This week as we continue to explore what it means to be a new creation in Christ, we pause and celebrate the creation all around us. Because it points to the many, many ways our God is pretty darn awesome! Just take a moment and think about it…The same God who put the stars in heaven, who made the giant sea creatures, who designed all the intricate details of the world around us, decided that it would not be complete without you and me. It really takes your breath away, doesn’t it? It makes us feel awe and wonder for our Creator, Redeemer and Sustainer.
April 19, 2026
A New Creation
Part 2: “God’s Wide World”
Psalm 104:5-24; Job 12:7-10
Rev. Dr. Heather W. McColl
Psalm 104:5-24
You set the earth on its foundations, so that it shall never be shaken. You cover it with the deep as with a garment; the waters stood above the mountains. At your rebuke they flee; at the sound of your thunder they take to flight. They rose up to the mountains, ran down to the valleys, to the place that you appointed for them. You set a boundary that they may not pass, so that they might not again cover the earth. You make springs gush forth in the valleys; they flow between the hills, giving drink to every wild animal; the wild asses quench their thirst. By the streams the birds of the air have their habitation; they sing among the branches.
From your lofty abode you water the mountains; the earth is satisfied with the fruit of your work. You cause the grass to grow for the cattle and plants for people to cultivate, to bring forth food from the earth and wine to gladden the human heart, oil to make the face shine and bread to strengthen the human heart. The trees of the field are watered abundantly, the cedars of Lebanon that he planted. In them the birds build their nests the stork has its home in the fir trees. The high mountains are for the wild goats; the rocks are a refuge for the coneys. You have made the moon to mark the seasons; the sun knows its time for setting. You make darkness, and it is night, when all the animals of the forest come creeping out. The young lions roar for their prey, seeking their food from God. When the sun rises, they withdraw and lie down in their dens. People go out to their work and to their labor until the evening.
O Lord, how manifold are your works! In wisdom you have made them all; the earth is full of your creatures.
Job 12:7-10
“But ask the animals, and they will teach you, the birds of the air, and they will tell you; ask the plants of the earth, and they will teach you, and the fish of the sea will declare to you. Who among all these does not know that the hand of the Lord has done this? In his hand is the life of every living thing and the breath of every human being”.
God’s Wide World Psalm 104; Job 12
I struggled to write this sermon this week, which is odd for me because creation care is such a huge part of my call as a person of faith. It is also such a huge part of our own community of faith’s vision of welcome as we continue to proclaim God’s Beloved Community here on Earth. This should have been an easy sermon to write but as the week passed on, I couldn’t figure out why the Holy Spirit was staying so silent. It wasn’t until I followed Job’s advice and truly listened to creation that I discovered the reason why this sermon wasn’t coming to me. Let us listen again to Job’s advice
“But ask the animals, and they will teach you, the birds of the air, and they will tell you; ask the plants of the earth, and they will teach you, and the fish of the sea will declare to you. Who among all these does not know that the hand of the Lord has done this? In his hand is the life of every living thing and the breath of every human being”.
After reading Job’s advice, I realized something. It wasn’t that the sermon was not coming to me. The Holy Spirit was speaking just fine. The problem really was that I wasn’t listening. Or rather, I was listening to all the other noises in my life, noises which prevented me from hearing God’s messages, noises which did not allow the space for me to hear God’s voice, noises which created sound barriers which blocked the lessons of creation from coming through.
The no-brainer moment in my sermon writing came to me when I realized that I was trying to write a sermon about creation without being out in creation. I was trying to write a sermon about the beauty and mystery of God’s creation while ignoring the beauty and mystery of God’s creation. The problem was that I was writing about God’s creation while inside my office. And you know-It is really hard to listen to what creation is telling us about our Creator when we are sitting behind thick brick walls, listening to the clicks of our computer, listening to the phone ring, listening to our generated, human made type of noises that fill and overtake our lives.
For me, this was an obvious revelation. But it also became a sad commentary on the reality of the world in which we live today as people of faith. Let’s face it, a majority of our time is spent indoors behind our desks. A majority of our time is spent underneath harsh fluorescent lighting. Majority of our time is spent only looking out at God’s creation through the panes of glass which fill our lives: office windows, car windows, home windows. Even our vacations which are designed to help us slow down and get back to nature don’t actually do that. Luxury hotels, with swimming pools. Cruise ships with designed and timed outings. Even if we wanted to go camping out in the great outdoors, -we can take our RV’s which have every convenience of home, including Wi-Fi for our iPads and Kindles.
The sad reality is that there is a growing disconnect between us humans and God’s creation. And it is not just us adults who are feeling this disconnect. Our children are spending more and more time indoors as video games and video systems become more readily available. Our children are forgetting what it is like to go outside and play, to make mud pies, to get dirt under their nails.
Unfortunately, this disconnect, this separation is also breaking the gentle strands which connect us to the larger web of creation. The noises of our artificial world are drowning out the teachings of the animals, drowning out the stories, the stories which are as old as time, the stories which are told to us by the fishes in the sea and the birds of the air. All the noises which fill our artificial world are silencing the lessons told to us by the very earth itself, lessons of love, lessons of grace, lessons of hope.
The Good news is that this disconnect is not so far gone that we cannot overcome it. There is still hope. Because when we truly listen to creation, when we allow it to teach us about the basics of life, when we allow creation to remind us of our place and our connection to all of creation, we learn so many life-transforming things. We learn balance. We learn to appreciate the cycles of life in all their varied forms. When we truly listen to the lessons found in God’s creation, we learn patience and perseverance as we watch birds build their nests. We learn about the beauty and mystery of life as we listen to the wind blow through the trees. We learn that the true blessing of life, that which gives our lives meaning and hope, is that we know we can fully rely on God through all of life’s ups and downs. Through the lessons found in God’s creation, we begin to understand, to embrace that we are held in God’s hand, that no matter where life leads us, that no matter what journeys we may be on, God holds the life of every living thing. God breathes new life into every human being. God is moving among creation, still bringing life from the chaos.
All we have to do is look towards creation, listen to them, to begin to understand what they already know. Creation doesn’t worry about getting ahead. Creation doesn’t worry about having enough money. Creation doesn’t worry about what clothes to wear. God has taken care of it. God has provided for all its needs. All creation has to do is enjoy life. All creation has to do is become the best that God created it to be. From the tiniest seed to the largest whale, God holds all of it in the palm of God’s hand. And as we listen to the lessons from the animals and the fishes, from the very earth itself, we soon discover the wonderful life-giving news that each day is a gift, that each moment is a miracle, God is here with us.
When we listen to creation, we realize that God has not only written the Gospel of the good news in the Bible, but God has also written the Gospel of grace and love in the trees, in the flowers, in the clouds and in the stars. God is filling our world with the good news that we are claimed and named as God’s own Beloved children!
Can’t you just hear it?! All of creation is singing for joy! All of creation is chirping in celebration. All of creation is lifting its praise to God, the Creator. And today and all days, we are being invited to join into their praise. Thanks be to God. Amen.
See also: Theology Tuesday for Sunday, April 19, 2026 – God’s Wide World Psalm 104; Job 12.
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*(from sanctifiedart.org)
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