 Ash Wednesday: In the beginning
In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.
Gen 1:1
It is the first day of our journey. We leave behind the things that we know.
What we know is based on what we have seen and experienced through our senses.
Where did all of it come from? What does it all mean?
It is hardly any wonder that the writers of the scriptures had the same
questions. Thousands of years before Christ, before the Christian Era, the
first verse of the first chapter of the first book of the Bible began by
recounting the acts of God before there was any written record; before there
were any people; before there was anything. There was nothing to see. Nothing
to hear. Nothing to touch. Nothing. Nothing at all. The writer begins at
"the beginning"–before anything else happened.
Who was there? God, and God alone.
Pause and think of it. God alone. Close your eyes. Take a deep breath. When
you enter the labyrinth, you are leaving creation behind. You are starting
a journey to encounter God, and God alone. If you experience a sense of awe,
good! A sense of exhilaration, better! A sense of love–there is your
first step.
The Psalmist knew the same sense of awe.
"Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever you formed the earth
and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, you are God." (Psalm
90:2)
"The sea is his, and he made it: and his hands formed the dry land."
(Psalm 95:5)
The sea, the land, and the mountains. All of them were formed by God. And
so were you.
"I will praise you; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvelous
are your works; and that my soul knows well." (Psalm 139:14)
You are leaving your world behind. Set God before you.
Dearest God, creator of heaven and earth, creator of life and creator
of my soul, you are truly awesome. I tremble at your greatness, and I am
humbled. I am at the beginning of a journey. I am seeking you. I am seeking
you alone. Watch over me. Keep me ever in your loving care, and reveal yourself
to me, that I may be a faithful witness to your everlasting power and love.
Amen.
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