Whose glory is around and within us

Whose glory is around and within us

We never have to look too far to see and experience God’s glory, it surrounds us. This beautiful world, God’s world, that we live in is a reflection of that glory. There have been many attempts recently to make new lists of the Seven Wonders of the World. There is a website dedicated to such lists, and to the Wonders of the World in their many forms; it’s called WonderClub, and is well worth a browse.

One of the lists they have is for Seven Natural Wonders of the World. It’s an interesting list, and hard to disagree with.

1. Mount Everest
2. The Great Barrier Reef
3. The Grand Canyon
4. Victoria Falls
5. The Harbour of Rio de Janeiro
6. Paricutin Volcano
7. The Northern Lights

We don’t have to travel huge distances to see amazing natural wonders, though, wonders that reflect the beauty and glory of God’s world. Very often we only need to look up. The clouds we can see in the sky above us form some amazing shapes and patterns — ever changing, and beautiful to look at.

But today’s Collect, for the Sixteenth Sunday after Trinity, says that God’s glory is within us too. I don’t find that so easy to see as the glory that surrounds me. Just because I can’t see it so well doesn’t mean it isn’t there though. The human body is an incredible machine, even when it doesn’t work as well as we expect, as with mine.

I have a feeling, though, that the mechanics of the human body, as glorious as they are, aren’t the glory of God that this Collect is referring to. I think this is much more about the spirit that drives each one of us; our personalities; the love we share; in fact, the very thing that makes us human. And that is a beautiful, wonderful, and truly glorious thing.

Lord of creation,
whose glory is around and within us:
open our eyes to your wonders,
that we may serve you with reverence
and know your peace at our lives’ end.
through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Additional Collect for The Sixteenth Sunday after Trinity
is Copyright © The Archbishops Council