God is in heaven! At the time of writing at least, the weather is lovely. This morning the sun was already strong at 7:30am. The cereals in the fields are already starting the ripening process, the first night of Proms is imminent and it is only a week until the opening ceremony for the Olympic Games. Those things spell summer in my mind and bring to the fore many happy memories from past years which coalesce into a mental picture of how it always is; although I know that is not true! Olympic Games come around in a four year cycle and it is by no means always sunny.
Signs of summer will work differently for all of you, not least avid Wimbledon followers. Whatever triggers your thoughts and emotions may not necessarily be explainable but is likely to be fuelled by past memories and associations. I am no psychologist but this seems to be part of how and why we value good things.
Today’s reading from Exodus (32:1-14) describes how the Israelites lost touch with God. Moses, their leader, had gone up a mountain to be with God but as they could not see him they lost faith in him. They made a golden calf so they had something tangible to worship.
Is that why I associate summer with human music as well as ripening fields. It is not always an Olympic Games year and it is not always sunny and warm so the ripening crops are less obvious, but there will always be the BBC Proms! Am I at risk of relying on these things to make me feel good about life rather than taking every day as it comes whether God is obvious or not? Surely I am not so faithless that I need a nice day to know that God is in heaven.
I am a fortunate person as I am easily content and I know that I keep sight of God more easily than many people do, from what is said and talked about. That is not a virtue of mine, it is a blessing.
Ripening fields, music, sport, holidays and so many more things are blessings but to remain content we must see them as such, and not give way to the temptation to idolise them or we lose sight of God and they lose their power to lift us.
A prayer
May we always give thanks for the blessings around us and not lose sight of you, Lord our God. When days are cloudy help us trace the rainbow through the rain and avoid the temptation to look away. In all things help us to remain faithful and content that you are near. Amen.