Tuesday, February 23, 2016

In the beginning when God created the heavens and the earth, the earth was a formless void and darkness covered the face of the deep, while a wind from God swept over the face of the waters. Then God said, ‘Let there be light’; and there was light . . . .  .  And God said, ‘Let there be a dome in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters. . . .’ And God said, ‘Let the waters under the sky be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear . . . .’  Then God said, ‘Let the earth put forth vegetation: plants yielding seed, and fruit trees of every kind on earth that bear fruit with the seed in it . . . .’ And God said, ‘Let there be lights in the dome of the sky to separate the day from the night; and let them be for signs and for seasons and for days and years, and let them be lights in the dome of the sky to give light upon the earth . . . .’ And God said, ‘Let the waters bring forth swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the dome of the sky . . . .’  And God said, ‘Let the earth bring forth living creatures of every kind: cattle and creeping things and wild animals of the earth of every kind. . . . ’ And God saw that it was good.   (Portions of Genesis 1)

Thought:

Seven times God said something and something happened.  And, each time God called it good.  Imagine the perfection of Eden. Imagine the beauty and the joy.  Imagine what it was like before it was marred by the hubris of humankind, and the cunning comments of a snake.  Linger in that space of perfect peace for just a moment.  Breathe it in.  And then hold it in your heart.  The beauty with which the Biblical text (Genesis) begins is mirrored by the beauty with which it ends (Revelation).  Eden, whether mythic or real, is not lost, just out of sight for now.  It is the realm toward which all creation is pointed and to which it will return.  We, who are caught in the meantime (or mean times), must have faith to believe God will redeem God’s creation and once more, all will be called good.  Let us hold fast to this faith.