Psalm 8 (Year B, Proper 22; 18 Pentecost)

Psalm 8 is today's appointed psalm. What if, like this psalmist, people today were convicted of being veritable ladybugs, as in the image above? What if, in awe before the work of God's fingers, we accepted deep down our finitude, fragility, frailty?

In that case, we would be less likely to vent our rage on other people. That would be taking ourselves too seriously. And again, we would be less likely to jump towards war and aggression to achieve security. That would be to cut ourselves off from others, whose fellowship could bolster us in our weakness and tinyness. Still again, we would take more care not to poison the world with plumes of noxious smoke, knowing that we are too small to easily undo the damage we inflict on nature.