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Genesis 1: 1-19
In the beginning, when God created the heavens and the earth,
the earth was a formless wasteland, and darkness covered the abyss,
while a mighty wind swept over the waters.
Then God said,
“Let there be light,” and there was light.
God saw how good the light was.
God then separated the light from the darkness.
God called the light “day,” and the darkness he called “night.”
Thus evening came, and morning followed–the first day.
Then God said,
“Let there be a dome in the middle of the waters,
to separate one body of water from the other.”
And so it happened:
God made the dome,
and it separated the water above the dome from the water below it.
God called the dome “the sky.”
Evening came, and morning followed–the second day.
Then God said,
“Let the water under the sky be gathered into a single basin,
so that the dry land may appear.”
And so it happened:
the water under the sky was gathered into its basin,
and the dry land appeared.
God called the dry land “the earth,”
and the basin of the water he called “the sea.”
God saw how good it was.
Then God said,
“Let the earth bring forth vegetation:
every kind of plant that bears seed
and every kind of fruit tree on earth
that bears fruit with its seed in it.”
And so it happened:
the earth brought forth every kind of plant that bears seed
and every kind of fruit tree on earth that
bears fruit with its seed in it.
God saw how good it was.
Evening came, and morning followed–the third day.
Then God said:
“Let there be lights in the dome of the sky,
to separate day from night.
Let them mark the fixed times, the days and the years,
and serve as luminaries in the dome of the sky,
to shed light upon the earth.”
And so it happened:
God made the two great lights,
the greater one to govern the day,
and the lesser one to govern the night;
and he made the stars.
God set them in the dome of the sky,
to shed light upon the earth,
to govern the day and the night,
and to separate the light from the darkness.
God saw how good it was.
Evening came, and morning followed–the fourth day.
The Word of the Lord.
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We believe that when God speaks … something happens.
The Book of Genesis, the very first book of the bible, is centered around this idea. When God speaks, he creates the world.
“Let there be light,” he says, and there is light.
“Let there be a dome in the middle of the waters, to separate one body of water from the other,” and so it happened. The sky and the oceans were created.
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Later in the Book of Genesis, God begins speaking to human beings.
He invites Abraham to follow him. “Walk in my presence,” the Lord says, “and your descendants will be as numberless as the stars.”
Although Abraham was once childless, today half of the world – some 3 billion people – call him their father in faith.
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In the Gospels, Jesus speaks, and demons are cast out; stormy waters are stilled; sins are forgiven.
Then, during his final night on earth, Jesus takes a piece of bread and says, “This is my Body…this is my Blood.”
Jesus speaks…and feeds the world with his very Self.
The same is true in confession. Through a priest, the Lord says, “Ego te absolvo;” I absolve you. Your sins are forgiven.
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Whenever God speaks, something happens. This was true from the foundation of the world. The same Lord who said, “Let there be light,” speaks to our hearts today.
I wonder, what might he be saying?
Be still and listen.
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