9th. May. 2022. Daily Devotion.

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. . . . In him was life; and the life was the light of men. John 1:1, 4

In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. Genesis 1:1-3

The most important part of the creation is the first sentence: “In the beginning, God created . . .” God had to have existed before the creation of the universe, because He caused it. He made it happen; it was not a random, inexplicable accident.

Genesis 1 meshes nicely with the scientific theory of a “big bang.” Scientists currently believe that a tiny bit of matter exploded about 14 billion years ago. This explanation — that God created the universe out of something that already existed — also seems consistent with John 1:1, that God was the intelligence that formed the universe, without mentioning whether or not He simultaneously created the matter from which it was formed.

Certainly, God might have created matter and energy, either as part of the account in Genesis, or previous to it; it would seem logical or even necessary to us that He did this, but logic is not truth. The important point is that the Bible does not tell us. There could have been universes before ours!

The important point, however, for both the scientist and the Christian, is not to get bogged down in finding discrepancies between scientific and Biblical accounts of the creation; for the discrepancies are an illusion. Scientists are fools if they reject Genesis, for it answers questions they do not have a clue about; and Christians are unwise to reject science out-of-hand, for it reflects the brain God gave us and His will that we be able to explore the world around us. M. Barge.

Lord Jesus, let me never forget that you are my friend, as well as my God. Amen.

Hymn to Harsh Matter

Blessed be you, harsh matter, barren soil, stubborn rock: you who yield only to violence, you who force us to work if we would eat.

Blessed be you, perilous matter, violent sea, untameable passion: you who unless we fetter you will devour us.

Blessed be you, mighty matter, irresistible march of evolution, reality ever new-born; you who, by constantly shattering our mental categories, force us to go ever further and further in our pursuit of the truth.

Blessed be you, universal matter, unmeasurable time, boundless ether, triple abyss of stars and atoms and generations: you who by overflowing and dissolving our narrow standards of measurement reveal to us the dimensions of God. Amen. ~ Teilhard de Chardin, 1925

Grant us, O God, in all our doubts and uncertainties, the grace to ask what you would have us do, that the spirit of wisdom may save us from all false choices; that in your light we may see light, and in your path may not stumble; through Christ our Lord. Amen. William Reed Huntington (1838-1909)

Gracious God, your love includes us all, yet through the upheaval of pandemic and lockdowns the divisions between people have become accentuated.
We confess that too often we have not listened to those who have a different voice or offer a different perspective.
We confess that at times we operate from a place of privilege and do not always deal well with the power that we have.
Help us to understand the breadth, depth and height of your love for us and for others so that we work with humility, across the divisions, for justice for all, so that our lives as well as our words will proclaim your all-encompassing love. Amen.