The Fourth Day

On the fourth day it was beginning to look a lot like earth.  Though it did not emanate from the sun or moon, there was light and darkness on the very first day.  It was not a light and darkness dependent on heavenly bodies in the not yet created sky, but one dependent on the light which burst forth from eternity.  By the end of the fourth day, there were familiar things like sky, sea and dry land, vegetation plants yielding seeds, trees bearing fruit, and lights in the sky that ordered the seasons.  Once again there was evening and morning and it was all good.   

By the end of the fourth day it is obvious that God does not do the work of creation with one quick swoop of His hand.  It is also obvious that the chaos of some formless dark void was not the primal essence of creation, but the eternal light.  Only when that light broke forth was everything made that was made. (John 1:3).  Chaos and darkness is not the primal matter of creation, but the eternal light which still shines forth bringing into visibility those things that have been invisible.   Another not so noticeable thing is revealed to us as each day's work is completed.  It is a Word which is said not only at the end of the fourth day, but other days as well.  ""And God saw that it was good." (Genesis 1:18).  Though the work of God was not done, what had been completed was good.  

Here is a Word which reminds us of the importance of recognizing that unfinished work is not a sign of failure.  It may simply be a sign that we recognize an order that does not require instant completion.  We live too much according to deadlines and schedules which often takes us away from standing back and appreciating what we have accomplished in the time given to us.  If our work is not a part of our life instead of all of it, our life is out of sync with the way of the Creator.  On the fourth day we are reminded that it is not sin if some work started today is finished tomorrow.

The Third Day

One of the emphases of Celtic spirituality is its tradition of thresholds.  This stream of spirituality holds that there is a thin veil between here and there.  The world of the Celtic saint was one where the temporal and the eternal were mingled together in such a way that the saints of earth were often aware of the saints of heaven among them.  Some places were like thresholds where one could almost stand with one foot in this world and the other in eternity.  Using more modern language and more contemporary images might cause us to envision a parallel universe.  One is seen and one is unseen.    

Such a threshold might be experienced at the place where the water of the ocean interacts with sandy shoreline, or a place where meadow disappears at the edge of a forest, or even at a common every day door frame which separates the interior of the home from the exterior world around it.  In some of those threshold places, saints might build hermitages, pilgrims might find new homes, and sacred places of worship might be built.  More than we are in our present day spiritual communities, these ancient saints seemed to be aware of the eternal world which overshadows this one.  

Before we decide such sounds a bit too pagan or "hokey pokey," let us remember the creeds we profess which speak of the communion of the saints, or Hebrews 12:1 which says that "we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses,"  or the Scriptural accounts of angels breaking into our world with a word from the Lord such as happened to Mary, or the feelings of awareness of something or someone not seen when we gather around the Table on All Saints Sunday.  There are thresholds in our midst, too.  Maybe we call them something different than did the ancient saints, but there can be no doubt that those who have eyes to see, ears to hear, and a heart that is open will know what it is to walk alongside of holy mystery here on earth.

 

 

Moments of going and coming were noteworthy moments and prayers of blessings would often be offered for those who were departing the security of home for a journey to another place. 

The Second Day

It would be interesting to visit with the version of myself that lived thirty years ago.  I wonder what I regarded as the most shaping sections of Scripture.  While I must confess to not being able to give a definitive answer, I would guess that it would have been the book of Acts and Scripture that centered on prayer.  As I recall those were years of working with church growth goals and a growing awareness of the importance of vital prayer ministries within the church.  

The man I know today is one who views the first chapter of Genesis and the Prologue to John's gospel as sections of Scripture which are foundational to my faith.   I recognize that the influence of movement to the farm from the pulpit has taken me to such a place.  Being on the farm has been like being immersed in the spacious cathedral of creation instead of being immersed in the brick and mortar world of the church.  Long before I could truly be aware that change was taking place, I was slowly opening up to the unfolding revelation of the Creator God in the midst of the creation which was all around me.  Sometimes truths take root in us long before we are able to see them growing.  

Such speaks of the spiritual journey in these years of retirement.  The younger version of me would not believe the older version of me would become who I am and the older version of me looks back to the younger version wondering why what is seen so clearly now could not be seen back then.   Perhaps, it is the way life is experienced.  Even as everything in creation is constantly changing and moving toward being something new that has never before existed so it is with each one of us.  For some folks like me, the change seems so sudden; yet, pausing for a moment of reflection gives life the reality of something taking root and grow imperceptibly and invisibly for a long time before breaking into the conscious mind.  Sounds a bit like the Kingdom of God at work.

The First Day

The first day was a day filled with light.  It was not just an ordinary light.  It was an eternal light.  What is surprising is that the first day was not brought into being by the first sunrise.  According the record of Genesis it was the fourth day before the two great lights that we know as sun and moon began bringing its distinctive light into the created order.  The light of the first day is a different light.  It is a light from which everything came.  It is the light which gave light to the created order and the light which still is woven into the fabric of everything created.  Genesis 1:3 speaks of that primal creative moment with the words, "Then God said, 'Let there be light;' and there was light.  And God saw that the light was good..."    

This eternal light of Genesis is brought to light through the reflection of John the Apostle as he wrote in his gospel about the Word being present in the beginning as the light that gives life and overcomes any darkness. (John 1:1-5)  Any doubt about the identity of this eternal light is taken away as the Apostle remembers Jesus saying, "I am the Light of the World.  Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of light."  (John 8:12)  Finally, our first day reflection takes us back to the Prologue of John where we hear the Word of God declaring, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God...All things came into being, and without Him not one thing came into being...."  (John 1:1-2).  

It is all about Jesus.  From Genesis to John and even on to Revelation, it is all about Jesus.  What a powerful word to carry with us as we begin our journey into this new year.  In what we know as our beginning, the creative light of the world described in Genesis touches us and gives us life.  In that moment we think of as our ending on this earth, we will move from the darkness into the eternal. The inescapable eternal light which touched us at conception shall reveal for us the road home.