The Book of Creation
J. Philip Newell, Saturday, 23.Aug.03
My notes for Saturday morning's seminar are not quite as detailed from Friday night's presentation. I think I was caught up in our meditation times.What we did, three times between 9:30 and 12:30, was to chant. These chants were written by Linda S. Larkin, inspired by the work of Rev. Newell; she has two collections out, and you may write her for ordering information. Music is where I meet the divine, so this really spoke to me, more in its way than intellectual concepts.
Anyway, here are some preliminary notes from Saturday morning:
- Truth is not too complicated for expression; truth is too simple for expression — Irainous (don't have the spelling handy)
- When practicing the Presence, prayer is not thinking, but being present to God & allowing ourselves to be renewed.
- The presence is forever inviting us to new beginnings, new creativity
- The moon & the sun are equals. The moon, for its part, is a lamp in the darkness which is not frightened by the unknown.
The primary topic of the day was the first chapter of Genesis. As any creation reveals something of the creator, so Genesis is a reflection of the nature of God. Most of the morning session focused on Day Two of creation:
God said, "Let there be a vault in the waters to divide the waters in two." And so it was. God made the vault, and it divided the waters above the vault from the waters under the vault. God called the vault "heaven." Evening came and morning came: the second day. (Gen 1:6-8; Jerusalem Bible)
- The Firmament in the midst of the waters is in the midst of the womb of life
- The waters which enfold this womb are the mystery of God
- The water also represents chaos, which is seen as a part of God
- Chaos is the swirling of energy within as a new thing is being born
- The turbulent & wild places of our life are where the spirit of God is struggling to birth something new
- Being present to the spirit makes us alive to the wildness as the birthing of God within us
- When the spirit of God is described as brooding over the waters, it's another way of saying God is fermenting the water
- Suppressed wild energies wreak havok
After a time of chanting and meditation, we had a break, then returned to focus on Day Seven:
Thus heaven and earth were completed with all their array. On the seventh day God completed the work he had been doing. God rested on the seventh day after all the work s/he had been doing. God blessed the seventh day and made it hole, because on that day God had rested after all his/her work of creating. (Gen 2:1-3, op cit, with edits)
- First, note phrase "Evening came and morning came", which is to say the time of rest precedes the time of creativity
- The Seventh Day is also an utterance of God
- Creation is born from the stillness
- Stillness is part of the way of God
- Our own rest is so sacred, the Celts speak of "the angeling of our rest", which is to say angels watch over us during our time of rest
Rev. Newell also recommended a book by Bede Griffiths, The Marriage of East and West which talks about the dialogue between Eastern Spirituality (e.g., Hindu and Buddhism) and Western Spirituality (i.e., Christianity). This dialogue essentially began with Thomas Merton, one of my heroes, and continued with Fr. Griffiths.
Let us pray:
Blessed are you Lord God, giver of life and life.
Blessed are you Lord God, giver of the darkness and the light
Blessed are you Lord God, giver of the waters of chaos and the waters of healing
Blessed are you Lord God for you dwell within us
Blessed are you Lord God for you have 10,000 names
Blessed are you Lord God for you are infinite
Blessed are you Lord God for you are smaller than a stone and vaster than the sea
Blessed are you Lord God for you gift us with your divine spirit
Blessed are you Lord God for you grace us with your breath
Blessed are you Lord God for you call us evermore to let go of the fleeting to be renewed into what is eternal
So be it
No comments:
Post a Comment