm 65

 

5     

By awesome deeds you answer us with deliverance

O God of our salvation;
you are the hope of all the ends of the earth
    and of the farthest seas.

By your  strength you established the mountains;
    you are girded with might.

You silence the roaring of the seas,
    the roaring of their waves,
    the tumult of the peoples.
 Those who live at earth’s farthest bounds are awed by your signs;
you make the gateways of the morning and the evening shout for joy.

 You visit the earth and water it;
    you greatly enrich it;
the river of God is full of water;
    you provide the people with grain,
    for so you have prepared it.
 You water its furrows abundantly,
    settling its ridges,
softening it with showers,
    and blessing its growth.
 You crown the year with your bounty;
    your wagon tracks overflow with richness.
 The pastures of the wilderness overflow;
    the hills gird themselves with joy;
 the meadows clothe themselves with flocks;
    the valleys deck themselves with grain;
    they shout and sing together for joy.

Psalm 65: 5-13 NRSVue 

Yesterday was World Nature Conservation Day with the talking points being:

• Healthy ecosystems are essential for human survival.
• Overexploitation has caused habitat loss, species extinction, pollution, and climate change.
• Conservation advances biodiversity, sustainable livelihoods, and climate resilience.
• Encourages balancing growth with environmental preservation.

These all make a lot of sense to me and all levels of government and individuals would do well to ask if these are being given the priorities they deserve for the health of the planet. I'm going to suggest that while most of us wouldn't deny the importance of any of these we aren't doing a great job of addressing even one of them.

When the late Pope Francis issued the encyclical Laudato Si: Care for Our Common Home he addressed all of them within a spiritual and specifically Christian context in a brilliant and balanced way. There may never be a more profound Christian statement on this theme. We would do well to revisit it's themes. 

It happens that Psalm 65 was yesterday's reading and it reminds us that their is a Creator and so we called to care for Creation. For me it complements World Nature Conservation Day.