Letter from Pastor David Bateman
Harmony Note
July 23, 2021
From the prophet Micah 6: 8 – “He (God) has showed you, O man ((human one) what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God”
On a warm summer day, hazy from the fires in the west, it’s easy to fall into complacency, what will be will be, and that’s ok. While there is much we cannot change, there are many way we can make a difference. Maybe we can’t physically fight the wildfires that encompass our western states or still the floodwaters in the gulf and southern states. Still we can open our hearts and wallets to aid in relief efforts across the country.
It is easy to place blame on the perfect storm of excessive heat, tinder dry forests, lightning strikes and human errors. The solutions will not be quick or easy to mediate the effects of decades of decisions that have brought us to this place. Perhaps it is a shocking wake up call to recognize the need to work with our natural environment rather than attempt to control it. Our Creator has done an amazing job of Creating all that is, the beauty, the bounty and blessings. We must learn to work together with all of nature and with each other.
The violence perpetrated across our country is an extension of our failure to love and respect our natural environment and each other. Our souls are tinder dry and sparks of discord quickly become flames of dissidence. We fail to honor the tenants of acting justly, loving mercy and walking humbly with God. Pride and arrogance feed flames of injustice, as compassion is trampled in our quest for dominance over each other and even nature itself, God’s Creation.
We seek, and long for the quiet waters, the calm stillness of a summer day reminiscent of childhood memories when life was simpler and we were young. The blessings and curse of instant and constant communication, the invisible leash called cell phones and the anonymity of Facebook or Snapchat or any of a myriad of modern technologies create opportunities for anxiety unheard of.
Maybe it’s time to take a deep breath, and recall the words of the Prophet Micah, to act justly, love extravagantly, and walk humbly with God. Amen
Blessings and Love,
Pastor Dave
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