Psalm 148:7-13 (New International Version)

Praise the Lord from the earth, you great sea creatures and all ocean depths,

lightning and hail, snow and clouds, stormy winds that do his bidding,

you mountains and all hills, fruit trees and all cedars,

wild animals and all cattle, small creatures and flying birds,

kings of the earth and all nations, you princes and all rulers on earth,

young men and women, old men and children.

Let them praise the name of the Lord, for his name alone is exalted;

his splendor is above the earth and the heavens.

THINK: This is good news of great joy! For our good, God became incarnate in the Lord Jesus. A savior has been born unto us, who is the Messiah, the Lord. The light shines in the dark and the darkness cannot defeat it.

On one of these vacation days we watched a couple of Japanese animé movies. In both films we detected the nostalgia that a highly industrialized and very secularized society has for recovering some sense of spirituality, through the appreciation of nature. Trees, forests, mountains are given a spiritual personality, as in animism, and offerings are presented to them as acts of worship and respect. It is the nostalgic sigh of contemporary society to recover something that was lost with the advent of the empire of reason, with the elimination of all superstition, with the dominance of science and technology. And we wonder, what does biblical faith say about the elements of nature?

Psalm 148 is a good example. Everything that in the various human cultures has been considered to possess some spiritual power, in the form of tribal totems, forest spirits, gods of mythological systems, political powers and nationalisms that have been deified in ancient times as well as today ... everything is invited to join the symphony of universal praise to the name of the LORD, because his name alone is exalted.

There are many reasons to praise God. We have a lot to celebrate. At Christmas we sing: Joy to the world, the King of kings is born! In Easter we sing: He is Risen, spread the news! The incarnation and resurrection are events whose importance we cannot calculate, and therefore, all we can do is praise the name of the LORD, because his name alone is exalted.

The God who created sea monsters, wild animals, reptiles and flying beings, forests and mountains, natural elements and political realities, all life in the biosphere and all human life ... that God invites us to enter the new year. A year full of promise and possibilities. God never tells us that everything will be perfect, but promises to be with us, in everything we meet along the way.

PRAY: LORD, whose name alone is exalted, we enter into the new year with hope. Create your loving community, full of peace, prosperity and love for all your sons and daughters. In the name of your Son Jesus. Amen.

GO: Let us love with all our might, without fuss. Let us be the people of God in the world. Let us practice hospitality, let us make ourselves accessible with humility and meekness.