Light of Genesis...Same Light that Dawned Bethlehem

“In the beginning God created heaven and earth.  And the earth was void and empty, and darkness was upon the face of the deep; and the spirit of God moved over the waters.” (Genesis 1:1-2, Douay Rheims)

A simple sharing this Advent...

Today, a friend asked me about the story of Creation, found in the book of Genesis.  She was confused...  Why is it that in the beginning, the earth is covered with darkness...emptiness...void?

Many people continue to read Genesis as the story of creation in terms of a religion versus science debate; reading the Holy Bible as if it is a story book or a pop novel.  This way of reading imposes our historical situation on the sacred text (using our finite mind to comprehend the infinite Word) and misses entirely the spiritual insights that open our heart to the “religious” meaning the story had for ancient Israel, and the spiritual meaning that God intends for us today.

This Advent, as we quietly contemplate on the lighted candles of Advent, we remind ourselves that the Word of God is alive and will continue to examine us individually today if we choose to allow it.  The Word of God is Light that pierces through the darkness in our lives...bringing hope, peace, love and joy.

For instance, the Genesis’ creation day is different from the ordinary day with which we are normally familiar with these days.  With the sacred scriptures, it is always about reading through the eyes of faith, patiently allowing the Word to sink into our hearts, taking quiet time to encounter the Word.  The story of Creation tells us that the Spirit of God brought life and light out of chaos and darkness.  The Holy Spirit is “the Lord and Giver of Life”.

Genesis, the first book of the Bible, reminds all of us today of the power and goodness of God as manifested in the creation of the world, and also the dependence of fragile creatures like us, on the dominion of the ultimate Creator; from a formless, empty void, He unconditionally fills it with life, and from darkness, He brings forth Light – in God, there is simply no darkness...only Light.

The first chapter of Genesis shares that in the beginning the world was “formless and empty.”  It then proceeds to show how God sets out to fix this - first, by giving the world form and then filling it with abundance.  In Days 1-3, God creates the “form” of the world - the day and the night; the sky and the sea; the land and the vegetation.  In Days 4 - 6, God fills these “form” with the sun, moon and stars, the birds and the fish to fill the sky and the seas; and man and beast, which rule the land.

There is a perfect order to all these; from chaos, comes order.  First God creates the “structure” of the world, then, He fills that structure with living beings.  After each day of creation, God sees that His work is “good.”  After the six “work days” are through, God sees that His work is “very” good.  The word “very” is used to mark the end of the creation cycle.

Very briefly, Genesis is a story of faith...our faith, telling us how God chose a particular family to keep His Revelation, and how He trained His Chosen People to fulfill His mission; how His Light still shines forth today through His chosen people and still continue to radiate out simply, gently and quietly to this chaotic world that is filled with much darkness.

As we prepare for Christmas, simply remember that Christ IS “the Light that came into the world” to dispel the “darkness” of sin and to radiate the truth and love of God to each one of us.  Like the poor humble shepherds, let us always be watchful and simply trusting to the quiet call of God...following the one true Light...

As His chosen people, let us always choose to create a new Genesis in the lives of others on this short journey through life..to re-create the world we live in so that we can experience heaven, here on earth today.

Let the joyful bells of Christmas resound, proclaiming the birth of the Creator, the source of life...the true Light of the world.

Maranatha!  Let us simply and quietly invite Him into our lives, O Christ our Lord!

God bless all.  Blessed Christmas to one and all!  Peace and joy across the land!  We are but ONE family...ONE colour...the colour of the ONE human race; created and hand-painted by the ONE God who loves us for eternity!

Religion...Gives Meaning to Life and Hope...

The international media has been swarmed about happenings and distress in Egypt; political transformation, street protests, curfews, disturbances, evacuations.  According to the CIA World Fact Book, Muslims make up 90 percent of the country’s 80 million people, Copts 9 percent and other Christians 1 percent.  These people will sit-in at Tahrir Square till the tyrannical regime collapses and justice restored.

What is not often reported or highlighted by the media is the fact that during such chaotic times of change, Muslims and Christians are united against the Mubarak regime.  Christians started their Sunday Mass in Cairo’s Tahrir Square as Muslim protesters formed a ring around them to protect them during the service.  On the earlier Friday, more than a million Muslims gathered for Friday Prayer in Tahrir Square with Christians forming a ring around their fellow Muslims to protect them during prayers. 

Tahrir Square continues to be a witness of remarkable scenes of inter-religious solidarity in the struggle for freedom and justice.  Christians and Muslims recited in unison the “Our Father” prayer in Tahrir on Sunday, a day intended to commemorate those killed in pro-democracy protests since January 25, 2011.   Joining hands against the regime of Egypt’s President Hosni Mubarak, Egyptian Muslim and Christian protestors shared funeral prayers in Tahrir Square on Sunday, 6 February, for the victims of brutal government security crackdowns on demonstrations.  Such testimony of religious solidarity and faith within such a massive event, amidst the cries for reformation.  The pilgrims of faith have united themselves on this journey.

As we witness this historical event, many people continue to be troubled in conscience when they think about religion, especially about their own religion and the radical response it calls for.  Strange for some, unsettling for others, indifference to the rest. 

"It is a strange God," said Frank Sheed, a writer and theologian, "who could be loved less by being known more".  Religious thinkers have always tried to find an answer, a single word or an explanation, for God's mysterious action in His world.  They have not yet come up with a final answer - and probably never will.  You are searching for belief in a God who makes sense to you - who is what your own idea of God is.

Questions, doubts, difficulties, hopelessness, depression can be means of strengthening your faith and purifying your spiritual life.  In Egypt, we see that however much people may differ from each other in time or place, they do not differ much from each other in their fundamental need to lead a meaningful life and to give expression to what makes their life meaningful.  Their acts of worship may be so different from each other as night and day - whatever the variations, at the core of it all, at the center of their religious sense, there lies the encounter with the Mystery, the Divine.

Religion is a catch-all term embracing the various ways humans have of giving common expression to what they think life's journey is ultimately all about.  "Man", says a noted American anthropologist, "is unlike other animals, for he is a creature who comprehends things he cannot see and believes in things he cannot comprehend."  Religion deals with a dimension beyond scientific grasp; religion responds to the Mystery of the universe.  Religion is about our relationship with the Infinite.

As Christian pilgrims, we have our own unique set of beliefs about religion; a relationship with God.  Others have theirs.  We should not dismiss our neighbor's religions, for they too are attempting to formulate their own awareness of God as they have come to know Him.  From their different approach, we, too, can humbly learn to see God from a different angle and perhaps, just perhaps, like the people in Egypt, add to our own knowledge of God.  From our tradition too, likewise, we must help others learn.


Whichever spiritual attitude you choose, the world will be at least a little different because of your choice.

"Faith is the realization of what is hoped for and evidence of things not seen.  Because of it the ancients were well attested.  By faith we understand that the universe was ordered by the word of God, so that what is visible came into being through the invisible."

(Hebrews 11: 1-3, NAB)