Thanksgiving for creation and relationships

"Gracious God,
We thank you for these blessings that you share with us. We pray that as we gather together and prepare to eat this meal, a sense of gratitude and a spirit of sharing would be present in each one of us. Bless us and help us to see the ways that you call us to share our blessings and gifts with others, so that your people would be fed and your name be praised. Guide us to see the ways that you are present and active in all of creation. Give us grace and courage to love all of your creation. Forgive us for our misuse of our gifts, our exploitations of resources and people, and for the ways we reject parts of your creation as unholy. May we grow in our understanding of you and our relationship with you. Amen."
As I read the articles for this week, I thought about the ways that humans have sought to be in relationship with God. The ritual rules found in Leviticus were designed to bring a certain group of people in relationship with God by not eating particular animals and only eating specified animals in a set way. The problem with these rules is that they are rules-they can be followed without an understanding of why they were established in the first place. The goal was to help people praise God and celebrate God’s creation, while recognizing their place in it. Walter Brueggemann’s call to praise God by sharing our gifts from others and not simply hoarding them. Our gifts and material blessings come from God and are meant to be used to bring God glory, either by sharing them with others or by using them as wisely as we can. In our North American context of wealth, we should pray for the knowledge and generosity to share our gifts and use them appropriately, as well as ask for forgiveness when we do not.