hymns, vol. 1, no. 1: for the beauty of the earth

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IN THE BEGINNING, GOD . . .

And perhaps that’s where we can rest for a moment. In the beginning, God. God is Reality itself, the Ground of Being and Source of all that is. Before something-ness was called forth from nothing-ness, God is. The First Cause. Infinitude. The Reason anything-ness exists at all.

This is where the first biblical creation story begins as it introduces us to God as Creator. From the swirling abyss of chaotic nothingness, God sends his spirit (or in Hebrew, “ruach”, literally meaning both “wind” and “breath”) over the primordial waters and speaks his word. And something happens. Day emerges from Night. Sea emerges from Sky and Earth from Sea. And all creation becomes filled with the glory of God.

Immediately, one may notice the patterns embedded within this creation story: the refrains and repetitions, the numbers and threes and sevens, and perhaps even the mirror-like structure of the entire story — how the sun, moon, and stars (day four) fill the Day and Night (day one), how the birds and fish (day five) fill the Sky and Sea (day two), and how the land creatures (day six) fill the Earth (day three). But with a keener eye, one might also notice that all these patterns and repetitions and structural elements seem to be leading somewhere. They point in a particular direction as a crescendo builds and builds towards a climax. 

Of course, this climax is none other than the creation of humankind, marked by the rapid repetition of the word “created” (in Hebrew, “bara”) in the twenty-seventh verse. And suddenly, something shifts and the tune changes. God sees his own image of goodness and life and love reflected in humankind. He smiles as broad as the universe as he declares his love for humankind and gives all he has created to it. He blesses humans with an invitation to become co-creators — to be fruitful and multiply. And then, he rests. Like a sculptor who recognizes that her work can be perfected no further, God sets aside the divine chisel-and-hammer and takes it all in. He sees all he has made and declares it “very good”.

Now, one must remember that God is beyond time and space. God is the infinitude of Reality itself! So when God sees everything he has made, he sees it all-at-once. He sees beyond those first trees and hears more than that first birdsong — he sees the trees outside your window right now. He hears the birdsong in the air today and the whirr and excitment of life in this moment. He sees and knows you — all you’ve done and all you might become, your best day and your quietest fear, your name, your hidden spark, and even your beating heart in this moment here-and-now. And he sees all he has made and declares that you are very good.

Thus, the first creation story is more than mere history or science. More than a dry re-telling of an event from thousands or millions or billions of years ago, it describes the ongoing dynamic of creation that continues today. Indeed, this story is an unveiling of the very nature of is-ness itself! It’s a song sung of the living relationship between creature and Creator, between the finite and the Infinite. It reveals the truth that all we are and all we could ever experience is sustained through, with, and in him. And it peels back the curtain on the most fundamental reality which undergirds each and every breath we take: all is gift. 

May we be open to the gift all around us, and may we be open to the Giver, too! May we draw our breath from his first breath, and may each word we speak be an echo of his first word. Then, perhaps we can learn to listen more closely to the music of this moment. Then we will see deep enough into the color of this particular here-and-now and catch a glimpse of Reality itself. And maybe, just maybe, we’ll learn to see it all-at-once, too, as we rest in the goodness of the song that it sings.

This arrangement of for the beauty of the earth is an attempt to capture this living dynamic that undergirds the first creation story in the Book of Genesis. It begins with the gentle pulsing of the animating spirit of God, spoken and sent over the primordial waters to color creation with beauty, with life, with song. As the singing-into-existence spins on, these colorations become increasingly more ornate, filling the spaces and evoking ancient memories of our original harmonies with God, ourselves, and each other in paradise. And, finally, when the song is fully sung, we come to rest. We still ourselves in the ever-beating heart of God, resting in the goodness of it all as co-creators, called to keep singing the goodness of creation into life.