Mark 16:15

Jesus said to his disciples, “Go into all the world and proclaim the good news to the whole creation.”

Friends, yesterday we reflected on the Great Commission – the work to which we are called as individuals and as the church. Today, we invite you to reflect on a one poet’s interpretation of that work. May this poem be our prayer, as we look ahead to that great day when all of creation is redeemed.

Messenger by Mary Oliver

My work is loving the world.

Here the sunflowers, there the hummingbird—

equal seekers of sweetness.

Here the quickening yeast; there the blue plums.

Here the clam deep in the speckled sand.

Are my boots old? Is my coat torn?

Am I no longer young, and still half-perfect? Let me

keep my mind on what matters,

which is my work,

which is mostly standing still and learning to be

astonished.

The phoebe, the delphinium.

The sheep in the pasture, and the pasture.

Which is mostly rejoicing, since all the ingredients are here,

which is gratitude, to be given a mind and a heart

and these body-clothes,

a mouth with which to give shouts of joy

to the moth and the wren, to the sleepy dug-up clam,

telling them all, over and over, how it is

that we live forever.