In the beginning when God created the heavens and the earth
He made all things good.
Form followed function.
Everything worked the way it should.
Perfect and precise, like clockwork.
He is God after all
The master craftsman, the Creator.
Let there be light
So the sun rose in the east and set in the west, as the earth rotated on her axis.
When darkness fell, the moon
Palely reflected the brightness of the sun.
The beauty of the night sky was revealed
In the luminous stars that stretched across its infinite expanse.
The oceans surged in a rhythm dictated by gravitational forces.
Let the waters bring forth swarms of living creatures
Of such colour, shape, texture
Mass, complexity and variety
It made the beholder gasp in awe and wonder.
On land, he lavished the same attention to detail
To all living things that crawled, slithered, galloped, swooped,
Lumbered, raced, scurried, flitted and crept.
Then God created humans
Made in his image and likeness
A man formed from the dust
A woman formed from the rib of the man
For it is not good that the man should be alone.
This at last is bone of my bones
And flesh of my flesh.
Into them the Lord God breathed
A spirit that gave the spark of life
And the capacity to choose between good and evil.
Freedom of choice. Free will.
His work done,
God blessed the seventh day and hallowed it
Rested from all the work that he had done in creation.
Fashioned to live in unity with God and each other,
Man and woman, Adam and Eve,
Lived in harmonious bliss
They were both naked, and were not ashamed.
Receiving the love of their Maker
Living out the meaning and being of their existence
And God saw that it was good.
As one flesh their bodies were a gift of self-donating love to the other
Joined, two halves of a complete whole.
Manifesting the sacrament of the Spirit
The Trinitarian mystery
Making visible what was invisible
With the ability to give birth to the miracle of new life
Be fruitful and multiply.
One day a seed of doubt was sowed by the serpent
In the minds and hearts of Adam and Eve
Distrust and desire led to the denial of the gift.
The fracturing of the unitive relationship between God and humans
The eyes of both were opened
With it came enmity, pain, toil, thorns and sweat
Until dust you shall return.
Thus sin entered the world
Solitude turned into loneliness.
Unity transformed into alienation
Nakedness now required the protection of fig leaves.
Although paradise was lost, before he sent them forth from the garden,
The Lord God made garments of skins for the man and for his wife
He clothed them out of love, mercy and compassion.
Fickle and forgetful, humans kept breaking the everlasting covenant
Promises made to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob
To Moses who led the people out of Egypt into the land of milk and honey.
A history of salvation endured
Marked by Yahweh’s faithfulness to his chosen people
As generation gave way to generation
Until the Word became flesh and lived among us.
It took one man, the second Adam, to redeem what was lost by the first
Out of the womb of Mary, the Immaculate Conception, the second Eve
Jesus Christ was born; to live, to love and to die on the cross.
As the human face of God, the Divine face of man.
Jesus walked the earth and changed the world
Made a difference by performing miracles
Out of his boundless love for humanity.
Follow me, and I will make you fish for people
And so his disciples journeyed with him as he taught -
Proclaiming the good news of the kingdom,
Curing every disease and every sickness among the people.
By fulfilling the law through his radical brand of love
The Son of God made us all sons and daughters of God
A relationship restored, paradise found.
Love one another as I have loved you.
Was his only commandment to all humankind.
And on the night before he died:
This is my body, which is given for you
The cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood.
So that, in remembrance, we celebrate the gift of his life daily
Forgiving to the end (they do not know what they are doing), he breathed his last.
On Easter morn, he revealed himself to Mary M,
Who stood weeping outside the tomb. And later on, to his disciples.
Thus Scripture fulfilled, he ascended to heaven,
With a promise of power to them. So it was
When all of them were filled with the Holy Spirit.
On fire to become witnesses of His love
Builders of His kingdom until he comes again.
Created and redeemed, we become priest, prophet and king
Called and chosen to love in the Spirit of abundance and joy
Amen.
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