From Meteorology to Miracles

In my class on the Liturgical Year this morning, Sr. Susan Barber commented that everyone in the community must listen to the weather report, because all the sisters at morning prayer were dressed for 80+-degree temperatures that are predicted for today. I commented that if we would study the Bible as closely as we watch the weather reports, we would all be scripture scholars!

It is natural to want to know what the weather will be like because it has such an impact on our lives, dictating the type of clothing we wear, the timing of our travels and our outdoor activities, and how to care for our gardens. Scripture, of course, also has a great impact on our lives if we choose to listen to it, because it reminds us that God loves us, we are one in Christ, and we are called to care for each other and the earth.

Because we are so attuned to the weather, we can use it as a tool to attune ourselves to God’s presence in our lives. When we welcome sunshine, we can also welcome the light of the Son, God with us. When it is windy, we can remind ourselves to allow the Holy Spirit to sweep away all that weighs us down and lead us in a new direction. When it rains, we can be thankful that God the Creator waters the seeds of life within us with mercy and compassion. Cold temperatures can remind us to offer warmth to others, and heat can lead us to offer water to those who thirst.

Even though we tend to be hyper aware of the weather, we generally are insensible to the miracle of the earthly environment that nurtures us. As the Buddhist teacher Thich Nhat Hanh says, “Every day we are engaged in a miracle that we don’t even recognize: a blue sky, white clouds, green leaves, the black, curious eyes of a child—our own two eyes. All is a miracle.”

May our fascination with meteorology lead us beyond our preoccupation with the weather to an appreciation of the daily miracles of being that are unfolding within us and around us!