(Photo credit: Sascha Fonseca | Article www.npr.org/2023/02/09/1155633439/wildlife-photographer-of-the-year)
There was a fun story in the news in the past several weeks about a bear near Boulder, Colorado, who discovered a motion-activated camera in the woods and took 400 “selfies.” Anyone who has spent any time out in Colorado (or even here in New Hampshire) knows that there are plenty of black bears on the move – especially once winter is over. Himalayan snow leopards, on the other hand, don’t often take “selfies.”
At the other end of the “animals caught on film” spectrum, the photo of a rare Himalayan snow leopard (above) recently won an international photo competition. The photo – taken by a motion-activated camera in a beautiful spot in the Indian Himalayas – captured an image of this big cat (one of only 6,500 left in the wild). The photo is magnificent – taken when the sky is filled with beautiful colors, and the cat looks particularly regal. The photographer, Sascha Fonseca, set a bait-free camera trap on the side of a mountain three years ago, and this image is what came of it. I don’t know if Sascha was planning on taking a photo that looked like this one, but this is the one he got. Some folks might say that he got lucky.
Presbyterians don’t believe in “luck.” Instead, we believe in the providence of God. One of our church’s confessions, the Heidelberg Catechism, describes God’s providence in this way:
“The almighty and ever-present power of God by which God upholds, as with his hand, heaven and earth and all creatures, and so rules them that leaf and blade, rain and drought, fruitful and lean years, food and drink, health and sickness, prosperity and poverty – all things, in fact, come to us not by chance but by God’s fatherly hand.”
PCUSA, Book of Confessions – 4.027
It is sometimes hard to trust in God’s providence – especially when bad news comes our way, or we hear of earthquakes in Turkey and Syria, a war in Ukraine, or life that is so hard for someone we love. One of the true tests of faith is to trust that God is working for good, no matter what. Sometimes, it is good to be reminded that the God who created a world in which a Himalayan snow leopard can look out over a magnificent vista is the God who created a world in which we, too, live and move and have our being. The God who provides and cares for the snow leopard, and the lilies of the field, provides and cares for us, too, and empowers us to do the same for one another. May we do so, trusting in the providence of God.
Grace and Peace,
John
Prepare for Worship
This Week: “Y’all Ready for This?” (High Standards and Holy Growth)
- Read Psalm 119:1-8
- 1 Corinthians 3:1-9
- Matthew 5:21-37
Read or sing Hymn # 731 – “Give Thanks for Those Whose Faith is Firm“