Genesis 1:1-19; Psalm 104 May the Lord be glad in his work; Mark 6:53-56

In the recent synod on the Word of God, the Bishops presented this reality:

From the  beginning the Lord presented himself not as image or an effigy or a statue similar to the golden calf but with "a voice of words."  It is a voice that entered the scene at the very beginning of creation, when it tore through the silence of nothingness:

"In the beginning...God said, 'Let there be light,'and there was light."

Creation is not born of a battle of divinities as thought by early civilizations, ancient myths, but of a word that defeats nothingness and creates being.  A word that is spoken not out of defense of something but because of love of something, because of love for us.

This is reality.  The created world that surrounds us and sustains us is the first miracle, first product of divine intervention.  Because we all come from the same father, the earth can never be our mother, but more accurately she can be our sister; thus, fraternal love is demanded as we seek to be stewards of creation.  Like a brother protecting her sister, we are called forth to protect the created realm from which we experience anew the voice that defeats nothingness. 

As we ponder Jesus in the gospel, we encounter the reality that the word from the beginning now has a face we can encounter.  As Jesus interacts with people, the light continues to shine forth scattering the darkness of despair and doubt and bringing the warmth that soothes and invites all to a new relationship with freedom.