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| Between Te Anau and Queenstown, South Island, New Zealand. Image by Brian. |
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A GREETING
Be merciful to me, O God, be merciful to me,
for in you my soul takes refuge;
in the shadow of your wings I will take refuge,
until the destroying storms pass by.
(Psalm 57:1)
A READING
Where can I go from your spirit?
Or where can I flee from your presence?
If I ascend to heaven, you are there;
if I make my bed in Sheol, you are there.
If I take the wings of the morning
and settle at the farthest limits of the sea,
even there your hand shall lead me,
and your right hand shall hold me fast.
(Psalm 139:7-10)
MUSIC
A MEDITATIVE VERSE
“Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those who were sent to you! How often I have wanted to gather your people just as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings?"
(Luke 13:34)
A POEM
The countryside, what was here before?
Landscapes of forest and mountain
Familiar yet unknown to me.
When I go away I will know the difference
When I return I will know this land
The depth recognized through contrast
Defined by difference
As the sun and moon complement
Light and dark
Sorrow and joy
And,
As in yin and yang
I will know nothing is completely separate.
When I go away I will know
So fully
And I will return and say:
This is my place to stand
My turangawaewae
My Aotearoa
- from "Turangawaewae" by Tuesday Pixie
VERSE OF THE DAY
For you have been my help, and in the shadow of your wings I sing for joy.
(Psalm 63:7)
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| Darran Mountains, Routeburn Track, New Zealand. Image by Brian |
Today and over the next two days, as we near the midway point of the journey to the Cross and Easter, we will start to experience the currents that eddy and go in circles or spin us in new directions. At the same time, these will also feel like resting days, when we take stock and reckon how the journey is going so far.
Southeast and southwest of Papua New Guinea and the islands of the South Pacific, the East Australia current travels in two streams south to embrace New Zealand on either side before disappearing into the Antarctic circumpolar stream. The North and South islands of this nation are therefore made warmer and wetter than they would be without it. In an era of climate crisis, however, some of that is shifting. Coastal erosion and extreme weather events are affecting the two-thirds of New Zealanders who live along the coastal edges of the nation. Earthquakes are more frequent and leave more lasting damage.
Today’s music was recorded in the autumn of 2020 when we all were starting to reckon the full impacts of the pandemic. As part of an hour-long concert, it features a group of New Zealand opera singers, all independently living in UK at the time, who came together to create their own choir, performing a collection of New Zealand works called “Whanau.” The project allowed them to perform, feel joy, and also a nostalgia for their home which they were unable to return to owing to lockdown. ‘Whanau’ means ‘family,’ in a greater sense than just kin. Mixing a whole range of musical styles, including the work of Maori and other Aotearoa (New Zealand) composers, their songs summon their many identities into one collective longing for home. In the selected song, a Swiss lullaby is given Maori lyrics.
In today's reading, we hear the familiar and comforting words of the Psalmist reassuring us that we are exactly who God made us to be. The image of being created in the womb of the earth can help us to remember that the earth is always our home in a very physical sense. When we ground ourselves in the grass, mud, dirt and water of where we live, we are reuniting ourselves with where we come from and where we ultimately return. How can we be encouraged to think of ourselves as in and of Creation? How can we help make that womb of the earth a safer place for all creatures?
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A STORY OF CONNECTION
The Royal Albatross Camera is a project of the New Zealand Department of Conservation and the Cornell Ornithology lab. Every year, the camera observes a pair of albatross birds as they make a nest, lay an egg and then nurture the fledgling to its first flight -- a process that takes up to eight or nine months. You can access the current live feed here. (Depending on the time of day, it may be dark/night. Right now the chick is often alone as the parents search for food.) The video below, however, shows the deep connectedness that develops between the Maori and non-Indigenous rangers and the birds themselves. In this one, a ranger weighs a new chick. Because of the risks to the eggs from predators and insects, the eggs are taken away while hatching and returned to the mother when the chick is born. For a more humorous moment, go here.
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Resources in today's devotion:
Scripture passages are taken from The New Revised Standard Version.
Tuesday Pixie is the posting name of Macaila Pescud, an English New Zealand poet and musician. Read an interview with her here.
A tūrangawaewae, is a concept of the external world as a reflection of an inner sense of security and foundation. The mountains, rivers and waterways to which one can claim a relationship also express this internal sense of foundation. (Source.)
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LC† Streams of Living Justice is a devotional series of Lutherans Connect, supported by the Eastern Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada and the Centre for Spirituality and Media at Martin Luther University College. To receive the devotions by email, write to lutheransconnect@gmail.com. The devotional pages are written and curated by Deacon Sherry Coman, with support and input from Pastor Steve Hoffard, Catherine Evenden and Henriette Thompson. Join us on Facebook. Lutherans Connect invites you to make a donation to the Ministry by going to this link on the website of the ELCIC Eastern Synod and selecting "Lutherans Connect Devotionals" under "Fund". Devotions are always freely offered, however your donations help support the ongoing work.
Thank you and peace be with you!