With this post, I am going to try
something new on my blog. Over the last several years I have written several
nature-based spiritual formation exercises, and I would like to share one from
time to time. Eventually I will collect these resources under a new Resources tab above, alongside my Why this blog? and About
the Author tabs.
This particular exercise is called Stations of Creation. Modeled
after the style of the fourteen Stations of the Cross, whereby a
person prayerfully meditates upon the Good Friday actions of Jesus on the way
to Golgotha (see Matthew 27, Mark 15, Luke 23 or John 19), Stations of
Creation are a sequence of prayer reflections based upon objects observed
in God’s natural world. Intended
to enlarge both our gratitude and our stewardship, it
has been my privilege to lead the exercise with groups large and small over the
years.
I have found it most meaningful if it can be experienced outdoors in view
of the objects stated, where possible. It may be celebrated individually or in a small group,
but if the latter, a leader can be appointed to casually direct the journey,
having done simple prior planning to map out a suitable route. In a group, it
takes about forty-five minutes to an hour to complete depending on the route’s
size. The exercise should be printed for participants to follow along and to
have for personal use at a later time; if you have difficulty printing from
this blog’s format, shoot me a message with your email address and I can send
you a nicely formatted, printable PDF version, complete with instructions.
Each
station makes use of:
~~ A natural object, to be
viewed when possible
~~ A Bible passage, to be
read aloud by a participant (if in a group) after stating the station’s
title
~~ A word picture (if in a
group), shared by a participant, that may bring others a spiritual
application
~~ A prayer, brief and
spontaneous
~~ A response, sung if
possible; I usually use the last line from the hymn For the Beauty of
the Earth, printed here. The Doxology or Kyrie Eleison may be used instead, or even
a contemporary song such as Indescribable or God of Wonders. I have often found it
works well to sing the response on the way to the next station. Upon completion of
the exercise, the entire song may be sung.
the Earth, printed here. The Doxology or Kyrie Eleison may be used instead, or even
a contemporary song such as Indescribable or God of Wonders. I have often found it
works well to sing the response on the way to the next station. Upon completion of
the exercise, the entire song may be sung.
So with thanks to my friend Helen who
inspired me with the idea, here it is, the Stations of Creation. It will be longer than my typical post!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Stations of Creation
Earth
Scripture:
(Instruction
if in a group: A reader states the station title and reads the text aloud.) The earth is the Lord’s and everything in
it, the world and all who live in it. For God founded it upon the seas and
established it upon the waters. ~~Psalm 24:1
A
Word Picture: (Instruction if in a group: “Think of an image
that conveys a spiritual truth about this item. For example on this first
station, who remembers seeing that first photograph taken of the earth from the
surface of the moon? In spite of the earth’s enormous size, its complexity and
its problems, how fragile and vulnerable it looked to us in that photograph.
How different things can be from God’s perspective.” Instruction if done
individually: the participant may simply meditate on the scripture or call to
mind an experience that brings personal application.)
A
Prayer (Instruction
if in a group: A participant will volunteer a spontaneous prayer.)
A
Response:
(Instruction: The line may be sung or stated.)
Lord of all, to You we
raise this, our hymn of grateful praise.
Sky (instructions as above)
Scripture:
O Lord, our Lord, How majestic is Thy
name in all the earth, Who hast displayed Thy splendor above the heavens! When
I consider Thy heavens, the work of Thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which
Thou hast ordained, what is man, that Thou dost take thought of him? And the
son of man, that Thou dost care for him? Yet Thou hast made him a little lower
than God, and dost crown him with glory and majesty! …Your steadfast love is
higher than the heavens, and your faithfulness reaches to the clouds. Be
exalted, O God, above the skies,
and let your glory be over all the earth.
~~Psalm 8:1, 3-5; 108:4-5
A
Word Picture
A
Prayer
A
Response: Lord of all, to You we raise
this, our hymn of grateful praise.
Light
Scripture:
Then God said, "Let there be lights
in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night, and let them
be for signs, and for seasons, and for days and years." And it was so. And
God made the two great lights, the greater light to govern the day, and the
lesser light to govern the night. He made the stars also. And God placed them
in the expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth, and to govern the day
and the night, and to separate the light from the darkness. And God saw that it
was good. And there was evening and there was morning, a fourth day. ~~Genesis 1:14-19
A
Word Picture
A
Prayer
A
Response: Lord of all, to You we raise
this, our hymn of grateful praise.
Wind
Scripture:
A tempest arose on the sea, so great that
the boat was being swamped by the waves; but Jesus was asleep. And they woke
him up, saying, "Lord, save us! We are perishing!" And he said to them,
"Why are you afraid, you of little faith?" Then he got up and rebuked
the winds and the sea; and there was a dead calm. They were amazed, saying,
"What sort of man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey him?"
~~Matthew 8:24-27
A
Word Picture
A
Prayer
A
Response: Lord of all, to You we raise
this, our hymn of grateful praise.
Water
Scripture:
God wrought wonders before our fathers,
in the land of Egypt, in the field of Zoan. He divided the sea, and caused them
to pass through; And He made the waters
stand up like a heap. Then He led them with the cloud by day, and all the night
with a light of fire. He split the rocks in the wilderness, and gave them
abundant drink like the ocean depths. He brought forth streams also from the
rock, and caused waters to run down like rivers. ~~Psalm 78:12-16
A
Word Picture
A
Prayer
A
Response: Lord of all, to You we raise
this, our hymn of grateful praise.
Fire
Scripture:
But who can endure the day of His coming?
And who can stand when He appears? For He is like a refiner's fire and like
fullers' soap. And He will sit as a smelter and purifier of silver, and He will
purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, so that they may
present to the Lord offerings in righteousness. Then the offering of Judah and
Jerusalem will be pleasing to the
Lord, as in the days of old and as in former years. ~~Malachi 3:2-4
A
Word Picture
A
Prayer
A
Response: Lord of all, to You we raise
this, our hymn of grateful praise.
Rock
Scripture:
And some of the Pharisees in the
multitude said to Jesus, "Teacher, rebuke Your disciples." And He
answered and said, "I tell you, if these become silent, the stones will
cry out!" ~~Luke 19:39-40
A
Word Picture
A
Prayer
A
Response: Lord of all, to You we raise
this, our hymn of grateful praise.
Tree
Scripture:
There was a tree in the midst of the
earth, and its height was great. The tree grew large and became strong, and its
height reached to the sky, And it was visible to the end of the whole earth.
Its foliage was beautiful and its fruit abundant, and in it was food for all.
The beasts of the field found shade under it, and the birds of the sky dwelt in
its branches, and all living creatures fed themselves from it. ~~Daniel 4:10-12
A
Word Picture
A
Prayer
A
Response: Lord of all, to You we raise
this, our hymn of grateful praise.
Crop and Climate
Scripture:
For as the rain and the snow come down
from heaven, and do not return there until they have watered the earth, making
it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so
shall My word be that goes out from My mouth; it shall not return to Me empty,
but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and succeed in the thing for which
I sent it. ~~Isaiah 55:10-11
A
Word Picture
A
Prayer
A
Response: Lord of all, to You we raise
this, our hymn of grateful praise.
Food and Drink
Scripture:
Jesus said, “Look at the birds of the
air, that they do not sow, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns, and yet
your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they? And
which of you by being anxious can add a single cubit to his life's span? ...Do
not be anxious then, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' for
your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first His
kingdom and His righteousness; and all these things
shall be added to you.
A Word Picture
A Word Picture
A
Prayer
A
Response: Lord of all, to You we raise
this, our hymn of grateful praise.
Beast
Scripture:
Ask the animals, and they will teach you;
the birds of the air, and they will tell you; speak to the plants of the earth,
and they will inform you; even the fish of the sea will declare to you. Who
among all these does not know that the hand of the LORD has done this? In his
hand is the life of every living thing, even the breath of all humankind. ~~Job 12:7-10
A
Word Picture
A
Prayer
A
Response: Lord of all, to You we raise
this, our hymn of grateful praise.
Woman and Man
Scripture:
So God created humankind in his image, in
the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. God blessed them, and God said to them, "Be
fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it; and have dominion over
the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air and over every living thing that
moves upon the earth." …And it was so. God saw everything that he had made,
and indeed, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the
sixth day. ~~Genesis 1:27-28, 30,
31
A
Word Picture
A
Prayer
A
Response: Lord of all, to You we raise
this, our hymn of grateful praise.
Decay
Scripture:
For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven: a time
to be born, and a time to die… All flesh is grass, and all its loveliness is
like the flower of the field. The grass withers and the flower fades when the
breath of the LORD blows upon it. Surely the people are grass. The grass
withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God stands forever. ~~Ecclesiastes 3:1; Isaiah 40:6-8
A
Word Picture
A
Prayer
A
Response: Lord of all, to You we raise
this, our hymn of grateful praise.
Faith, Hope, Love and a
New Creation
Scripture:
You have made known to me the path of life; You will fill me with joy in Your
presence... Now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these
is love. ~~Psalm 16:11, 1 Corinthians
13:13
A
Word Picture
A
Prayer (A closing prayer may be prayed to bring the experience to a conclusion.)
A
Response: Lord of all, to You we raise
this, our hymn of grateful praise.
~~RGM, August 3, 2013
