December 6... Please like and/or share, if you find this helpful Day 6 “. . . who ord’rest all things” O Come, thou Wisdom from on high, who ord’rest all things mightily; to us the path of knowledge show and teach us in her ways to go. Rejoice! Rejoice! Immanuel shall come to thee, O Israel. “[Christ] is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation . . . he himself is before all things, and in him all things hold together.” Colossians 1: 15, 17 Each year the Advent readings include poetic visions of cosmic harmony. We are familiar with the wolf dwelling with the lamb, the leopard with the kid, the calf and the lion and the fatling together, all being led by a little child. (Isaiah 11: 6) Such images have made their way onto Christmas cards heralding the birth of Jesus. Of course, Jesus was indeed born, but as yet we have seen no armistice in the animal kingdom. The order of all things still seems rather chaotic (although those who study chaos find within chaos itself an intriguing sort of order), and if the physical law of mass entropy still pertains, then the world tends more to fall apart than to achieve coherence. And when you stop to think about it, why should someone think of Christ when they gaze at an awe-inspiring sunset or the majesty of purple mountains? The apostle Paul confessed that as a child he saw through a glass dimly. Perhaps that’s a fitting parable for the way most of us look at the created order. We see on the surface; we look at objects as they are, without inquiring into their molecular or atomic structure. We operate within the limited perspective of functionality: as long as the gas I put in my car helps get me where I’m going and doesn’t ruin my engine, then why should I worry about the minutiae of its chemistry? But today’s reading and Isaiah’s poetry remind us that beneath the surface lies not simply physical law, but that in some way that only mystics can grasp, because the Son of God took on human flesh to bless all that is material, somehow all things find their order, their pattern, their mutual relatedness in Christ. What some have called “coinherence” refers not only to the beginning (he is before all things and in him all things hold together) refers also to God’s invisible plan “for the fullness of time to unite all things in [Christ], things in heaven and things on earth.” This truth is difficult to grasp intellectually, and is perhaps most accessible to the visionaries and dreamers. But it may nevertheless serve to remind us of the grandeur of the one for whom we wait in this long season of anticipation. Finally, since most scholars believe that the passage from Colossians was a hymn sung by the early church, perhaps it’s most appropriate today to end the reflection with a contemporary hymn to the “cosmic Christ” written by James McAuley: Creation sings a new song to our God The universal energies rejoice Through all the magnitudes of space and time Creatures proclaim the grandeur of Christ The mountains and the valleys and the plains The cattle and the wild beasts and the birds The shadows and the clouds, the rain and snow Praise and reflect the bounty of Christ. The ocean deeps the currents and the tides The diatoms, the fishes and the whale The storm, the reef, the waterspout the calm Praise and reflect the wonder of Christ The fruit trees in their seasons and the vine, The eucalypt the cedar and the palm The lotus and the orchid and the rose Praise and reflect the beauty of Christ The human eye, the shaping hand, the mind, With number and with symbol and design In work and play and artistry and prayer Praise and reflect the wisdom of Christ The love of men and women clear as dawn. The will for truth and justice broad as day The wisdom of the heart profound as night Praise and reflect the glory of Christ Preparation for Prayer: What sorts of disorder in the earth do I pray for Christ to come and reconcile? When have I first looked on the material world and seen it only on the surface, then later realized that there was a deeper spiritual aspect to what I was seeing? What hymns come to mind as you consider the cosmic Christ of creation? O Wisdom, coming forth from the mouth of the Most High, pervading and permeating all creation, you order all things with strength and gentleness: Come now and teach us the way to salvation. Come, Lord Jesus.
Posted on: Sat, 06 Dec 2014 13:28:14 +0000
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