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Last Word - Beginning
Whoever wrote down the book of Genesis was very wise. He (or she!) knew very well that he had not learned everything about creation, but he did know that mankind was looking at a universe which must have been created, even if the fashion or the means of its creation remained unknown.
So, we find (in the Good News translation as the first words) that "In the beginning God created the universe; the earth was formless and desolate". In chapter 2, verse 2; the words are "by the seventh day God finished what he had been doing and stopped working". The writer ends the second chapter "and that is how the universe was created".
Why, you might ask, are you being treated (at the risk of making you feel patronised) to a series of quotations you could have found for yourselves. You might also ask "What do I, myself, know about how the universe was created?" If I asked you the question you might well set out a lengthy and scientific exposition of astronomical and molecular knowledge, perhaps far longer than the first two chapters of Genesis, and the result would not remove the ultimate mystery. Where, when and what awesome act started it?
Why is all this being rehearsed here? It is simply a thought of wonder at the beginning of a year, when darkness is gradually giving way to increasing light in the miracle which is the solar system. For all our knowledge, for all our discoveries, we are no nearer to answering the questions which begin to be asked by children of quite tender years.
At this beginning we might do well to listen to Simeon, who took the baby in his arms and said "Now Lord you have kept your promise and you may let your servant depart in peace. With my own eyes I have seen your salvation". If we are humbled by the immensity of the universe, we will the more wonder at the gifts of life and love given to us by the Lord of the universe himself. Perhaps our response, rather than pride in things we see as our achievements and discoveries, should be simple gratitude.
Bob Mclean
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