大象传媒

Good morning

Buried in our Church yard at Greyfriars Kirk in Edinburgh are many famous characters. One of them is the 18th Century enlightenment figure, James Hutton, one of the fathers of the science of Geology.

Looking at the rock formations around Edinburgh, he saw 鈥渘o vestige of a beginning and no prospect of an end鈥�. He realised that the world was so much older than we had thought and introduced to the world the idea of 鈥渄eep time鈥�. 聽Some people have speculated that the poet Robert Burns and Hutton must have known each other and exchanged their ideas. It is quite possible. Burns鈥檚 poem, 鈥淎 Red, Red Rose鈥� has these lines: 鈥淎nd I will love you still my dear till all the seas gang dry鈥�.. and the rocks melt with the sun鈥� 鈥� that鈥檚 quite a thought for an 18th century mind and Hutton had speculated that the world was so old that many seas had gone dry. Maybe Burns got those ideas from Hutton.

Here is another thought 鈥� when we spend time in nature as people like Burns and Hutton did 鈥� not just analysing it but seeking to be a part of it, not just reading it 鈥� but allowing nature to 鈥渞ead us鈥� 鈥� we begin to realise that we are not set apart from the natural order but very much part of it 鈥� subject to it. I鈥檝e often felt that if humanity is to survive as a species we need both our science and our faith 鈥� understanding and humility 鈥� reason and reverence. We need poets like Burns and scientists like Hutton to exchange their ideas.

In the midst of all our science and scholarship, help us, living Christ, never to get above ourselves, but always to remember our utter dependence on a healthy environment. So teach us day by day to use our understanding with wisdom so that we may learn to care for the earth with reverence, in Jesus鈥� name. Amen.