by: Bishop Tessa Moon Leiseth
May 20, 2024
O Lord, how manifold are your works! (Psalm 104:24a)
Manifold – this is not a word we use commonly. Many, varied, and numerous are good synonyms. Many are your works, O Lord. Numerous and varied are your works, O Lord.
Last Sunday was Pentecost Sunday. I celebrated with Viking and North Viking Lutheran Churches of Maddock. It was a glorious morning with festive worship, a confirmation, a trumpet duet, and a full house. Glorious.
After worship we marveled at the wonders of buildings and hospitality as a new addition and elevator were blessed. And then, we used the elevator or the stairs to descend to the basement for another good Lutheran tradition – a potluck! It was good indeed!
We were at Viking Lutheran, which is the country church in the parish pair. I was busy taking pictures of the building after worship and ended up being the last one in the parking lot. Once I stopped paying attention to photo-taking, I could hear the birds singing …. and talking …. and making all kinds of noise. I could feel the breeze. I could hear the whole earth alive with varied noises.
I was surrounded by gravel roads, fields waiting for new seed, a beautiful church and cemetery, and the wonders of God’s creation. I cannot tell you how peaceful and soul-filling it was. I sat for a bit on the front steps of the church to soak it all in and to give God thanks.
God is good. God’s works are indeed manifold. Thanks be to God!
Psalm 104:24-35 (Psalm for Pentecost Sunday, Year B)
24 O Lord, how manifold are your works!
In wisdom you have made them all;
the earth is full of your creatures.
25 There is the sea, great and wide;
creeping things innumerable are there,
living things both small and great.
26 There go the ships
and Leviathan that you formed to sport in it.
27 These all look to you
to give them their food in due season;
28 when you give to them, they gather it up;
when you open your hand, they are filled with good things.
29 When you hide your face, they are dismayed;
when you take away their breath, they die
and return to their dust.
30 When you send forth your spirit,[a] they are created,
and you renew the face of the ground.
31 May the glory of the Lord endure forever;
may the Lord rejoice in his works—
32 who looks on the earth and it trembles,
who touches the mountains and they smoke.
33 I will sing to the Lord as long as I live;
I will sing praise to my God while I have being.
34 May my meditation be pleasing to him,
for I rejoice in the Lord.
35 Let sinners be consumed from the earth,
and let the wicked be no more.
Bless the Lord, O my soul.
Praise the Lord!
Bishop Tessa Moon Leiseth 