We Have Seen But Few of His Works PDF

I We H a v e S e e n B u t Fe"W o f H is W o ·r k s Torah, Sa cr ed P oe tr y, A po cr yp ha , N ew T es ta m en t ti, orm ing we ste rn coshmo log y are 1 t O principal ancient legacies#. inf Ch r1st1an p ilosophers and 1. "e w o~ centuries Greek and the Hebrew. Although 1 s, Gre,i onize.G_reek an...

I We H a v e S e e n B u t Fe"W o f H is W o ·r k s Torah, Sa cr ed P oe tr y, A po cr yp ha , N ew T es ta m en t ti, orm ing we ste rn coshmo log y are 1 t O principal ancient legacies#. inf Ch r1st1an p ilosophers and 1. "e w o~ centuries Greek and the Hebrew. Although 1 s, Gre,i onize.G_reek an d He bre w theme poets interwove and tried to harm ng ly contrary. Gr eek cosmology tkt str are rld wo the of ws vie w d Hebre its elf or wi th som e form of pr;. rld wo the h wit er eith in beg y gon =~ cosmo the wo rld , wh ere as biblical Heb,t,q of ff stu the es vid pro t tha os cha mordial. on for me d an d governed by a tra,, ati cre a as rld wo the on s use foc teaching scendent creator. els.· sim ply as a co ntr ast between mod st mo sed res exp be can st tra con The archiof the wo rld is agr icu ltu ral or on cti du pro the for del mo ek The Gre rea d a gre at de al ab ou t elemt111s, we ure rat lite eek Gr t ien anc In tectural.. If the go ds are involved in th, pes sha al tric me geo , ials ter ma seeds, raw the,, like farmers wh o pla nt seeds and process of creation at all, they are Or tlst the seeds sp ro ut on the ir own. amuse themselves elsewhere while its ow, ste ry ov er the mo vin g parts of ma ks see it as nd mi the like are y the be st he ca n wi th wh ate ver raw,,,,_ the es do o wh an ftsm cra a like body; or terials are available. h ieopresent a co ntr ast tha t begins wit The Hebrew scriptures, however, rd an d a Gr eek con cep t, so to Iii wo eek Gr a is os sm Co lf. itse ry cabula lm, eady ske w the discussion. The He about ~Hebrew cosmology" ma y alr card,J traditionally, the heavens and the expression the sky and the earth (or -r,_ " Bui ftw of His Works \ft I Iaa,rt Stt ' ;s ,nore coI,ect.,ve than is cosmos,,, and it much less readily bespeaks a com· en:: h e unitary whole. prt sense 'the ancient Hebrew conception of the world is m?re ~on tin· In th th Greek and more fragmentary. Its model of production ,s mor~ gent! an :ative ;han agricultural or arc hitectural. (Ancient He br~ agr · poetic or na "en nomadic· and althoug h biblical writers do occasionally wasd 0 1 a ' ' culture G builder, ther e was no indigenous Hebrew arch,tec ture m· co pres~: tooth:~reek.) To use an only slightly anachronistic term, the Hebrew para d rth are a literary production. Like the Torah or the Covenant, sky_~~ ea 'd d the '-amework agreement" governing the conditions for re· whrw provi e ,,,.. ,·1. from generation to gen If to era tion , the world ,tse l,g,ous ,,e was spo ken ,n existence by God, who is its author. AN D Goo SAID In Genesis, the first book of the Bible, the creation ·ve 101 the longer though more narrowly story forms framework t focused narratives that fol· narra, ,, t is a boo k not onl y d" of genesis but of genealogy: It te lls its Iow. I au ,ence where they have come from, and to whom they are related. Andb t e creatio n, resoundingly, is brought into being by one who speaks. 1 Chapter 1 In the beginning when God created the hea vens 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 wat ers. Then God said, "Let there be light"; and there was light. And God saw that the light was good; and God separated the light from the darkness. God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day. 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. And God called the dome Sky. And there was evening and there was morning, the second day. And God said, "Let the waters under the sky be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear." And it was so. God called the dry land Earth, and the waters that were gathered together he called Seas. And God saw tha~ it _was good. Then God said, "Let the earth put forth vegetation: plants y1eldmg seed, and fruit trees of eve ry kind on earth that bear fruit with THE BO OK OF'?,di £ Coa%o t forth vegetat·to I gh ou br rth ea e Th so s wa. fruit w· h11 p ' k d bearm g d 1t An m " k. d and trees of every the seed in Jt. ing andtt tbe a,._, en ev s re wa the d An. od go as 'w m. there "'Q h ery yielding seed of ev t at Jt ~._ saw d.. And Go d da. · se to y sk U1 it.. be lights in the dome of the mornU1g, the t?Jr "Le; there :~rare die for signs and for seasons an be m the let d an t· ~, sa1 d And Go or ~h dome of the sk ! to give light the in hts lig be m the ~ m UPon tJae day from the o great lig ht s- th e or tw the de ma d r ,! Go ate d o-e An le.h and years, a~d wa ~Qr r_ rs sta. so the s d an rth "And 1t nd the lesser light to rule the mg t- h Q "61J ea th day a · upon th e eart ' to rule over tb let ht l1g e t rule e do giv e,L to y. th me of the sk o 10 ht from the d arkness. And r~ _, ,"iJ 1 Jg "UO.. e. ht nd to separate the them h d. '..., th ing rn mo 'a was ere t an '°llrth e ng em , and over the mgd An ev s wa re. s goo d the that 1t wa h swarms of 1·1v mg creah,. £. g 1o brm rt s ter day. u.ies, illd said "Let the wa f h k y. " So God cre ated the And God ' t es o me do the s ~s ac~ rth ea With let birds fly above the re that moves, of every kind, atu cre mg l1v ery ev d an s ter great sea mons d. And God ed bird of every kin ng wi ery ev d sa" an , · arm sw s d ter f 1 £ hich the wa , "Be 1ru ultiply and fill "m an u 1t m~ say w t it was good. God blessed th~m, re \Va, tha iply on the earth. And the ult _m rds b1 ~et d an s, sea the waters in the. y. da th fif the , ng rm mo s wa kind: evening and there rth living creatures of every fo ing br rth ea the et "L d, And And God sai of the earth of every kind." als im an ld wi d an s ng thi ing the catcattle and creep the earth of every kind, and of als im an ld wi the de ma ry kind. it was so. God eps upon the ground of eve cre at th ng thi ery ev d an d, tle of every kin. And God saw that it was good , a microeeks, man is a little world Gr nt cie an er oth d an tus not in the For Democri gs human beings are made itin wr ew br He the in , ver cosm. Howe role in the of God. Accordingly, their e ag im the in t bu rld wo sense to be image of the , ordered units bu t in one ing on cti fun ll we be to t no world is ltura/» ro/,ongoing creational an d ''cu an m or r( pe to , rld wo the "above» garden. Genesis continues: husbanding and cultivating the l4J ing to our nkind in our image, accord ma hu ke ma us et "L d, sai d ~hen Go of the sea and over the h fis the er ov n nio mi do ve likeness; and let them ha wild animais of the eardJ, the all er ov d an , ttle ca the · birds of the air, and over the earth." on up s ep cre t tha ng thi ing and over every creep his image So God created humankind in d them· ' in the image of God he create m. ' male and female he created the F of His Works fill VI Have seen But ew "Be fruitful and 01ult1 ply, and ,h f h of the sea and over d them and God said to them, God :::::n d subdue it; and have d~~inion _ove:h:tem:ve s upon the earth-" the rhe ~irds of the air and over ever/ hv1ng ting ielding seed that is upon pant_ y. f. ou shall have them 'd "See I have given you every ~~-1 th seed in its ru1t, Y , lJVU sat , to face of all the earth, and every r~e wrrth and to every bird of the air, a~d I hfe, of h for food. And to every beast o t e ea ' bin that bas the breat A d G d saw every.g bing that creeps on the earth, everyt o n so. was it And ,, food for nt I everyt ng eveni was there And good ry. d d. have given every green p a. that he had made, and tn ee ' it was ve hd. t h1ng there was morning, the s1xt ay. and Chapter2 us the heavens and the earth were finished, and all their multitude. And on the : seventh day God finished bis work that he bad done, and he rested on th seventh day from all bis work that be bad done. So God blessed the seven had day and hallowed it, because on it God rested from all the work that he done in creation. Here following chapter 2, verse 3, there is an impor tant na"o wing of focus. is The Author of creation, who so far has been called simpl y God ("Elo him ) , Jess now referred to as the LORD God ("Yahweh ), a more intim ate name the abstract, and more expressive of the relationship between the Make r and just human creatures with whom he speaks. Typical of the style of Genesis, dy before the narrative "zooms in" on a detail of the larger pictu re alrea dy painted, the narrative backs up a little and recapitulates what has alrea crebeen presented, here especially the intimate nature of the LORD God's ation of human beings. cre: - : are the generations of the heavens and the earth when they were no 1::tthe day _that the Lo~ God made the earth and the heavens, when p fof thhe field was yet m the earth and no herb of the field had yet sprun g up- or t e LORD God had not caused it up~n the earth , and there ram to but d· groun the till was no one to da sthreamhwould nse from the earth , and water the whole face of the g' roun -t en t e LORD Go d forme d man from h d hd. t e ust of the ground and b e mto his nostrils the breat h of life; and eat being~ livi;g a e the man becam 1 d elsewhere in th 01 in Genests ,an Later. ent) the stars are mentwned within a simile bespeaking in:alcu1ar:;;:am y. Mode rn comm entat ors THE Bo ox O P r11s. ( 61 co,~ 0, m ancie,it B this locution interesting given that fro mbered about JOOO)" "~'°"'have found hich held that the stars nu stars was cons;.1 "ti/ th~ uered. ,,._ (w lescope, the number of the.. astronomyf the te '" k. ,s satd that the Lo RD "b' ··"ti. vent1onb countable. 1n Genesis 15:5 it r '°"i h nt cou d and said, 'Look toward heaven, an pIe to e e"4,-,, ii to him, 'So shall "'t d sai he n The m., the nt e.1_ , uts, kr b}lo.rO am [Abrah. are a e to cou the innumerable stars are paired with the wr1c,,,_ ,,, Elsewhere you ~e your of fsp r; ,,' the sea, as in Genesis 22:17 ("I will mat 1s on the seash g"' , ore ) ~of heaven and as the sand tha tar merous as the s ("'ust as the host of heaven cannot be number d "'4 IL e "11d ""'.h. rease the offsp. ' not be measured, so I w1·11 inc 1 ,ing of"'1 Jerem1a 33 22 can sandsof the Sea ,. servant David") ° ·a : : :r THE HEAVENS DECLARE find exa~ted meditations 0,, ti,, we , ent tam Tes Old the of try poe the In poe;ry_ is cle~rly religious ,4 majesty ofthe sky, though_ the ~urpo:e of t~e how ; it reminds the speaJu, than scientific. It emphasizes who, not is their maker; and it leads to: the audience that God is "above" the sky and of the relationship between a,. humble, awed response on the human side ator and creature. inte"ogates its longsuffering,,,,;, In the book ofJob (38:4-12), the LO RD character: tion of the earth? Where were you when I laid the founda Tell me, if you have understanding. ly you know! Who determined its measurements-sure ···i Or who stretched the line upon it? On what were its bases sunk, or who laid its cornerstone, when the morning stars sang together '·, joy? and all the heavenly beings shouted for Or who shut in the sea with doors when it burst forth from the wo mb ?whcn I made clouds its garment and thick_ darkness its swaddli~g band, and pr ~b ed bounds for it, and set bars and doors, -L and sa1'd, "Thus far shall you come, and no £·-· er, acw and h 5hall your proud waves be stopped"? ere I [7 ] w o f His Works Wt Havt Sttn B11t Fe ys be ga n, ng since yo ur da ni or m e th d de Have you comman e? n to kn o w its plac w da e th ed us ca and rtheless authorve ne is e h n s, he as nd is to "repent in dust a poken... w h a t "s s ha o h w t Although Job is said an be the LO R D 's serv itatively declared to nse ost paradoxical se m al an to e ic vo right (42:6-7). s od s, the poet give s the sky, which G er id ns co Similarly in the Psalm he n he w mbled and exalted o f being at once hu has created: reign, 0 LORD, ou r Sove e earth! ur name in aJJ th how majestic is yo ens. y above th e heav or gl ur yo t se ve You ha nts o f babes an d infa s th ou m e th f o foes Out because o f yo ur k ar lw bu a d de ' you have foun d the avengeI. an y em en e th e to silenc k o f yo ur fingers or w e th s, en av your he ' , When I loo~ at have established· u yo at th s ar st e o f th ;m the moon and th you ar e mindful at th gs in be ' an what are hum ? em th r fo re ca mortals th at you er th them a little lo w e ad m ve an G od , ha u yo Yet I h. em th d nor. and crowne Wdit ~ry an d ho You have given th em omiruon over th e w ork s o f yo ur ha nd s· ' ings d h e1. r feet,. you have pu t all th t er un all sheep and oxen, , ts o f the field th:ni. ~ so tfhe beasr, an d th f h , Ir s o the ai he Is o f the sea, aJ es ss pa r ve te ha e seas w g t e pa th s o f th ~n So r ou 0 LORD ' vereign. ur ~a h, (P l how majestic is yo me In aU the ea rt sa m 8). A , tn.ga,n Psalm 19 meditation on the sky sets the sta~e ,o r recog,,;. tic oe P a ,. e o th f o on t1 ence o f God as tnagnific creator: Th e heavens are teU · g the glory o f God' h and the finna mentm. procJa is handiworJc. D s h rt fo s ur P0 a~to_day peec , an night to nigh d s knowledge. n;: t ecJare ( B] THE BOQI ( O F 1'1-f£ co,., There is no speech, nor are there words; their voice is not heard; yet their voice goes out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world. 0a In the heavens he has set a tent for the sun,_ which comes out like a bridegroom from his wedding canop 'h' ' and like a strong man runs its course wit Joy. Its rising is from the end of the heavens, and its circuit to the end of them; and there is nothing hid from its heat. This reflection on the communicative, created nature of the heavens nd earth flows into a meditation on the perfection of ''the law of the L; ,.the the poet's response is thus Ro Ila engaged at a personal, human level, and ddress to the CC01tf4 » ,I, a ive vocat tve ormat "per his by led signal 1 as reator, sional,.. b heart my of ation medit the and mouth my of words the "Let Lawgiver: eac" ceptable to you, 0 LORD, my roek and my redeemer (19:14). Two further, lesser-known but beautiful cosmological "hymns» appear in the biblical Apocrypha, in the book of Sirach (or Ecclesiasticus). These ha,. monize with the psalmic presentation of the creation as a sign of the ma;esiy of God. In the first of them, from chapter 1, the divine law is personified as Wisdom: All wisdom is from the Lord, and with him it remains forever. i :~ 1 The sand of the sea, the drops of rain, and the days of eternity-who can count them?. The height of heaven, the breadth of the earth,. ' ,,. the abyss, and wisdom-who can search them out? · Wisdom was created before all other things, 1· and prudent understanding from eternity. The root of wisdom-to whom has it been revealed? Her subtleties-who knows them? There is but one who is wise, greatly to be feared '. seated upon his throne-the Lord It is he who created her· ' he saw her and took her measure·. he poured her out upon all his w~rk upon all the living according to h..;;. gt h,. he lavished her upon those who 1.5ove 1m.. i i · '.,;, flalll 5,e,, But feUJ of His Works ni(icancefins;gnificance" SirtJch, ,htJpter 43, ,e,urns to something like the "sig and spectacle of the sk'Y ptJrtJdo!t of PstJltn 8: Hu,nan beings ,nay revel in the h awe the ;nadequ/JCJ of ""'1 prtJise their creator even while re,ognizing wit both hu""'n praise tJnd ,ornprehension- lt of the skY, The pride of the higher realms is the dea r vau s. as glorious to behold as the sight of the heaven as it rises The sun, when it appears, proclaimsthe wo rk of the Mo st High. is, what a marvelous instrument it At noon it parches the land; and who can withstand its burning heat? t, A man ten~ng a furnace works in burning hea unt ain s· th e wnes as hot is the sun scorching the mo b thre , · but ·' 1t rea es out fiery vapars, · and its bright rays blind the eyes Great is the Lord who made it· se. at his orders it hurries on its ~our.. g seasons, n that marks the chan~m It is the moo ng the times th. governi ' ell' everlasting sign From th n comes the si £ ' moo. t ethat. a ligh wane. h. gn or 1estal days ·. :se. The new moon a s _w en it completes its cou g sug e ' s its nam h lf; ow marvelous it is in thi h ests, renews itse s c ange, a beacon to the h high on osts shining in the vau ,. h th of lt e eavens!... The glory of th u bea the is s star e a glitter· , , On th mg array in the h. h ty of heaven e orders of the H 1 e1g ts of the Lord. Onethey sta nd. thel l' app oin ted pla c t ey never·relax i h oy m h at the rain bo: t e1r watchCs. ~k es; 'an d praise h" it is exceed· , bea_utiful in its bi;:1 :ho ma de it; It encircles tness. s garc· with its glonou ·the hands of theYM , , ost High h ave ·.. ·.. , stretched it out. We could say but co uId never morde be. let the final wor ugh..Wh eno say th "He : ere ca ; " all. e is. Fo h. n we find thC strength r C IS. hi to praise him,. Awesome i~ehater thana all t e Lord nd V. s works cry great, ~:~i d marvelous is his power. an.fy th Lord and exalt him as muc h as· you can. Glon e , for he surpasses even that. him summon all your stren gth, , When you exalt. and do not grow weary, for yo~ can~ ot prais e him enough, Who has seen him and can de~r1be him? ,. Or who can extol him as he is? M things greater than these lie hidden, f::e have seen but few of his works. (1-12, 27-32) ,. IN HIM ALL THI NGS HOL D TOG ETH ER... At the center of the N~ _Testar:zent of the _Bibfe is Jesus Christ, ~nd his roles is seen as coinciding with the creative speech-acts,, of God. esis. Put theologically, the authority and efficacy of Christ as Rede "'G,._ intimately linked to his "authorship" agency as" Creator. Th ~ statement of the doctrine that Jesus Christ is the very speech" or the~ of God (Greek: logo~) is fo~nd in the famous ~rologue to the Gosp,'(4 John, which begins with a deliberate echo of the first words of Gene sis: of °"' In the beginning was the Word, and the Wor d was with God , and the ·word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All thing s came into being through him, and without him not one thing cam e into being.. What bas come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not over come it..... There was a man sent from God, whose nam e was John. He came as awit ness to testify to the light, so that all migh t believe thro ugh him. He himself was not the light, but came to testify to the light. The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world. , ·· He was in the world, and the worl d came into being thro ugh him; yet the world did not know him. He came to wha t was his own , and his own people did not accept him. But to all who received him who belie ved in his name, be gave power to become children of God, who ~ere born , not of blood or of the will of the flesh or of the will of man, but of God. And the Word became flesh and lived amo ng us, and we have seen bis glory, the glory as of a father's only son, full of grace and truth. 1 , That Christ ( the Son ) is the embodim~t-and manifestation of the ;,e,tivl power and glory of God is reasserted in a brie f"cosmic" passage in St. P-'! the Colossians (1:13-20). The Son, against the backdrop of GtfllS d seen as replacing darkness with light and as consummatinl ,,,,_ creation in God's image. ~ e to th Works d tr an sf er re d u s in an ss ne rk da f o er iveness d us from the paw emption, th e forg ofH il H - S #" B# 1 p,,,, ve red n in whom we ha So d ve lo L. ~ c in hs rfe s (GoddJ ha f aII. ~reat"10n, for 1. , , the firstborn.o s VIS~ble a n d inv1s king orn o.,, of sine s.if the ;,nage of the invisible God }l ere created, thlng w n h rt ea on d an aven ll th in g s h av e b ee " re w o p r o hilll all things in he rs le h im or do~inions or ru l th in g s, a n d in ble ,,vbether rJirone9 d for him; He hfni5elf is· before al an h ; h e is th e bem rc hi u h ch ug e ro th th , d dy re bo ~ t o f the er. He is the head th at h e m ig h t ·c o m e to h av e fi rs th ge to ld ho gs in d, l al from the dead," SO le as ed to d w el l, gilllling, the firstborn in him all the fullness o f G o d w as p th e r For lf all th in g s, w h e se m hi to e place in everything. il nc co was pleased to re o d o f h is cr o ss. lo b e th h and through him God ug ro th , by making peace on earth or in heaven th e b o o k o f H e in re o m ce n o crea_tion is declared refully to th a t ca ed ti is g in h agency o f Christ in ac ristian te here again the Ch lms: w , 1) er pt ha (c s ew br ct echo o f th e Psa re di f o ns ea m y b t, here ofthe Old Testamen ·'. '... thro u g h w h o m h e al so c re a te d l al f o ir he , e gs th 's th appointed his Son]flection o f G o d ' gl [Geod t im p ri n t o f G o d ac ex e worlds. He is the re d th an ~ : ad sustains all thin o rd. W h e n h e h w l u rf e w ~ very being, and he is n: o f th e M a.es r sins, he sa t d ! t th e n g h t h an d e h e h J h o n ~ d e p ~ c a ti o n fo as much su. e n am having become e. o r to angels as th as in en te d en p ' th an th nt lle ce. ex e IS mor irs. f. , For to wh. h e angels did God ever savn th o ic v ".. io u are my Son , otten you?,, today I have beg ,...... And, I , "In thethbeginn.ing, Lord, you fo u nded th e ea rt h ,. s , and. e heavens ace the d th work..o f your han s· b sh ri pe u dl yo w ut ey , ,. th rema1n;.k J o r ea w t l al. l"k _ey wdl. ut I e d o th.mg,., 1 e a cloak you wdl roll th t t·k , d p u... an em d I e clothin. they will be cha nge.' But you are th. e sagme, and.,.1 ; years ·u ur. yo....,. d. en.. er ev n i_ ' " w t , ' ,. ' Soot.a: New R ,,. _ d. "St'a-",.1"-" ' ' ,...,._,:s',n.. B'bl ' e C. v,. ~eJaon., 107: , 0..,i lic Edition, N ho at ill. , h '. as h T ·. e 03. V ~... Olllaa ,. · ,.. · u ,J I I l I.'.. MI I I., ' '