Rain, Rain, Rain

The annual migration of Serengeti wild-life is a desperate drama -- two million desperately thirsty animals traveling hundreds of miles in search of the life-giving rains. Without the rains, they die.

We all do.

Ancient Israel's Earth-maker hymn, Psalm 104, celebrates Rain as a sign of God’s generous providence. And as Jesus noted, rain does not discriminate; it falls on "the just and the unjust alike"!


He waters the mountains from his upper chambers;
the earth is satisfied by the fruit of his work.
Psalm 104:13

Rain photo from 'The Water Cooler' blog
http://www.centralbasin.org/blog/category/drought/

On any given day, over 1500 cubic kilometers of rain or snow falls on our planet. 87% of this evaporated out of the ocean, but only 79% of the rain falls there. The 8% difference – averaging 126 cubic kilometers of moisture every day – replenishes the land, recharging rivers and aquifers, watering mountain forests and open-plain grasslands, rice paddies and golf-courses.

We measure rain by inches, but the benefit it brings to the landscape and human society is beyond measure. This daily hydrological ‘wind-fall’ provides us the critical water that sustains our lives. That ought to make us both humble and grateful, especially when we receive this gift so freely and abundantly. It ought to prompt an instinctive neighborly response when people elsewhere experience the calamity of extreme rain – drought or monsoon flooding.

Agriculture was one of the key developments that led to the rise of human civilization and continues to be the foundation of almost every nation’s economy, especially those that are able to manage the gift of rain.

Psalm 104, mentions olive oil, barley and wine as specific examples of rain’s bounty. Israel has been famous for its grapes since the time of Moses and Joshua, and today is enjoying resurgence in the production of its wineries. All because of Earth-maker's gift of rain.

Psalm 104 celebrates God’s creative production of a lavish smorgasbord out of water and dirt – rain from above combining with nutrients from the earth below to produce "wine to gladden our hearts, oil to make our faces shine and bread to keep us well-fed and hearty” (The Message).

This is creation spirituality, embodied and earthy, not a hint of theoretical religion in this vision of the world. Like rain, faith has to be either down-to-earth or it’s meaningless.

I wonder . . . what I can learn about generosity from Earth-maker's lavish gift of rain.
I wonder. . . how to make sense of extreme weather – drought and monsoons and the dire effects they have on my global neighbors.
I wonder. . . if there's a Serengeti drought-zone in my life thirsting for rain.

Psalm 104 - Part Four