God Took The Earth

God commanded ‘Let the earth produce all kinds of plants…. Let the earth produce all kinds of animals…’ God took of the earth and created a man… Genesis 1: 11,12; 2.7

The earth where King Oswald died seems to have soaked in his sanctity and to have become a seedbed. A sick horse and a sick girl were cured by touching the soil upon which Oswald met his death; the soil from that spot seemed to have power to make the grass grow greener, to resist fire and to heal all sorts of people who were touched by it.

The earth is at the same time mother
She is the mother of all that is natural
mother of all that is human
she is the mother of all
for contained in her are the seeds of all.

In me be the truth of stream-lover willow, soil-giving alder
hazel of sweet nuts, wisdom-branching oak.
In me be the joy of crab apple, great maple, vine maple,
cleansing cascara and lovely dogwood.
And the gracious truth of the copper branched arbutus
bright with colour and fragrance
be with me on the Earth.
Chinook Psalter

The earth of humankind contains all moistness
all verdancy, all germinating power,
It is in so many ways fruitful.
All creation comes from it
Yet it forms not only the basic raw materials for humankind
but also the substance of the incarnation of God’s son.
Hildegaard of Bingen

God of the earth
forgive us for becoming proud and disconnected
from your seed-bed of wisdom, nurture and life.
Help us always to know and feel that we are of the earth
May we live this day as your humus.