‘The darkness is no darkness with you, but the night is as clear as the day: the darkness and the light are both alike’ (Psalm 139:11). Only a sense of stillness and mystery can unlock the paradoxical ‘treasures of darkness’ (Isaiah 45:3). God’s presence, even amid suffering. The gift that First Peoples (Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders) give to Australia is this sense of balance. Being the land’s most ancient people, we sense the eternal mystery at its heart. We have no desire to conquer or subdue it. We sense God’s presence in it and through it, and in consequence we cannot take the land or its peoples lightly. Reverence is the word that captures our connection to this land and its peoples. This is why justice is never too far from our conversation. Justice is about God’s creation and God’s declaration that all is good. All creation is of ultimate worth. All creation is to be respected. All creation is to be loved. We lose sight of this from time to time, but the light calls us back to seeing things through the eyes of God. We begin to see things as God first intended. Creator God of outstretched arms, embrace all creation. Help us to embrace your creation too. Help us to care for all created life – humans, animals and fish, plants and forests, seas, oceans, and waterways. God with bulbous, all-seeing eyes look out over your creation and protect it. Help us to see too – those who are being treated unjustly, the beauty and your presence in creation, the destruction of your creation, the love and kindness that is always present in others. Look into souls and hearts and correct what is not right in the way we treat your creation, the way we treat others, the way we treat ourselves. Help us to change. We ask this through Jesus the light of the world. Amen. 16
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