Creation

August 11, 2017

A conversation with a good friend today turned, as you might imagine with me it would, theological. Clark is a member of our writer’s group, and after the meeting, we sat and talked. We both are thankful for this group of men and women who gather most Friday mornings to critique each others’ work by way of correction and encouragement. Clark is a master of both. I don’t think I’ve ever met anyone as encouraging as is he, and when he offers a correction, one would be advised to listen carefully. Clark is Jewish, and I am Christian. Though we differ in our assessment of Jesus of Nazareth, we claim the same Biblical roots.

We had been discussing the bond we both feel with this group of writers, which prompted discussion of the Biblical world view in which the presence of spiritual powers in this world was taken much more seriously than today. Our secular society doesn’t know what to do with this. We deal in psychology, sociology, economics, politics, education, and science, and increasingly do so in a spiritual vacuum. The realm of theology is relegated to the humanities, along with fairy tales and mythology. Walter Wink, late theologian at Auburn Seminary, wrote about the language of power in the Bible, which flows between the manifestations of power in the political and economic realms, and the actual spiritual powers behind these manifestations; what he called the “interiority” of the institutions. Clark and I ranged wide and far in our conversation, till at one point, I mentioned the spiritual nature of what we do as writers. We participate in the creative work of God when we write, bringing something out of nothing and pronouncing it good. Like life itself, writing can be perverted by sinfulness to serve evil and scurrilous ends, but at its core, it is a creative process, and thereby participates in the spiritual work of our Creator God, who does his work through the agency of words.

Our conversation reminded me of a prayer I gave at the 10th Anniversary Dinner of our local New Horizons Band last year. The prayer isn’t very long, but its context is, so if you are so inclined, read on. If not, skip to the end, or just give up now.

Here it is:

I would like to take a moment of privilege to put my prayer into context...

On Father's Day 2012, I called my father to wish him a happy Father's Day. We talked for about 20 minutes, ending with me telling him I loved him. About three hours later, I received a phone call from my nephew telling me they when they woke dad from a nap to take a call from another nephew, he was talking incoherently; he had suffered a cerebral hemorrhage and slipped into a coma. We made it to his bedside, but he never regained consciousness, dying within a matter of hours. Lest you think that was a terrible thing to happen on Father's Day, know that he was surrounded by his  family...people he had loved all their lives, and who loved him in return. He was at their camp on the lake with my mother, brother and sister, and some of his grandchildren and great grandchildren.

But here's the wonderful thing about it all: Three months earlier I wouldn't have been able to have that conversation with dad. In later years he had grown increasingly deaf, and as he did so, we watched him slowly fade from life, living in a shadowland because he couldn't be part of our conversations. I hadn't been able to talk to him on the phone for years. But in April that year, he received new digital hearing aids, and we literally watched him reborn. Hearing, he came alive again!

In the Creation story of the Jewish/Christian tradition, Light was the first thing created, but light isn't primary. Before even light, there was SOUND, as the voice of God spoke, "Let there be light!" 

Sound is the stuff of Creation, and scientists tell us that the universe is literally buzzing with  the vibrations of the atoms, quarks, and all that other stuff. And friends, we in New Horizons have this amazing privilege of participating in the very act of Creation, partnering with God himself in the very stuff of life!

With that, let us pray:

Great and gracious God, thank you for the exquisite privilege we have of making joyful noise! Scripture tells us that at Creation, the morning stars sang together, and throughout your world, the trees clap their hands as the mighty waters roar in voluminous praise to you. For the past ten years, you have given us a great gift together, allowing us to join you in your creative activity, making music that can quiet inner demons and bring joy to troubled hearts.

The prayer continued, but whether it be music or words, it was sound that brought all that is into being, and whether we make music or write, or build things, or build people, whenever we create something good, we have the amazing privilege of participating in the very work of God. What an amazing gift we’ve been given! All praise and thanks be to Thee, O Lord, our God and Savior, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit!