Holy Winds

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Genesis 1:1-2

In the beginning when God created the heavens and the earth, the earth was a formless void and darkness covered the face of the deep, while a wind from God swept over the face of the waters.

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Call me the breeze
I keep blowin' down the road
Well now they call me the breeze
I keep blowin' down the road

"Call Me the Breeze" by J. J. Cale, recorded by Lynyrd Skinner from "Second Helping"

My favorite word in the Hebrew language is Ruach. There is an airy quality to the word that is appropriate because it means wind and breath. When you pronounce it, ru-aaaaach (heavy on the "a" light on the "ch") it sounds breathy, positively ethereal. It also means Spirit. So that wind from God that swept over the face of the waters is in truth the Holy Spirit of God.

Gotta love the breeze that creates, it continues to create, it keeps blowin' down the road. Even after six days of active creation of stuff and a seventh day where Sabbath is created, the breeze moves on down the road and continues the amazing work of God in all creation.

In Genesis, the breeze that blows across the waters, this breath of God, this spirit is imparted just before the light is created. It is the breath that blows across the chaos, across the darkness, across the void. This is the breath that precedes life. This is the breath that gives life to all creation.

This is the wind that comes off of the water in the morning. It’s the cool breeze that brings the dew to fall on the grass. It’s the summer breeze that rustles the leaves in the trees and tells us that all is right in the world. It is the Spirit that reminds us that God is in charge and regardless of the chaos of the world around us, it is the Spirit that says Emmanuel, God is with us.

The wind that blows across the waters of the formless void makes the form of our lives. And still, this wind calls us to listen and believe. When we stop listening to the word of God, when we quit feeling the breath of the Lord blowing across our faces, across our lives, we are not able to respond according to the Word. We instead pay attention to the words we hear from other voices.

When we stop listening to the voice of God, when we stop feeling the breeze on our faces and in our lives we stop forgiving and start retianing other’s sins. When we hear other voices, we do not hear the blessing of the Lord, “Peace to you.”

Busy Day? More Like the Whole Week!

Genesis 1:31-2:3

God saw everything that he had made, and indeed, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.

Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all their multitude. And on the seventh day God finished the work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all the work that he had done. So God blessed the seventh day and hallowed it, because on it God rested from all the work that he had done in creation.

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you had a busy day today

"Tiny Dancer" by Elton John, lyrics by Bernie Taupin

Creation, it's the one thing that God does that we cannot do. There is a saying about the testament written in Hebrew: "People do, only the Lord is." This is because the only time the verb "to be" is used in the Hebrew text is the "I AM." Yes, you will find more forms of "to be" in English translations, but you won't find the verb in those places in the original Hebrew text.

A busy day? God had a busy week! So busy that on the seventh day God created rest. God created a day to be separate from all others to be used to recuperate from the week. How important is this for us? God rested! If God rested, and surely we are not as resilient as God, then of course we need to rest!

Exodus 20:11, dead center in the Ten Commandments, reminds us how important this is saying, "For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but rested the seventh day; therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and consecrated it." By the way, consecrated, or "made holy," is a fancy way of saying "set aside." The Sabbath day was set aside for rest.

We live in a society that is too busy for its own good. Many of our most common diseases are caused by stress. There is so much "keeping up with the Joneses" that we can't even keep up with our own obligations any more. The only cure is rest. You've had a busy day today, so remember the Sabbath and keep it holy.

On the Second Day

Genesis 1:6-8

And God said, “Let there be a dome in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters.” So God made the dome and separated the waters that were under the dome from the waters that were above the dome. And it was so. God called the dome Sky. And there was evening and there was morning, the second day.

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I'm looking at myself, reflections of my mind,
It's just the kind of day to leave myself behind,
So gently swaying thru the fairy-land of love,
If you'll just come with me and see the beauty of

Tuesday afternoon.
Tuesday afternoon.

"Tuesday Afternoon" by The Moody Blues

Tuesday, the second day of the week. Early in the week, much work still ahead, but still time for reflection and preparation. It this comment about creation or the 21st Century work week?

On the first day, God said "Let there be light and there was." With separating the light from the darkness God created night and day. Until then, the earth was formless and void. Darkness was the order of life--yet even in the darkness the Breath, Wind, Spirit of God swept over the face of the waters.

On the second day, God created a dome, a firmament, that separated the water of life from the water of chaos. This division was called the sky.

God looked upon the earth, and all that existed was water and sky and water. It must have been a wonderful place for reflection and new life. It was seemingly like the womb of creation, from these waters comes life.

Life exists only because the Lord whose love overflows any ability to capture it choose to create it. Life exists because God's wanted to share that love and chose creation to receive that love. It's the sort thing that would make the perfect reflection for an afternoon on a hillside looking at the sunshine and thinking about God. It's the sort of image that can help us leave ourselves behind and consider the love of God.

Imagine a reflection in the waters of the earth, even before there is land, to consider the reflections of our minds in the beauty of God's good creation. Imagine a love that is not fairy-land but very real being shared with all who seek it.

So yes, the comment about it being early in the week of the Genesis creation story is so true; but so too it's timely to consider praise so early in our week. God's grace is free, but how can we enjoy it if we do not give praise to the one who gives it? So take some time and see the beauty of God through God's gracious actions. Tuesday afternoon is a very good time of the week.