The Holy Week Rain Is A Reminder of our Covenant with God
…..michel a. bengwayan….
I was happy it rained yesterday. The rain came softly, not in large sputtering raindrops but soft pelts, bringing delight to many trees and plants long wishing for water. I went out to watch the rain and how it fell on the trees. The leaves appeared greener, the varying flowers from Margaret yellows to violet clambering morning glorys and walking irises sparkled with joy.
The plants’ delight comes at a time when we are reminded in our meditation that our existence too is watered to life by the death of the Saviour who took all our sins for us, suffering in doing so.
It also warns us that at this time of climate change, water will be a bone of contention and the only way we can prevent the worst from happening is by holding on stronger to God. “Take care not to be lured away to serve other gods and bow to them. For the Lord’s anger will flare up against you, and He will shut up the skies so that there will be no rain . . . (Deut. 11:13) “
For too long man has bowed to greed and material things, destroying nature along the way and threatening two of God’s gifts—trees and water.
And this summer, there will be water wars due to limited water resources. Farmers will fight tooth and nail for every spring and river for irrigation. Already, the government is warning us power will be low due to expected low water supply in hydroelectric dams.
What does this tell us? That the impending the scarcity of rain is a spiritual safeguard. As we renew our faith with our Maker who has taken the bullet for us, we must fear the spiritual danger of sovereignty. That after renewing our bond with the Greatest Spirit, we might forget about God’s role in our lives.
When we have worked ourselves to the top, bought and built the mansions we desire, filled our bankbooks, our hearts grow haughty and we forget the our Creator . . . who led us out of . . . a parched land with no water in it, who brought forth water for us from the flinty rock; ……..We forget and claim, “My own power and the might of my own hand have won this wealth for me.” But it is “ the Lord your God who gives you the power to prosper (Deut. 8:12–18)”.
Rain, at this time of climate change, serves as a reminder of our covenant with God.
A reminder that He made us stewards of His creation. To be good stewards. Not bad. And to be good, we treat each creation with sacredness. But the images of seas and waters polluted, forests decimated, land destroyed to smithereens only portrays the kind of stewards we are..
The coming scarcity of rain reveals our vulnerability to greed and reminds us to return to that ideal spiritual state of humility and dependency. Without a yearly reminder of our frail human condition each Holy Week, we might grow too haughty in our own land and begin to worship the power of our own hands.
This yearly reminder of our fragile human condition is meant to jolt us out of our complacency, to inspire us in our search for greater meaning and purpose in life.
We must conclude the Holy Week with spiritual prayer for rain in the coming months, humbled by the awareness of our fragility and our dependence upon God for sustenance and survival.
As we pray for rain, we must also rejoice in the notion that the Father cares for us and keeps His eyes on us, from year’s beginning to year’s end.
Rain will be a daily reminder of our human limitations and the greater meaning and purpose we can find in accepting a covenant with God.
I watched the rain for more than an hour, as it watered the land and the trees and plants unselfishly, lived and dwelt on its presence, awed by its contribution, but equally wary of its destruction, whether inadequate or too much.
I sat for another hour thinking of how nothing we are without God…as no life can be without rain.
…..michel a. bengwayan….
I was happy it rained yesterday. The rain came softly, not in large sputtering raindrops but soft pelts, bringing delight to many trees and plants long wishing for water. I went out to watch the rain and how it fell on the trees. The leaves appeared greener, the varying flowers from Margaret yellows to violet clambering morning glorys and walking irises sparkled with joy.
The plants’ delight comes at a time when we are reminded in our meditation that our existence too is watered to life by the death of the Saviour who took all our sins for us, suffering in doing so.
It also warns us that at this time of climate change, water will be a bone of contention and the only way we can prevent the worst from happening is by holding on stronger to God. “Take care not to be lured away to serve other gods and bow to them. For the Lord’s anger will flare up against you, and He will shut up the skies so that there will be no rain . . . (Deut. 11:13) “
For too long man has bowed to greed and material things, destroying nature along the way and threatening two of God’s gifts—trees and water.
And this summer, there will be water wars due to limited water resources. Farmers will fight tooth and nail for every spring and river for irrigation. Already, the government is warning us power will be low due to expected low water supply in hydroelectric dams.
What does this tell us? That the impending the scarcity of rain is a spiritual safeguard. As we renew our faith with our Maker who has taken the bullet for us, we must fear the spiritual danger of sovereignty. That after renewing our bond with the Greatest Spirit, we might forget about God’s role in our lives.
When we have worked ourselves to the top, bought and built the mansions we desire, filled our bankbooks, our hearts grow haughty and we forget the our Creator . . . who led us out of . . . a parched land with no water in it, who brought forth water for us from the flinty rock; ……..We forget and claim, “My own power and the might of my own hand have won this wealth for me.” But it is “ the Lord your God who gives you the power to prosper (Deut. 8:12–18)”.
Rain, at this time of climate change, serves as a reminder of our covenant with God.
A reminder that He made us stewards of His creation. To be good stewards. Not bad. And to be good, we treat each creation with sacredness. But the images of seas and waters polluted, forests decimated, land destroyed to smithereens only portrays the kind of stewards we are..
The coming scarcity of rain reveals our vulnerability to greed and reminds us to return to that ideal spiritual state of humility and dependency. Without a yearly reminder of our frail human condition each Holy Week, we might grow too haughty in our own land and begin to worship the power of our own hands.
This yearly reminder of our fragile human condition is meant to jolt us out of our complacency, to inspire us in our search for greater meaning and purpose in life.
We must conclude the Holy Week with spiritual prayer for rain in the coming months, humbled by the awareness of our fragility and our dependence upon God for sustenance and survival.
As we pray for rain, we must also rejoice in the notion that the Father cares for us and keeps His eyes on us, from year’s beginning to year’s end.
Rain will be a daily reminder of our human limitations and the greater meaning and purpose we can find in accepting a covenant with God.
I watched the rain for more than an hour, as it watered the land and the trees and plants unselfishly, lived and dwelt on its presence, awed by its contribution, but equally wary of its destruction, whether inadequate or too much.
I sat for another hour thinking of how nothing we are without God…as no life can be without rain.
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