This past
weekend my husband and I were treated to a visit to the Museum of Science and
Industry in Chicago thanks to my daughter and her husband. The highlight was
the National Parks movie that was playing at the Omnimax theater.
Over the years,
our family has visited and camped at many of our National Parks so many of the
scenes were familiar to us. We enjoy being outdoors and love the quiet beauty
of hiking and camping in the various parks. Although our love for the outdoors
began with the mountains, we have come to enjoy the variety of landscapes,
wildlife, and vistas that different regions and habitats offer. Personally I
would have a very hard time identifying one particular park as my favorite. The
swampy Everglades have very little in common with the semi-arid Badlands or the
snowy heights of Glacier, but each has its own beauty and wonder.
As the movie
began in this museum that celebrates human curiosity and achievement, I quickly
recognized the instrumental music as Leonard Cohen’s Hallelujah. As scenes of parks like the Grand Canyon, Yellowstone,
and Yosemite swept by in this gigantic domed theater, my emotions overwhelmed
me. It was as if I was witnessing the words of Psalm 148, a psalm that calls
the entire creation to praise the LORD.
And this is as
it should be. In a setting where it was likely that if they knew the word at
all the majority of persons considered ‘hallelujah’ as merely an expression of
joy, the creation itself seemed to pick up what those made in the image of the
Creator were unable to do saying “praise the LORD.”
On this Palm Sunday weekend, it was as
if the very rocks were crying out.
