Morning Greetings to you!
Thursday Morning: Genesis 1:1-3
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 saw that the light was good; and God separated the light from the darkness. God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day.
I chose this reading as a focus this morning in order that we might reflect on the ways in which we see creation. In the Celtic way of thinking, there is no great gap between heaven and earth, rather the two are seen as inseparable and intertwined. God’s voice created both and in that same instance, the Son and Spirit cannot be separated either. Words that are attributed to St. Patrick speak of the Christ present in all that is created: Christ be with me, Christ within me, Christ behind me, Christ before me, Christ beside me, Christ to win me, Christ to comfort and restore me, Christ beneath me, Christ above me, Christ in quiet, Christ in danger, Christ in hearts of all that love me, Christ in mouth of friend and stranger. This is the Christ that is known in and through all of creation and speaks of a certain closeness that cannot be separated. As John Phillip Newell writes, “The Christ who is within, at the very centre of the soul, is the Christ who is to be looked for in friend and stranger, Christ at the heart of life.” (Listening for the Heartbeat of God, pg. 26). And so, it goes without saying that Christ is not only found in people, but in the very environment around us—in the light, darkness, the day and night. We must remember that all of it is Good and cannot be separated from God’s love. Which parts of Creation speak of Christ to you? Reflect on the ways in which creation could be treated differently with this point of view lived out.
I invite you to light a candle, saying the following words as you do:
Once there was someone who said and did such wonderful and amazing things that people began to follow him. They needed to know who he was so one day they asked him. And he said: “I am the light.” (Adapted from Godly Play)
Let us join our hearts and voices as we pray:
Tireless Creator, the one who separated the day from the night, we give you thanks for seeing that all before you is good. Call to us with the very same voice that brought all into being. Enable the same Spirit to sweep over us so that we might once again remember that we are one with all that was and is and is to come. And in this morning, may we see the day ahead of us as being full of endless possibilities—the clean slate onto which you created the vastness of the universe. In the name of the One who surrounds us and is within us, we pray. Amen.
May you know the Oneness of the Spirit in all of Creation, in this moment and for the day ahead!
