From the UCC Network: 01/12/2011 "A Common Earth"

A Common Earth 

Excerpt from Psalm 89:5-37 

“Look to the rock from which you were hewn, and to the quarry from which you were dug.”

Reflection by Donna Schaper

I know a secret about people’s suitcases.  I found it out by accident when I was writing a little book about rock gardening. I thought I was the only one who lugged rocks and stones from far-off places home in my suitcase.  It turns out that many people do this.  The TSA security theater is more interested in toothpaste than in stones.

Why do people haul rocks around as souvenirs?  Are we not searching for something ancient and basic to remind us of our origin in earth?  I think so.  We are looking for our home quarry.

The current flap about whether TSA should probe our private parts when we fly is interesting in these terms.  I am less concerned about my private parts than my public parts when trying to board a flight, with a few rocks in tow.  I remember freedom and want it again. I wonder what the end game is and whether we will ever fly again without inspection.  I wonder when fear of terrorism will stop and when terrorism itself will stop.  Probably when we remember our origin in a common earth.  That hard rock is also our destiny.  We are hewn for peace, not war, hewn for love not hate.  Remember.  And then forecast.

Prayer

O God, we who carry the weight of the world in our bags, remind us where we come from, so we can know where we are going.

About the Author Donna Schaper is the Senior Minister of Judson Memorial Church in New York City.  Her most recent book is Sacred Chow: a Guide to Holy Eating.