Rejoice Forever in Creation

There are so many directions the worship team could take the theme for this week. “Rejoice Forever in Creation” elicits a host of natural images and creation-based words and invitations, so this Sunday could be a mini “Earth Day” at the end of the year. Stewardship of our natural resources needs attention more than once a year. It might be worth spending time on these issues. Perhaps your Creation Care Team could be featured in worship today. Perhaps have a bulletin insert with tips on how to rejoice in creation by caring for our carbon footprints or the environment around the church building. The text from Isaiah ends with some beautiful images of creation living in harmony and upending the predator and prey hierarchy so prevalent in our world.

Yet, in the middle of the text, the images are not so much the wilderness or grandeur of the environment, but rather the human habitation that is now claimed as a part of creation. The city of Jerusalem as a joy, houses and vineyards, sustainable farming, or farm-to-table partnerships feature in our text. There is something about health care, infant mortality, and elder care. Through it all, there is a sense of community about the grief we face and the struggles we live through as we care for one another in deep and profound ways.

Rejoicing in creation could include how we care and are cared for. We might give thanks for those in the medical community, honoring those who made a career out of health care. Or we might feature caregivers on many levels, from those tending to aging parents to those raising children or providing childcare in their homes or businesses. If your church has a preschool or childcare facility, name the workers, bring them forward, or send them a note of gratitude. Have the congregation sign a card of thanks to be delivered on Monday when they return to work.

Rejoicing is the key word. There will always be struggles and issues to resolve. There will always be a need for confession and repentance, for reconciliation and forgiveness. This week, we can focus on gratitude and hope. We can lift up the possibilities in both the natural world and the human-created environment of caring and community. Let’s focus on the vision of what could be, or even what is promised, and then do our best to live into that reality as we worship and then as we leave the worship moment to live out this hope in our lives every day. Send folks out with a call to live a life rejoicing in creation.