Monday 23 May 2016

Psalm: Psalm 103

Background

The opening words of Genesis are majestic, beautiful andextremely familiar to Christians. Indeed the very familiarity ofthe text may lead us into thinking that we may know and understandall that it has to say to us. The first thing to say about theseopening verses of Genesis is obvious but needs to be said. Theywere not written as an answer to a question about how God createdthe world. They were written as a statement of faith for the peopleof Israel in the midst of testing times when the cities of Israelhad been attacked by Babylon and its leaders taken into exile.

These words were written to affirm that God is the creator ofall things and that God created 'light'.

Light is a dominant concept in the whole Bible. Light is thesource of life and growth. Life is not possible without light.Light is a dominant factor in the lives of human beings, especiallyin the days before artificial light. People long for the dawn toend a dark night. People are drawn to displays of light, naturalones like comets or the aurora borealis (the Northern Lights) orhuman-inspired ones like fireworks.

Not for nothing does the New Testament refer to Jesus as theLight of the world (John 8:12). Light is at the core of God'srevelation in creation and in the incarnation.

To Ponder

• Think of occasions when the coming of the light of dawn hasmeant a great deal to you and try to analyse your feelings.

• On a metaphorical level have you ever had an epiphany moment, alight bulb moment when you suddenly saw things in a new light? Whathappened?