Presence 9: Arts That Inspire Reflection & PrayerSample

 

Beginning

Before the beginning there was a blank page,

an empty space onto which would be written

the story of the universe.

Before the beginning

there was a singularity of possibility,

an infinitely small dot

heavy as the body of God,

pulsating with the shining imagination

of potential, of all that could be:

all of the energy and the dark matter

and the wildflowers and the stars

all of the mud and photons and quarks

and the lovers and the broken hearts

all of the rage and the ruin

and the redemption and the dancing

and the galaxies colliding

all of the birth and death and sex

and salvation.

Before the beginning

there was an intake of breath,

the divine lungs filling

with hope and fire

and the shaking multitude of souls,

then there came a roar,

a symphony of relentless light

a wild explosion of creation

the universe tripping over itself

in the becoming of its becoming,

and through it all,

through the fury and the wonder,

a gentle, powerful, playful voice

sighing over everything

it is good, it is good, it is good,

and beneath that declaration

a heartbeat,

a bass note pounding out

the deep rhythm of time.

Even now

when you put your ear to the ground

you will hear it,

sounding strangely similar

to love.

Gideon Heugh