Creation: A Divine Symphony

It’s probably an odd thing, contemplating the spirituality of creation smack in the middle of any icy, snowy winter. The landscape is bare, stark; tree limbs and old snow equally brown, the boulders and rocks on our property jutting up out of snow and dirt in stark relief, demanding attention. But inevitably, winter births in me a renewed sense of God’s creative genius. One simply has to look beneath the dirty footprints in the snow, behind the dried and crumbled grasses, beyond the skeleton of branches that paint the cold gray sky. I suppose I enjoy the challenge of discovering the beauty of winter amidst its dearth of color, wrapped in the cold fingers of a winter wind. It is, after all, the antithesis of summer, beautiful in its own, simplistic way.

February is Black History Month, and I’ve been reading some offerings from spiritual fathers and mothers that focus on the universality of where all creation springs from - the golden fingers of a gracious God, from Whom all things come, in Whom all things were and are created. Within their wisdom writings I’m learning how the amazing and vast complexity of the universe is mirrored in the diversity of the human race. I’m learning about the spirituality of creation— that all creation is holy; all creation is integrated into a whole that is beautiful, complex and divine.  It is a spiritual view of the world and the universe that is ancient, but sadly, also lost in our scientific, technological modern view of the world, of the universe. We, as a world society, no longer view creation, the multitude parts and pieces of creation, as holy or miraculous, which sadly leads us to see nothing of value in anything we don’t understand, in the mysterious, in the “other”. We often fail to recognize that which doesn’t look like us. We don’t value what we cannot see, feel or understand. We’ve lost our sense of wonder and mystery.

Scripture recites the ways in which creation reflects the glory of God. Genesis, Psalms, the Gospels, Paul’s writings - all proclaim the glory of creation, the wonder of the world… its immensity, majesty, the wonder of it all.  Saints throughout the ages understood this complex interplay of cosmos and man; they wrote of the integration of the divine with all of creation, the “divine symphony” of all things created. St. Francis was the most notable, calling each creature “brother” or “sister” in recognition that each living thing was birthed from the same beginning, from the same breath of God that created all things.

If we cannot recognize the grandeur of a beetle, the beauty of a dandelion, the miracle of the snow flake; if we are immune to the changing of the seasons, the awe of a sunrise, the wonder of a gentle breeze; if we cannot understand the vast interplay of the natural wonders of our earth, the atmosphere, the universe - we’ll never “get” the absolute, mind-blowing astonishment of the diversity of human beings.  It’s that simple. 

God’s universe is but a representation of the vast glory of the human being, in all his and her glorious differences.  The wide diversity of colors of skin, hair, eyes; the shapes and dimensions of each one of us, down to each strand of hair, each whorl of fingerprint. We are diverse, yet equal in glory. Different, and yet the same in our humanity, each one contributing to the divine symphony of creation, which continues to evolve and expand into infinity. We are, each of us, a miracle of His making, no less majestic than the stars; no less wondrous than the perfect rose.

God is creative genius. He doesn’t do the same thing twice. He does not create copies. He is only and always into originals.

Which begs the question: why are we looking for copies of ourselves in our world? Why do we want to be surrounded by a million “me’s”, as if we were in some weird carnival hall of mirrors - just endless versions of “me” repeating ad infinitum? If that’s what we expect, what we look for? No wonder we are discontented. It’s not how God created us. He is all about diversity; all about creative glory and variety in what He fashions.

If the Pandemic has taught us anything it’s that endless repetition, ongoing “sameness”, reiterative loops of “same old, same old” is mentally exhausting, emotionally isolating. We were not created the same; we were not created to be the same. We, each of us, is an original, and it is something to be celebrated.

Creation is a spiritual wonder, and no less so each human being. We share a common creative root - God Himself. As such, let’s treat the ‘other’ as the beautiful creature of God she is; as the wondrous creation of God he is. I’m walking out of my hall of mirrors. Hope you’ll join me.