The New Creation

                                                              The New Creation

The first reading from Genesis at the Easter vigil is always the most moving for me. And this for several  reasons: it shows the beauty of the original creation: “God saw all that he had made and it was very good”; there is a note of what might be called the “nostalgia of God” for his original creation: “Adam, where are you?”; and the intimation, later on in the chapter, that God is already planning how to thwart the opposition of the tempter: “I will put enmity between you and the woman.” We don’t hear all these themes at the vigil, but they are present to our minds as we listen to the original creation story. It prompts me to share this meditation with you.

 

In the beginning of the new creation the hearts of men were formless and empty, and darkness covered their minds. And the Holy Spirit was hovering and poised over the whole human race. Men were confused and sinful and no longer remembered that they were children of God.

 

And God said: Let us choose a woman from the daughters of Israel, and preserve her from any taint of the sin of Adam and Eve. And so it was. The woman grew and embodied within herself the perfection of the first eve. She never mistrusted God and his love for her. She did his will perfectly.  God called the woman Miriam, and God saw that she was good.

 

And God said to his Son: Enter the womb of Miriam and be born as all men are, and live as all men do.  And so it was. God’s son was born into the world and lived the life that all men live. He worked with his hands, earning his living for many years, and was so ordinary that the neighbors only knew him as the carpenter’s son. God called his Son Jesus, and God saw that he was good.

 

And God said to Jesus: Go now and be my presence among men.  And so it was. Jesus spoke his Father’s truth to the people of the towns and villages. He healed the sick, cast out demons, raised the dead to life, opened the eyes of the blind and the ears of the deaf. He spoke as no one  in the history of the world had ever spoken.   And God saw that his Son was doing good.

 

And God said to Jesus: Give them yourself as food as from a new tree of life.  And so it was. One night Jesus took bread into his hands and said, This is my Body, and a cup of wine into his hands and said, This is my Blood.  He said to his friends, Continue to do this in my memory. God called the new food Eucharist, and God saw that it was good.

 

And God said: I want you to suffer and die to bear witness to the truth of your mission. And so it was. Jesus was rejected by many, arrested, falsely condemned, tortured, and put to death. He was put in a tomb and a large stone was rolled in front of it. And God called the Friday of his Son’s death, Good.

 

And God said to his son: Go to all those who have been waiting for you in the prison in the underworld. And so it was. Jesus went and broke open the prison and took Adam and Eve by the hand and said,  Arise, let us leave this place. You were never meant to be here. And forming an immense joyful human chain, he led them forth into the light of the new creation. And God called his Son’s journey the emptying of hades. And God saw that it was good.

 

And God said to his Son: Return now to the earth in your new risen body so as to confirm the truth of everything you said and did. And so it was. Jesus appeared to his friends after his death. He had meals with them and made breakfast for them on the shores of lakes. He met them along the roads of their travels and continued his teaching. He told them to go into the whole world and tell everyone about him. And God called this incarnation of his hope, the resurrection. And it was good.

 

And God said to his Son: Come now and open the gates of heaven, be with me at my right hand. And so it was. Jesus rose to his Father’s side. And having learned the needs of  his brothers and sisters when living their life, he is now constantly praying for them.  And he is preparing places for them in which to live forever. God called his son’s arrival, the Ascension. And it was good.

 

And God said: Holy Spirit, pour yourself out now upon the whole human race, descend, and renew our original image and likeness in our children. And so it was. The Holy Spirit entered  the innermost hearts of the children of men, and turned them from stone into living temples of his presence. And God called this sharing in his divine nature, Pentecost.  And he saw that it was good.

 

And God said to the Holy Spirit: Gather people together and create a new human oneness. And show them how to exercise my gentle and gracious reign over all creation. And so it was. The Holy Spirit gave them the wisdom to continually speak the truth that Jesus taught. They had the power to forgive sins and to love even as Jesus loved them.  And God called this new people his Church. And he saw that it was good.

 

And God said: Now that heaven is opened, let the multitudes of the earth come into the new garden. And so it was. Numbers beyond counting were streaming into God’s presence. And they heard a voice say: Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. And they will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying, or pain, for the old order of things has passed away. I am making everything new. God called this place the Holy City, the New Jerusalem. And he saw that it was good.

 

Thus the new creation was completed in all it’s magnificent array. And God blessed the new creation and said: increase and multiply. Rule with love over the whole earth. And the angels showed the new children of God the river of the water of life as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb down the middle of the great street of the city. There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light. And they will reign for ever and ever.

And God saw all the new creation he had made, and it was very good.

By the Eighth Day God had finished the work of the new creation he had been doing. So on the Eighth Day he rested from all his work. And God blessed the Eighth Day and made it everlastingly holy, a day that would never end, because on the Eighth Day he rested from all the work of the New Creating he had done.

(Fr Bob Wild at Easter Vigil)