Genesis 1: John 1
Before the time when time was kept,
The earth was empty, dark and deep.
Across the wrinkled waters swept
A mighty wind that knew no sleep.
Then in the chaos came a voice,
That made the darkness quake with fear;
Announcing God’s creative choice
To organize the biosphere.
According to a holy plan,
God spoke the Word, and life began.
God spoke the Word – the Word was “light” –
And light there was from that time on.
With power to shatter dark of night,
Or gentle as unfolding dawn.
And in that light, God looked around,
And seeing what the Word had done,
God laughed, and filled the earth with sound:
Creation’s song had just begun.
According to a holy plan,
God spoke the Word, and life began.
The words spilled forth in joyful praise
That then gave birth to lands and seas,
And plants and seeds and nights and days,
All kinds of creatures, birds, and trees.
And when the earth was all in place,
And seemingly all nice and neat,
God said, “There’s still an empty space,
The world is somehow incomplete,
Until I make someone who shares
My precious gift of word and speech,
With whom I can converse in prayers,
Who uses words to bless and teach
(and sometimes, even, yes – to preach).
God gathered all the Trinity –
The three decided to consult.
Agreement came quite easily,
And people were the end result.
According to a holy plan,
God spoke the Word and life began.
At first, they chose their words with care,
To name, to praise, to love, to bless.
But soon, their words began to tear
The world to shreds, a dreadful mess.
They turned from God, and chose to hide
And then it went from bad to worse;
They strangled truth, they cheated, lied,
And used their words to kill and curse.
And with their precious gift of breath,
Instead of life, their words brought death.
God watched the world grow dark and dim
As people sought to quench the light.
But when it seemed that all was grim,
God gave the people back their sight.
The Word which brought the world to birth
And molded chaos into form,
And shaped the heavens and the earth,
Into a silent night was born.
The Word became the blood and flesh
That burst to life in Bethlehem,
And Mary nursed in humble creche.
Creation’s song was heard again.
According to a holy plan,
God spoke the Word, new life began.
The Word was full of truth and grace
That fed a world grown sick and sore,
And gave to God a human face,
That let the people hope once more.
In Christ, the words again became
The chorus of creation’s song,
That healed the wounded, blind, and lame,
And let them know they all belonged.
But when Christ died upon the cross,
A silence spread across the land;
For with his death came such great loss,
There were no words to understand.
Three days passed by, and on the third,
God raised to life the living Word!
And in that act, God gave the gift
Of risen words to tell and bless,
Until all people hear, and lift
Their hearts to God, as tongues confess.
We tried to douse the light – and failed,
The Living Word of God prevailed.
Our words have power to create
A place of safety, refuge, trust;
Or they can give a voice to hate,
And leave a body broken, crushed.
Our words can cause the heart to sing,
Or cut the soul with verbal knife,
Or lift us up on eagle’s wing,
And bind a wound, and give new life.
We bring to God with painful groans,
The broken pieces of our soul.
Though sticks and stones may break our bones,
The Word of God will make us whole.
All praise to Christ, the living Word,
The light for all the world to see;
The truth forever spoken, heard,
The only Word that sets us free.
Hallelujah! Amen
