Sunday, November 05, 2017

Sabbath creates room for imagination & creativity

Isaiah 43:16-21 & John 14:15-27 by Rev. David L.S. Robertson
Series:A Journey with Time

Susan and I sat in silence as the sun set over the Okavango Delta, in northern Botswana. We watched as giraffes, elephants, zebra, jackals and ostriches came to the water’s edge having migrated through the hot and arid Kalahari to the place where the water flows like rivers in the desert—quenching thirst, soothing parched lips, easing the anxiety of survival. Fed by the hills of northern Angola, the Okavango flood waters reach the desert sands of the Kalahari in dry season, providing the exhausted creatures the spa-like qualities of an inland delta. Here the wild animals honour their creator, and we mere mortals can scarcely take it in. The dangerous toll of the migration is past. The long trek to water is over. The young frolic, the old ones rest, those on watch close one eye in the presence of refreshing newness. There is no consideration of what is past. Newness springs forth. There is quite simply, the full presence and blessing of the moment—a natural sense of gratitude. And we humans, privy to the miracle of what we witness, having dipped our cup in the pure waters of the delta, declare praise for our maker. If there ever was a place on earth that captures the imagination of the prophet Isaiah, I would cast my vote for the Okavango. In the context of such natural wonder, one cannot help but seize the essence of God’s new thing and the spaciousness to perceive it.
Duration:16 mins 32 secs