Church bulletin:
I am a lover of words and I particularly like words which express ideas and concepts not directly found in English. There is often richness in other languages which we don’t have in our own native tongue. I came across one such word recently – “tenalach.” Tenalach is an ancient Irish word used to express the relationship of people to the land. It has both cultural and spiritual significance.
Culturally, tenalach speaks of connection. We are part of the land which supports and provides for us. Of course, this is what the Bible presents. Gen 2:7, “And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.” The soil from which we eat and draw so many recourses is in our DNA. We don’t stand apart from the land nor merely upon it, we stand with it. It is in us. The land is important to God and included in His salvific purposes. He is not only saving people, He will save the earth of which we are part.
Spiritually, tenalach speaks of the divine. While we don’t endorse a pantheistic view of creation (found in ancient Irish thinking), creation is none-the-less alive with the presence of God; It exists in order to praise the One who made it. Tenalach depicts soil, water and air singing and rejoicing. Psalm 98:8-9, “Let the rivers clap their hands; Let the hills be joyful together before the LORD, (9) For He is coming to judge the earth. With righteousness He shall judge the world, And the peoples with equity.” Isaiah 55:12, “The mountains and the hills shall break forth into singing before you, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.”
In the midst of so much noise, creation communicates a message which is a balm for the soul – the quietness of the bush with only the sound of a gentle breeze and chirping birds, the smell of Eucalyptus, Wattle and Boronia; the beach with its symphony of breaking waves, the freshness of the salty sea air. The textures, colours, scents and sounds which emanate from the earth is the lifting up of its hands and voice to God in praise. It is an invitation for us to join in. It is doubtful any of us run the risk of pantheism, we do run the risk of being detached and desensitized to God’s first book of revelation – creation.
Creation without the Bible produces mysticism and idolatry. Creation appreciated through the Bible results in worship and spiritual health. It is a travesty for Christians to ignore the wonder and majesty of God in creation. We forfeit a divinely appointed tonic for the restless and weary soul. We fail to honour God with the worship that He deserves. The heart that is not uplifted to God through His handiwork, is a heart far from Him. Psalm 148 describes the voices of people joining together with the stars, rain, snow, wind, sea, sea creatures, animals, birds, insects, mountains, trees, in a great cacophony of praise. Are we in that number?
The land has been spoilt by the curse, it is still, however, saturated with the glory of God. It continues to speak its message to us. We can and should have a taste of tenalach now, but when the restoration comes, tenalach will be deeper and richer than we can imagine. Rom 8:19-21, “For the earnest expectation of the creation eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of God. (20) For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it in hope; (21) because the creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God.”
The earth groans for the time when it will be restored with the sons of God, do we groan for the same?