From the River to the Ends of the Earth

                                                              Chama River -- Georgia O'Keeffe

 Give the king your justice, O God, and your righteousness to a king's son.

 May he judge your people with righteousness, and your poor with justice.

May the mountains yield prosperity for the people, and the hills, in righteousness.

May he defend the cause of the poor of the people, give deliverance to the needy, and crush the oppressor.

May he live while the sun endures, and as long as the moon, throughout all generations.

May he be like rain that falls on the mown grass, like showers that water the earth.

 In his days may righteousness flourish and peace abound, until the moon is no more.

May he have dominion from sea to sea and from the River to the ends of the earth.

Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel, who alone does wondrous things.

Blessed be his glorious name forever; may his glory fill the whole earth. Amen and Amen.

                        Psalm 72:1-8, 18-19 NRSVue

I have travelled to New Mexico several times to visit Ghost Ranch, a retreat and conference centre in the high desert of that southern state.This huge tract of land is not far from the Chama River, a significant waterway in an arid region where water for every purpose is in increasingly short supply. The capital city of Santa Fe has year-round restrictions on water use as the aquifer which supplies their water sinks lower and lower. 

I went to a conference on water at Ghost Ranch and during our week we made two "class trips", one to the Ohkay Owingeh Indigenous Pueblo located at the confluences of the Rio Grande and Chama rivers and the other to a stretch of the Chama closer to the centre. We actually waded and swam in the Chama as we discussed the spiritual and practical importance of this water source. Another time I drove along the Chama in January with signs warning of the hazard of a slippery clay road into the stunning Christ in the Desert monastery. 

Georgia O'Keeffe surveying the Chama River

Several times I stayed at the isolated retreat house at Ghost Ranch called Casa Del Sol, a building only a stone's throw down the road from the house owned by the eccentric and brilliant artist, Georgia O'Keefe. Apparently she would come for unannounced visits, climb on the flat roof to sketch, and sit at the same table where we ate our meals. When I saw this poster of O'Keeffe's painting of the nearby Chama River from the 1930s I bought it and framed it. It's one of the largest pieces in our home. 

Tomorrow the psalm for the second Sunday in Advent is 72, but the lectionary reading left out verse eight, which contains Canada's motto A mari usque ad mare. That's the "sea to sea" part of the verse, but in a day when rivers are drying up everywhere, we must be mindful that our human "dominion" of Creation has been destructive domination rather than loving stewardship We want all our rivers to run to the ends of of the Earth, with all their life-giving power. 

I appreciate the patience of long-time readers who've heard some of these stories before!

La Chama River Georgia O'Keeffe -- Laura Wasilewska