Gospel for September 29, 2019

START WITH SCRIPTURE:
Luke 16:19-31
CLICK HERE TO READ SCRIPTURE ON BIBLEGATEWAY.COM

OBSERVE:

Jesus tells a parable about the relationship of the wealthy and the poor in God’s economy.  As always he knows his audience — the Pharisees are listening closely and critically, and they have a reputation for an excessive love of money.  Just a little earlier in Luke 16, Jesus had declared:

No servant can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to one, and despise the other. You aren’t able to serve God and Mammon [money] (Luke 16:13).

In response, St Luke observes:

The Pharisees, who were lovers of money, also heard all these things, and they scoffed at him (Luke 16:14).

So, Jesus doubles down by contrasting a rich man and a beggar named Lazarus.  It is important to remember that in the practical theology of that time and culture, the wealthy person would have been regarded as “God’s favorite.”  Wealth was considered proof that God had blessed a person.  But Jesus sees it very differently.

He describes the rich man in lavish terms, dressed in the fine clothes of royalty and feasting every day.  But Lazarus, outside the rich man’s gate, is covered with disgusting sores.  He wants only the food that the rich man wastes every day.  Jesus’ attention to detail is vivid:

Yes, even the dogs came and licked his sores.

But as happens so often in Jesus’ parables, the tables are turned very quickly.  Both men die — the poor man carried to Abraham’s bosom by angels, the rich man tormented in flames in Hades.

We are reminded that in Luke’s Gospel particularly, Jesus consistently demonstrates an attitude of solidarity with the poor — Luke 4:18; 6:20; 7:22; 14:13, 21, etc.

Now, the rich man, from his place in the flames, somehow sees Lazarus held close in the arms of Abraham.  We must be careful to remember that Jesus is not intending to teach systematic theology in this passage, let alone trying to describe exactly what the afterlife is like.  The contrasting images —  Abraham’s bosom  and the tormenting flames of Hades — illustrate the extreme between those who are blessed and those who are condemned in the afterlife.  Abraham, as the patriarch of Judaism, is a fatherly figure who embraces Lazarus and comforts him as his child.  Perpetual flame illustrates the searing pain of damnation.

It is interesting that God doesn’t appear in this parable — Abraham seems to be God’s proxy.  The rich man calls out to Abraham for mercy and asks that Lazarus might bring him a drop of water to relieve his thirst! This is ironic because it was Lazarus who asked for crumbs from the rich man’s table and didn’t get them!

And Abraham explains to the rich man that there has been an inversion of sorts:

Son, remember that you, in your lifetime, received your good things, and Lazarus, in the same way, bad things. But now here he is comforted and you are in anguish.

This is reminiscent of Mary’s Song at the beginning of Luke’s Gospel, where the rich and powerful are deposed and the poor and weak are lifted up — a very definite eschatological statement about God’s ultimate justice:

He has shown strength with his arm.
He has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.
 He has put down princes from their thrones.
And has exalted the lowly.
He has filled the hungry with good things.
He has sent the rich away empty (Luke 1:51-53).

Abraham also explains that any ‘physical’ communication between these two planes of existence is impossible.  There are boundaries in this afterlife that are impossible to cross.

But the rich man doesn’t give up.  To his credit, he expresses concern for his five brothers who are still alive — and if Lazarus can’t give him relief, perhaps Lazarus can at least somehow go back to the rich man’s house and warn his brothers so they don’t suffer his torment.

Why the rich man thinks that even though Lazarus couldn’t come to him in Hades, he could nevertheless return from the dead and warn his brothers isn’t clear.  Now we may wonder if Jesus isn’t thinking of his own death and resurrection that is still to come,  for Abraham reminds the rich man that his brothers already have a witness:

 But Abraham said to him, ‘They have Moses and the prophets. Let them listen to them.’

Jesus is making it clear to the Pharisees that they are in the role of the rich man and his brothers.  The Pharisees are deeply devoted to the Law of Moses and the prophets for their religious doctrine.  Jesus is making it quite clear that he agrees — if the five brothers follow Moses and the prophets they need not suffer the torment of Hades.

And then Jesus springs his trap, as he does so often in his parables, here through the dialogue of the rich man and father Abraham:

“He said, ‘No, father Abraham, but if one goes to them from the dead, they will repent.’  “He said to him, ‘If they don’t listen to Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded if one rises from the dead.’”

Jesus is saying two things to the Pharisees.

• First, you aren’t really following Moses and the prophets. If you were, you wouldn’t be so enthralled with money, and you would be more generous to the poor!
• Second, he is giving a forecast of what is to come, though they don’t know it yet. In a short time Jesus himself will be raised from the dead. And if they don’t repent of their sin now, they won’t repent and believe in him then either!

APPLY:  

It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out what Jesus is saying to us.  In this world there are “haves” and “have nots.”  There are eternal consequences when the rich refuse to share their resources with the poor.

This is literally true today.  One report states that the world’s wealthiest countries have just 13% of the world’s population but 45% of its purchasing power, whereas the poorest nations have 42% of the world’s population and 9% of its purchasing power.¹

Furthermore, the World Bank estimates the number of people who live in poverty (based on an income of $1.25 a day):

• 1.4 billion people live at this poverty line or below
• This is more than the previous estimate of 984 million with the older measure of a $1 a day in 2004
• In 1981, the estimated number of poor was also revised upward, from 1.5 billion to 1.9 billion²

The application of Jesus’ teaching is pretty clear.  There are Lazaruses outside our gates around the world, in our own nation and even in our own neighborhoods.  What are we doing about them?

There are hungry children in our communities who don’t eat on the weekends because the cupboards are bare.  During the school year, subsidized breakfasts and lunches may be all that they eat during the week.

Hungry homeless may be found in many communities literally diving into the dumpsters behind restaurants:

desiring to be fed with the crumbs that fell from the rich man’s table.

Jesus reminds us that we  do know better.  We have Moses and the prophets as our witness; and we also have the witness in the New Testament of Jesus and the Apostles.

Are we the rich man who will beg for respite from Lazarus? Or will we share from our table with the poor?

RESPOND: 

I can remember when I was a child living in a third world country, where my father was stationed in the Air Force.  I can recall being in the car when dad drove through a village and the children swarmed the car asking us to give them something.

I can remember once I had climbed a tree and some of the local kids came by our yard.  They probably didn’t see me perched in the tree, and I watched as they opened our trash can and began eating something they found there — that we had thrown away!

Re-reading this parable of Jesus is convicting to me.  How can I help feed the hungry in my own community and around the world?

Lord, I confess that I am one of the rich, when compared to most of the poor in the rest of the world. Forgive me for being oblivious to the hungry and the poor around me. Give me direction in ways that I can make a positive difference in their lives.  Amen. 

NOTES:
1. “Growing Gap Between Rich and Poor.” Boundless Sociology. Boundless, 08 Aug. 2016. Retrieved 14 Sep. 2016 from 
2.  http://www.globalissues.org/article/4/poverty-around-the-world

PHOTOS:
"The Bad Rich Man in Hell" by James Tissot is in the Public Domain.

Epistle for September 29, 2019

START WITH SCRIPTURE:
1 Timothy 6:6-19
CLICK HERE TO READ SCRIPTURE ON BIBLEGATEWAY.COM

OBSERVE:

The Apostle Paul addresses one of the great snares of the spiritual life as he continues to offer advice to his protege, Timothy.

There are actually three discrete sections in this passage that nonetheless are woven together.  In the first section, he addresses the proper attitude one should have toward wealth.  In the second section, he lifts up Jesus Christ as the one who provides a Godly example of  the good confession, i.e.,  how to live one’s life as a person of God.  And in the third section, acknowledging that there are persons of wealth in the church, he advises them about how they are to use wealth for good without being attached to it.

In the first section, he reminds Timothy about the Christian’s priorities:

godliness with contentment is great gain.

The Greek word translated contentment is of great interest.  It literally means self-sufficient.  Paul also uses this word in his letter to the Philippians to describe how he has learned to handle the extreme circumstances that life can offer:

I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content in it. I know how to be humbled, and I know also how to abound. In everything and in all things I have learned the secret both to be filled and to be hungry, both to abound and to be in need (Philippians 4:11-12).

What makes his choice of the word contentment  more interesting is that this  concept of self-sufficiency was a common idea among the Stoic philosophers.  They taught that a wise person should have a sense of mental independence from all circumstances in life — whether life offered pleasure and wealth or pain and poverty.  The Stoic, they believed, should have the same sense of contentment no matter what was happening in their lives.

It is impossible to know whether Paul had any familiarity with Stoic philosophy, although as a well-educated Jew from Tarsus in what is today modern-day Turkey, he probably knew something about their thought.  At that time, Tarsus  was a crossroads for Greco-Roman culture — and Paul was a Roman citizen.

However, what Paul means by contentment  or self- sufficiency  is certainly different from the Stoic meaning.  He makes it clear that contentment  and godliness  are close companions.  In other words, the Christian recognizes that he/she is not  independent, but very dependent on God.

His real concern is to remind Christians that wealth is temporary and deceptive.  We find several phrases that have made their way into our daily conversation even without knowing where they come from:

we brought nothing into the world, and we certainly can’t carry anything out.

Wealth and material goods don’t last.

Paul also elaborates on what it means to be content:

But having food and clothing, we will be content with that.

Another familiar cliche has often been misquoted:

For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil.

This is often misquoted as “money is the root of all evil.”  It is true that Paul sees the love of money, and the urge to get rich, as a serious temptation and snare.  We are reminded that in one of his lists of sins, he says of covetousness that it is a form of idolatry.

The same might be said here — that by pursuing wealth some are also:

led astray from the faith in their greed, and have pierced themselves through with many sorrows.

So in the second section, Paul exhorts Timothy as a man of God to:

flee these things, and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, and gentleness.

These qualities are to be “coveted” by the Christian.

And Paul, perhaps in keeping with the austere advice of the Stoic who councils a kind of military self-control, tells Timothy to:

 Fight the good fight of faith.

There is the sense that the Christian life requires sacrifice and self-discipline, like that of a soldier.

Paul hearkens back to Timothy’s:

good confession in the sight of many witnesses.

This is likely a reference to Timothy’s entrance into the church, possibly when he was baptized and confessed his faith in Christ.

In fact, we may well see here the beginnings of what comes to be known as the Apostles’ Creed, as Paul reminds Timothy of the faith that he confessed in the presence of the church:

I command you before God, who gives life to all things, and before Christ Jesus, who before Pontius Pilate testified the good confession, that you keep the commandment without spot, blameless, until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ;  which in its own times he will show, who is the blessed and only Ruler, the King of kings, and Lord of lords;  who alone has immortality, dwelling in unapproachable light; whom no man has seen, nor can see: to whom be honor and eternal power. Amen.

If Paul is recalling to Timothy’s mind his good confession, it seems likely that he is referring to a part of the confessional creed that might have been expected of a convert.

This section, that lifts up the good confession  of Christ, recounts his courageous death before Pontius Pilate, and his resurrection, exaltation and ultimate disclosure as King of kings and Lord of lords.  This section reveals a very high Christology, in which Christ dwells in the same unapproachable light in which God the Father dwells.

Finally, in the third section, Paul qualifies his theme of  contemptus mundi (contempt for the world).  He has already made it clear that money is not the cause of evil, but rather the love of money.  And he has advice for rich Christians in the church.

He first reminds them that they are only

….rich in this present world…

Therefore, they aren’t to think themselves better than others, or place their faith in the uncertainty of riches.  Their hope is to be in the living God.  After all, it is God who provides everything anyway!

Moreover,  their use of wealth is to be for others — they are to do good,  be rich in good works, and share what they have with others.  If they do this, they are:

 laying up in store for themselves a good foundation against the time to come, that they may lay hold of eternal life.

APPLY:  

The Apostle Paul doesn’t insist that all Christians are called to take a vow of poverty, but he does warn — as Jesus does — that wealth can be a serious snare. True happiness is to be found in seeking God and being content with what we have.

Seeking wealth for its own sake, frankly, is idolatry. Seeking wealth so that we can use it for good is a different matter.  This is an attitude toward wealth that sees riches as a tool rather than an end in itself.

Our attitude toward wealth as Christians is rooted in our faith in Christ.  We find our contentment and happiness and true destiny not in the good things of this world, but in God’s provision for us.

Whatever we own in this world we hold lightly because we can’t take it with us.  And therefore, knowing that wealth doesn’t last forever, we are wise to use wealth to invest in those things that do  last forever:

be rich in good works . . . . laying up in store . . . . a good foundation against the time to come, that  . . . [we]  may lay hold of eternal life.

RESPOND: 

One word that might be used to describe the proper Christian attitude toward this world in general and wealth in particular is detachment.  We are to live as though wealth is a tool, not a goal; it is a means of ministry, not an end in itself.

In the first part of the 20th century, R.G.  LeTourneau was a prominent industrialist, inventing and selling much of the early earth-moving equipment.  His business accomplishments were many, but I believe his eternal deeds were far more significant. When R.G. Letourneau gave his life to Christ, he completely sold out.  But he was really relieved when a preacher told him he didn’t have to be a preacher or a missionary.  The preacher told him that the world needs more Christian businessmen.  When he began earning money, he started out the way many Christians do, with a tithe of his income going to kingdom causes.  But he began to realize that as he prospered, he wanted to give more to God.  Eventually, he began to “reverse tithe.”  He was giving away 90% of what he had earned, and living off the remaining 10%.  As an inventor of earthmoving machines, he said:

I shovel out the money, and God shovels it back to me – but God has a bigger shovel.

He also said:

The question is not how much of my money I give to God, but rather how much of God’s money I keep for myself.

Lord, I pray for godliness with contentment, particularly in relation to the use of money.  Living where I do, in the United States, I know that my standard of living is much more comfortable than almost anywhere in the entire world. Help me to use what I have and what I own for the work of the kingdom, and seek only the spiritual wealth that you alone offer.  Amen.  

 PHOTOS:
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Psalm Reading for September 29, 2019

START WITH SCRIPTURE:
Psalm 91:1-6, 14-16
CLICK HERE TO READ SCRIPTURE ON BIBLEGATEWAY.COM

OBSERVE:

This Psalm celebrates the protection and deliverance provided by God.

We see four descriptive names for God.  He is:

• Elyon — Most High
• El Shaddai — The Almighty
• Yahweh — Lord
• Elohim — a singular plural title for God

All of these are names that are more than mere titles.  They provide background on the identity of  God.

• Most High — Scripture makes it clear that there is nothing in heaven or earth that surpasses God.
• Almighty describes God’s quality of omnipotence.
• Yahweh is the I Am tetragrammaton that God revealed to Moses on Sinai — I am that I am or I will be what I will be, which is regarded as the holiest of his names.
• Elohim is one of the earliest names of God used in Scripture — interestingly, Elohim is the plural form of the word for God, with interesting implications for Christian theology, which declares that God is One God in Three Persons.

The Psalmist also uses vivid images to describe God’s protection over those who dwell in the secret place of the Most High.

The first image describes God as a refuge and fortress.  In verse four the Psalmist elaborates on this militant image by describing God as a shield and rampart.  Clearly, God can be trusted because he provides unassailable protection from siege and enemies.

And then he adds an interesting image:

For he will deliver you from the snare of the fowler,
and from the deadly pestilence.
He will cover you with his feathers.
Under his wings you will take refuge.

In this metaphor, the Psalmist compares himself to a bird whom the fowler seeks to trap — and the Lord becomes like a protective mother bird who hides the Psalmist under his feathers and wing.

This analogy to the Lord as a powerful bird isn’t new in Scripture.  The Lord says to Israel after their deliverance from slavery in Egypt:

You have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself (Exodus 19:4).

And repeatedly in the Psalms, the Lord is asked:

hide me in the shadow of your wings (Psalm 17:8;  36:7; 57:1; 61:4;).

The bottom line is the trusting relationship of the Psalmist with God, characterized by this one line:

my God, in whom I trust.

From this trusting relationship in the God who is Most High, Almighty, the great I Am, and God of gods, flows all other benefits and blessings:

Those who love me, I will deliver;
I will protect those who know my name.
 When they call to me, I will answer them;
I will be with them in trouble,
I will rescue them and honor them.
 With long life I will satisfy them,
and show them my salvation.

The key here is the relationship of love that exists with those who have personal knowledge of the Lord’s name — which makes the revelation of the four names in the first verses of the Psalm even more significant.  To know his name is to have an intimate relationship with God.

And the result of this intimate, personal relationship is protection, rescue, long life and salvation.

APPLY:  

Biblical religion is a paradox.  God is transcendent (Most High), Almighty and eternal — and yet, we can know this God in a personal and intimate relationship.

All the blessings that are cited in this Psalm derive from the nature of God.  God is all powerful, and yet he cares for us.

Our personal relationship with God is predicated on three things. God says:

Those who love me, I will deliver;
I will protect those who know my name.
 When they call to me, I will answer them.

Love for God, intimate knowledge, and calling upon God are all critical to a personal relationship with God.

RESPOND: 

Most of us have seen the Youtube videos — a powerful, huge dog playing gently with a tiny miniature dog that yaps and darts about a little annoyingly.  And yet the big dog, who could snap the little dog in pieces with one bite, tolerates the tiny playmate.  The larger dog is powerful and yet gentle.

When I think of the images that the Psalmist uses to describe God, I see these contrasting qualities of power and gentleness.  God is like a fortress, a shield and strong ramparts.  And yet, God is also tender and gentle, like a mother bird shielding her young:

 He will cover you with his feathers.
Under his wings you will take refuge.

I am grateful to have this balanced perspective on the nature of God.  He is almighty and yet gentle, awesome and yet intimate, transcendent and yet immanent.

Lord, my words cannot begin to encompass all that you are – Most High, Almighty, the Eternal One, God in Three Persons.  And to think that you have regard for me is humbling beyond imagination.  Thank you for your powerful love and your glorious salvation!  Amen. 

PHOTOS:
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Old Testament for September 29, 2019

START WITH SCRIPTURE:
Jeremiah 32:1-3a, 6-15
CLICK HERE TO READ SCRIPTURE ON BIBLEGATEWAY.COM

OBSERVE:

This passage from Jeremiah has a very definite context and historical setting.  The empire of Babylon, under King Nebuchadnezzar, is no longer a remote threat to Jerusalem.  Babylon has already brought one king of Judah, Jehoiachin, to his knees.

In 598 B.C., Jehoiachin had been forced to surrender Jerusalem after a Babylonian siege of three months.  Jehoiachin, along with his mother, wives, officials and others, was deported in the first Babylonian exile.

Zedekiah, who was Jehoiachin’s uncle and the son of King Josiah, was made king by  Nebuchadnezzar.  But he was obviously intended to be a “vassal” king, subservient to the edicts from Babylon.

Zedekiah is ruling over a disintegrating kingdom.  When the word of the Lord comes to Jeremiah in this passage, Zedekiah has been king for ten years — which makes it about 588 B.C.  And Nebuchadnezzar’s forces are once again at the walls of Jerusalem.  Zedekiah had attempted to assert the independence of Judah, encouraged by some of the false court prophets who assured him Judah would prevail.

Jeremiah, meanwhile, has been incarcerated  in the court of the guard.  Jeremiah’s “crime” has been telling the truth.  He has warned King Zedekiah that the Babylonians would indeed conquer Jerusalem, and Zedekiah would see an angry Nebuchadnezzar face-to-face.

While Jeremiah is cooling his heels under guard, the word of Yahweh comes to him in the guard house.  The Lord tells Jeremiah that his cousin Hanamel is about to approach him with a real estate deal!  Hanamel has a piece of property in Anathoth that he wants to sell.  Anathoth was one of the cities set aside as a Levitical City for the descendents of Aaron (Joshua 21:13–18); it was only about three miles north of Jerusalem — no doubt already captured by the Babylonians.

According to the Levitical law, if a person wished to sell ancestral land they first had to offer it for sale to a relative so that the land remained in the family (Leviticus 25:23-38).  This was called the right of redemption.

So why would Jeremiah want to invest in land that was already likely under Babylonian control, knowing full well that Jerusalem was about to fall to Nebuchadnezzar as well?

Like other prophetic “sign-acts,” this was intended by the Lord to be a prophetic sign.  On several occasions, Yahweh used dramatic “sign-acts” to illustrate his prophecies concerning Judah.

• The Lord instructs Jeremiah to bury a linen loincloth to illustrate that Judah had become good for nothing due to their idolatry (Jeremiah 13:1-11).
• The Lord tells Jeremiah not to marry or have children to demonstrate the joyless future that Judah will experience because of their sins (Jeremiah 16:1-4).
• The Lord commands Jeremiah to go the potter’s house and watch him mold and rework clay in order to illustrate God’s sovereign power over nations, and calls Judah to repentance (Jeremiah 18:1-11).
• Jeremiah is told to break an earthenware jug as a sign of coming judgment (Jeremiah 19:1-13).

These, and several other examples, reveal that Jeremiah’s prophecies were often dramatically enacted in his life and deeds.

But here, the act of buying a field from his cousin is a sign of hope!  Even though Judah is in the grip of Babylon, and the enemy is besieging the city, the Lord is assuring Jeremiah and the people of Jerusalem that after they have endured their punishment there will be hope.  Jeremiah carries out the legal requirements for the purchase in front of witnesses and gives instructions to his secretary:

I commanded Baruch before them, saying,  Yahweh of Armies, the God of Israel says: Take these deeds, this deed of the purchase which is sealed, and this deed which is open, and put them in an earthen vessel; that they may continue many days.  For Yahweh of Armies, the God of Israel says: Houses and fields and vineyards shall yet again be bought in this land.

The rest of the story is that Jeremiah asks God why he has been instructed to buy land in the midst of a siege.  And the Lord confirms that in fact Jerusalem will fall to Babylon, and its inhabitants will be driven into exile. Worse than that, this  time Nebuchadnezzar would order the destruction of the Temple, the city and its walls.

However, he also promises that their children will return to the land:

Behold, I will gather them out of all the countries, where I have driven them in my anger, and in my wrath, and in great indignation; and I will bring them again to this place, and I will cause them to dwell safely:  and they shall be my people, and I will be their God (Jeremiah 16:37-38).

APPLY:  

Sometimes we may think that we live in the worst of times — 9/11, hurricanes, exotic viruses that no one has ever heard of before, climate change.  This is one reason we should read history, for the sake of perspective.  Compared to wars, pestilences and catastrophes of the past, our times are reasonably mild.

God’s message to Jeremiah is definitely a word of comfort and encouragement in the face of inevitable disaster.  God is not saying to Jeremiah “there there, it’ll all be fine.”  No, Jerusalem will fall to Babylonian armies, and the consequences will be serious.

But judgment and disaster are never God’s final word.  The most frequent refrain throughout Scripture is grace, mercy and hope.  Jeremiah is instructed to buy this land because some day the Jews would return to this land.

When we are faced with disaster — personal and national — we need to remember that God’s word is always ultimately a word of hope for those who believe.

RESPOND: 

I have been involved in a few real estate deals in my life, usually involved with buying or selling a home, or observing  nervously as my wife negotiated for a property she planned to rent out.   I certainly am no great realtor.

But I think I’m astute enough not to buy property in a swamp or a flood plain.  We did look at a three-story house in a lovely canyon on a creek that fed into the Kentucky River.  But a quick tour revealed that this little “creek” had been known to become a torrent during the flood season.  There were water stains on this old home up to the third floor!

So, when I read of Jeremiah’s real estate deal, I feel a little queasy.  His cousin was obviously eager to unload this piece of property for a low offer, given the fact that all of the real estate in the immediate vicinity of Jerusalem was about to change hands — to the Babylonians!

And yet, Jeremiah is instructed to buy the land — redeem is the appropriate word.  This is a concrete witness to the promises of God — that he would bring back his people after their exile:

and I will bring them again to this place, and I will cause them to dwell safely:  and they shall be my people, and I will be their God (Jeremiah 16:37-38).

Sometimes our common sense is in conflict with faith.  We are reminded that God will keep his promises, and restore us.

And we are particularly advised to invest time, energy and resources in those things that last:

Don’t lay up treasures for yourselves on the earth, where moth and rust consume, and where thieves break through and steal;  but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consume, and where thieves don’t break through and steal;  for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also (Matthew 6:19-21).

Lord, investing time and money in something that seems doomed to fail looks foolish to most people.  But investing ourselves in your  kingdom is always a sure thing.  Guide me in the investment in those things that last.  Amen.

PHOTOS:
“Jeremiah 32 verses 7 and 8” uses the following photo:
“Honey Island Swamp (Louisiana)” by Shubert Ciencia is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.