LISTEN TO THE EARTH
by Rt. Rev. Mark Lattime
“But ask the animals, and they will teach you, or the birds in the sky, and they will tell you; or speak to the earth, and it will teach you, or let the fish in the sea inform you.” – Job 12:7-8 (NIV*)
Listen to the earth. The caribou on the tundra, the starving polar bear, blazing trees and scorching winds full of smoke—all are prophets.
Even covered in ashes, Creation’s prophetic voice calls to us at the gate. The warning rises above the din of those who shout that common good is measured in dollars and land exploited for profit.
Cast down your idols, seek what is good; the earth belongs to the Lord. Heed this warning with sacrificial love, and faith will see green sprouts rising through gray ash even as we reach towards God to be reconciled. – The Rt. Reverend Mark Lattime
The Rt. Reverend Mark Lattime serves as the 8th Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Alaska. Prior to 2000, Bishop Lattime served as college chaplain at Canterbury Fellowship and Associate Rector at R. E. Lee Memorial Church in Lexington, Diocese of Southwest Virginia.
* THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
