Kingdom of
Heaven
“There
is no need to be afraid, little flock, for it has pleased God to give
you the kingdom.”
Luke 12:32
“When we
are truly alive, we can see that the tree is part of heaven, and we
are also a part of heaven. The whole universe is conspiring to reveal
this to us.”
Thich Nhat
Hanh
When I began writing this
blog in February, 2011, these were the first quotes I used, along
with another by Thich Nhat Hanh, “The miracle is not to walk on
water. The miracle is to walk on the green Earth in the present
moment, and appreciate the peace and beauty that is available now.”
I chose them six years ago, because that February was freezing cold,
even in Alabama, and I was anxiously anticipating the coming of
spring. Today, I am anxiously anticipating the coming of summer, but
for a very different reason. February was not cold this year—the
average daytime temperature was 58, with an average low of 37. No
doubt July and August will be insufferably hot.
When I read the scripture
from Luke, I feel like a child of God, part of the “little flock”
who has received the kingdom. Now, it is my responsibility to care for
that kingdom. It genuinely hurts me when I see how cavalier we humans
are with the beautiful gift we've been given. When we open our
national parks to drilling and mining, we are putting money ahead of
preserving some of the most beautiful parts of creation. Would it
make a difference if we were to open our eyes and see that, indeed,
the mountains, deserts, prairies, ice covered arctic, and we,
ourselves, are all part of the same kingdom of heaven?
Over the weekend, my
friend, Anna, showed me a beautiful book published in 1997, by
Jungian Analyst, James Hillman, and artist, Margot McLean, titled,
Dream Animals. In it, Hillman describes the symbolic
meanings of animals that show up in our dreams, and McLean's
ethereal, mystical art depicts the animals that are disappearing from
earth—wild horses, elephants, hippos, polar bears, tigers, turtles,
insects, such as bees and butterflies, and many more. That
publication was twenty years ago. In the last forty years, according
to the World Wildlife Federation, the earth has lost fully half of
its wild animals to poaching, pollution, global warming and
destruction of habitat. Is that the best way to show our gratitude
for God's gift?
We humans can be part of
the miracle of Green Earth, if we wake up, and take responsibility
for our stewardship of the kingdom. We are the “little flock” in
charge.
In the Spirit,
Jane
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