Minnesota Episcopal
Environmental Stewardship
Commission (MEESC)

Reflection on Psalm 13
by the Rev Sally Maxwell

This psalm is an individual lament that starts with prayer to God for deliverance from pain and sorrow and enemies. It ends with an expression of trust in God for God's bounteous faithfulness. The psalmist wants to sing and rejoice.

Consider the times when you have heard personal or communal laments about people’s lack of care for creation. It is excruciatingly painful to witness the destruction of the environment.

I reflect on villagers whom I met in the Philippines. They expressed multiple laments about the destruction of land and water. Strip mining in certain areas in that fairly pristine nation of islands had displaced indigenous communities and had ruined water supply, with no apparent effort at reclamation. I heard the cries of villagers about the dangerous mud slides due to de-forestation. I heard the lament of workers who now work for $1-2 per day on large corporate fruit farms. Their former small farmlands have turned to dust.

Yet the psalmist ends with trust and rejoicing. So, too, can those who care for creation find hope in their efforts and trust in the Creator. An example in the Philippines is the development of sustainable farming in the small villages. These bring much hope to the people.

The Rev Sally Maxwell was the campus minister at the University of Minnesota-Duluth, Duluth, MN, when she originally wrote this reflection in 2011. Sally and we welcome your comments. Please address your comments or additional reflections to Sally Maxwell or any MEESC member, or mail them to: