Singing mountains and clapping trees
by Tatiana Overduin
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The mountains before you shall break forth into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands (Isaiah 55:12).
Have you ever heard mountains singing? Or what about trees clapping their hands? The reading today provides us with a remarkable image. Nature is an important and wonderful part of our lives. We are aware of the mountains ‘shaking’ when the tectonic plates move daily on the earth’s surface – but singing? The author Peter Wohlleben claims in his book, The Hidden Life of Trees, that trees communicate with each other. They ‘speak’ through their complex root systems, share water and nutrients through this extraordinary network, and the ‘mother tree’ protects the saplings that grow around her, even sending signals about drought and disease.
God has called humankind to protect the earth. When bombs tear craters into the ground, destroying forests, when we pollute and abuse the earth’s resources, one can hardly expect it to sing or the trees to clap in response. In Romans 8:22, God’s holy word informs us that the earth groans; all creation suffers in the bondage of decay since sin entered the world. We also read in this passage that human suffering is neither ignored nor dismissed. Pain is real, and human beings suffer together with all creation.
If we read the following verses, we can recognise this text as eschatological: meaning it points to end times, when God-centred gladness of the redeemed will glorify God’s holy name forever. Then we will find pure joy amid the suffering of all creation. Therefore, with hope, we wait in anticipation for the day when suffering will finally end, and all creation will be made right through Christ’s return. Then we will hear the mountains actually singing glory to God and the trees applauding God’s handiwork. Oh, what a happy day that will be! What a time of indescribable joy!
So, while we continue and care for all creation and each other, awaiting our resurrection, we are provided with a most excellent way to trust in God’s promises of peace – despite the evil destroying our precious earth and the suffering of his faithful people. ‘If we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall also rejoice in the likeness of his resurrection’ (Romans 6:5).
Dear Father God, creator of the earth, instil in us an unshakable trust. Holy Spirit, open our mouths to sing praises of glory to you and let us clap our hands in applause to you, Jesus, for all you have done to save us through the perfect work of the cross. Amen.
Tatiana is a member of Bethlehem Lutheran Church, Adelaide. She lives in Largs North, a seaside location in Adelaide, and has two adult children and six grandchildren. She continues to teach English, History and Religion full-time at a secondary Catholic College. Prior to her teaching degree, she qualified with a Bachelor of Arts in Theology from Australian Lutheran College (ALC) in 1996, as one of the early groups of female students to graduate from ALC. She enjoys a variety of crafts, art, gardening, singing, writing and swimming.
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