The Wordless Gospel

Psalm 19
September 13, 2009

When we were living in Pennsylvania,
I served two churches on the side of a mountain
My smaller church was in a little place called Falls
which was just a string of houses
and little farms along a long, winding
uphill road
To drive from Lake Winola where we lived
to the Falls Church
I rode through many twists and curves
in the road
that scared me when I first moved there
especially in the wintertime!
But once I got the hang of driving that road
it was beautiful
Many times I went through tunnels of trees
sometimes like a cathedral of trees
Across the road from the little white clapboard church
at Falls
was a row of houses
whose backyards looked like
just another mass of trees
I didn’t know the people who lived across the road
so I didn’t venture into their yards
That’s my excuse, anyway
for serving there for a whole year
before I knew about the treasure just across the road
One day a friend of mine was visiting from New Jersey
and a woman in the congregation
offered to show her the reason
that the Falls Church was named Falls
I was embarrassed to realize
that I’d never thought to ask
But the woman instructed us to go home
and change our shoes
into good walking shoes
and also ones that we weren’t concerned about
getting dirty
When we returned to the church parking lot
our guide took us across the road
we trespassed into someone’s backyard
until we find a narrow path
that led into the woods
We had to walk carefully
grabbing onto nearby trees for support
to descend the path
that was rocky, full of big tree roots
and was steep
one false move and you’d go rolling down the hill
into a mass of green
After we stumbled our way over tree roots, rocks
and fallen logs,
we came into a clearing
and it took our breath away
I’d been living in the area for a year
and didn’t know about this beautiful treasure
right across the street
Locally they’re called the Buttermilk Falls
And there is no way to adequately describe them
but they are as beautiful as anything you’d pay to see
There are several levels
and if you climb up the rocks
you are treated to even more beauty
Rocks artfully placed just right
so the water rolls off them
splashing and creating a foam
When the water is low, you can stand on a rock
right in the middle of the falls
but when there’s been a heavy rain,
you have to stand much further away
as the rocks are submerged in water
crashing down the mountain
After that day, I went back often
although it’s not advisable to go alone
just because there are so many risks of falling
I’d never noticed the sound before
but after that day I’d always stop on the church step
and listen
and if there was no traffic on the road
you could faintly hear the roar of the falls
One day, we’d had several inches of rain at once
and you could hear the roar of the falls
from the front step of the church
I had to walk very carefully
as the pathway to the falls was muddy and slippery
The noise was deafening
and the roar and power of the water coming over the rocks
was amazing and strangely frightening
There was so much water
that it gave you the sense of the power of nature
the terrible danger amidst the beauty
The falls are actually owned by the little church I served
and there used to be a park and public access to it
at the bottom
People used to swim in the ice cold mountain water
at the bottom
The Church had a refreshment stand
that sold hot dogs and drinks
and families used to come picnic there
But they started having trouble with vandalism
and of course young kids
coming back there to drink
and throwing their bottles into the water
So after too many cleanups
and too many times of having to call the police
the church people reluctantly closed the park
and closed the road
so now the only way to get back there
is by a narrow, steep, rocky and slippery path
not recommended for those not steady on their feet

I went there as often as I could
just to sit and find peace in the presence of God
“The heavens are telling the glory of God...”
the psalmist writes
The Psalms are my favorite part of the Bible
and maybe because so much of it is poetry
and I love poetry
But the psalmist celebrates the beauty of this world that God made
“day to day pours forth speech
and night to night declares knowledge...
There is no speech nor are there words
their voice is not heard
yet their voice goes out through all the earth
and their words to the end of the world..”

I’m finding that there are too many words in the air lately
and sometimes I need a break
everywhere... words
so many of them empty and ugly
and one could go a little crazy!
But Nature pours forth its own speech
and nights declare knowledge
no speech, no words
but a different kind of word, a different kind of message
in the stars, the moon,
the prairie, the sun and the vast dome-like sky
Sometimes words just aren’t needed
when you’re with someone you love
sometimes it’s best just not to speak
and you can simply feel the joy and the love
from being together
sharing a beautiful moment
sharing the aroma of the sidewalk after a hard rain
and there’s just nothing to say
and that’s how it is with God
God knows we have more than enough words
sometimes way too many
And so God speaks to us without words
but through creation
a squirrel hanging upside down on the side of a tree
squeaking at us
or chasing another squirrel in circles
or the many variety of birds that land
and find little things to build their nests
or the vast blue dome of the Nebraska sky
accented sometimes with clouds
sometimes turning purple right before a storm
or the beauty of a thunder head forming
in the distance
it’s all a love poem from God, I think
it’s all a reminder that so much of what we say and hear each day
is meaningless
in the vast scheme of things
that God is the creator of all that is good and beautiful
and there is an order to it all
even when a tornado comes and it seems all order falls apart

Ralph Waldo Emerson is one of my new favorite poets
and he wrote an essay on Nature
and how Nature brings us to God
“The aspect of nature,” he says, “is devout. Like the figure of Jesus
she stands with bended head, and hands folded
upon the breast...
the happiest man is he who learns form nature
the lesson of worship.”
Nature helps us appreciate Beauty
the absolute Beauty created by God
There is beauty in everything if we look closely enough
and in that beauty, we see the presence of God
Emerson writes,
“In the woods, we return to reason and faith.
There I feel that nothing can befall me in life—
no disgrace, no calamity, which nature cannot repair
Standing on the bare ground, my head bathed by the blithe air
and uplifted into infinite space,
all mean egotism vanishes....”

The psalmist says, “the law of the Lord is perfect,
reviving the soul....”
The law of God is not just in the words of Scripture
but the laws of God are all around us
in creation, in the world
“in the heavens, God has set a tent
for the sun,
which comes out like a bridegroom from his wedding canopy
and like a strong man runs its course with joy....”
Just imagine the sun as something God loves
simply because God created it
and God set a course for it, a path in the sky
The sun shines, lighting up the world
brightening everything it touches
providing warmth
sometimes providing a break in the dark clouds
with a single ray coming down
to light our paths
Nothing in this world is accidental
we know of course that not all of nature is beautiful
Nature can be mean
as with tornadoes and hurricanes
as with animals that devour other animals
as waters that flood and overwhelm
But even those events give us cause to be in awe
I think in many ways we’ve lost the capacity to feel awe
at the power, the beauty and brilliance of God’s nature
God’s creation
I grew up feeling like I was misplaced
born in the wrong place
in New Jersey there just wasn’t as much to look at
too much concrete and buildings
and when I first visited Nebraska—
after I stopped hyperventhilating from the wide open spaces,
that is—
I fell in love
with the living creation all around
the access to the sky
the smell of growing things
the clean fresh smell of rain
The heavens are telling the glory of God
God has much to say in the creation all around you
but we have to stop running so fast
stop consuming every waking hour so much
that we run right by it

Emily Dickinson, who was not an avid church goer
nonetheless expressed it well
when she wrote,

Some keep the Sabbath going to church;
I keep it staying at home,
With a bobolink for a chorister,
And an orchard for a dome.

Some keep the Sabbath in surplice;
I just wear my wings,
And instead of tolling the bell for church,
Our little sexton sings.

God preaches,—a noted clergyman,—
And the sermon is never long;
So instead of getting to heaven at last,
I ’m going all along!


Going to heaven all along
every day
Wouldn’t it be great if we knew that?
If we went to heaven just a little bit every day
on our way there?
For the heavens now, are telling the glory, the absolute beauty
the unfathomable power of God
every day
all around us
in the vast skies
in the tiniest of birds and weird bugs
in the sound of the rain
in the smell of the corn
and fresh-cut grass
In all of this God is speaking God’s love to us everyday
speaking the beauty of life
the preciousness of life
and also the utter waste of so much
that consumes our minds
Receive the gifts of God,
with body, mind and soul
and let the words of my mouth
and the meditations of all our hearts
be acceptable to God, our Rock and our Redeemer
May it be so