Feature ¢ Prarthini Selveindran is a volunteer with A Rocha International, an international network of environmental organizations with Christian ethos and co-editor of the book God’s Gardeners: Creation Care Stories from Singapore and Malaysia, published as part of her work with Friends of A Rocha in Singapore. She currently serves with the Fellowship of Evangelical Students (FES) Singapore, and worships at Charis Methodist Church. / Photos courtesy of Prarthini Selveindran and Mary-Ruth Low
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in Prarthini Selve
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he two times I encountered a pangolin in the wild, I was certainly in wonder. Now, the pangolin is a shy nocturnal animal rarely encountered outside of forest reserves, so to see one in our urban setting was quite unexpected. On the first occasion it ran away from us and scrambled up a very tall tree. Both encounters were certainly wonder-full! I like to think that this orientation of wonder is something akin to the Psalmist’s posture in Psalm 104. Psalm 104 has informed a significant portion of my biblical reflection and imagination in relating to God’s good Earth. Why? In Psalm 104, we are invited to pay attention to creation through the posture and orientation of the Psalmist. The great diversity of landscape and creatures around him propel him to marvel at what he sees: wild donkeys, birds nesting in trees like the stork in the junipers, high mountains with wild goats or ibexes and rock badgers, the cedars of Lebanon, the lions, the seas teeming with wildlife… even a Leviathan!
The second time I spotted a pangolin, my companions and I were able to get a little closer, because there were no tall trees around.
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METHODIST MESSAGE June 2022
The Psalmist speaks not only of the various kinds of animals but also their homes in the wild and their relationship to one another and to God. Interdependence and interconnectedness are underlying themes in Psalm 104. The psalm underscores how all creation is dependent upon God—that his Spirit sustains them and provides for them. God values and provides for His
