Mission Monthly – September 1998

“We don't know why but when the world is lost in shadows there is a light that will remain. The love He gave, that cared enough to die, is as endless as the Montana sky.”

“Montana Sky”, Whiteheart

It has been many years since I first heard the song “Montana Sky” by the popular Contemporary Christian music group, Whiteheart. I was first drawnto this work through its ethereal sound; I was further inspired by its lyrical imagery. In my view the “endless” presence and love of God in all of creation can never be overstated; its expression only limited by our inability to comprehend the infinite height, width, depth and breadth of God's eternal Being and Wisdom. The Anaphora prayer of the Orthodox Church's Divine Liturgy candidly portrays its own prayerful imagery declaring God's inexpressible nature, “for thou art God ineffable, inconceivable, invisible, incomprehensible…” Yes, we confess that the eternal essence of God is unknowable to our created nature; while at the same time we, as “the one(s) who adore” (Fr. Alexander Schmemann, For the Life of the World, p. 15), are compelled, often using the nature of creation, to attempt to express it.

Having just returned from the “Big Sky” state of Montana and the Northern Rocky Mountains of Glacier National Park, I cannot help but joyfully reflect upon the beauty and significance of God's creation. Creation is beautiful because God Himself IS Beauty (God may have even increased the beauty of His creation so that through it the indelible image of Himself given to each person by right of their birth might resonate and be drawn into contemplation of their Creator). Is it coincidence or providence which gives so much variety of color, scent, species and size? Khouriya Vanessa commented to me while passing through the shadows of nine and ten thousand foot, jagged-edged, snow-capped mountain tops, “I wonder how anyone could deny God after seeing such beauty!” I was deeply moved upon overhearing the conversation of a father speaking tenderly to his young son, “…and when you look into the horizon you can see the glory of God's Kingdom.” In one impressive moment, that many parents only dream of, a father and son together experienced the awesome power of God in His creation and offered thanksgiving and praise to Him for His great and wonderful gifts.

Many have tried to capture this beauty in words. I have experienced little to match the poignant Akathist of Thanksgivingwritten by the Archpriest Gregory Petroff, +1940, “Lord, how good it is to be your guest; the delicately scented wind, the mountains stretching to the sky, the waters reflecting like infinite mirrors, the golden rays of sun, theairiness of clouds. All nature secretly whispers, full of tenderness, and even the birds and beasts bear the mark of your Love. Blessed is mother earth with her transient beauty, longing for the homeland which eternal and where in imperishable beauty rings out: Alleluia!”(Kontakion 2). I am content, however, to remain silent in my musings lest I become cliche in an all too common attempt to express the inexpressible. I am content to allow God's grace to draw me into a deeper contemplation and recognition of the miracle of life, His Life, expressed in the glorious beauty of creation!