Word power

"In the beginning Elohim bara(ed)". A simple phrase. Like all stories, they tend to start at the beginning. And in that part of this story, God created (but the word for God here is plural). So what does it mean for there to be a plural God creating? The creative act has many elements: the idea, the editing, the material choices, the "hands on" activity, the critique, the reworking, the stepping back and evaluating the progress, the interaction with the work, and the final "it is finished" and then the resting after the work. Is this the pluralistic work of a mutifaceted God? The word bara, implies intense or loud creative power. The sound comes up from the diaphram with strength, latent with expectation. And then this multi-dimensional being is interested in joining with us in our creativity. Let us bara with Elohim.

Sap and cells

Recently I was admiring some trees due to the beautiful blossoms that adorned their branches. One tree in particular looked almost dead except for these brilliant yellow trumpet shaped flowers.

It struck me how easily we judge what is visible without knowing what lies under the surface. What looked to be a tree in its death throws was in fact, a tree preparing to give us an incredible visual treat.

I think people are like that, they do not always show what is being prepared inside. The sap is moving and cells are lining up for new growth of which there is no apparent clue of what is to come. This is faith in what is not seen, hope for what has been promised. Do we have the faith to trust in the work of our God below the surface, unseen, unknown, preparing to burst forth in due season?

What defines us?

As I have been contemplating shadows this week, I was struck by the awareness that without shadows we lose our defining visual realities. Imagine a simple line drawing of a smiley face, now think of a black and white photograph of someone's face. What is the difference? Both have rounded outer edges, a nose, eyes, and mouth, but the photograph has value, in art that means gradation of black to grays to white. It is this shadowing that shows the textural structure of our faces, the distinguishing shapes that allow us to identify each other. We move from generic cartoon images to idividuals with unique features that encase our personhood. It is the tension between light and shadow that brings out the humanity we all share in. The same basic elements in diverse arrangements, exposed by the light and defined by the areas of shadow.

Happy Birthday Dad

On January 11, 1920, Thomas Catling was born. He was raised in rural central California, he grew up on horseback-as comfortable in the saddle as behind the wheel of his truck, he served as a Marine in WWII, he operated cranes that built some of the most amazing buildings in downtown San Francisco, he died in May of 1984, he was my father. He now rests in the arms of Christ and I am thankful for all he gave me.

The color of gray

Like the expectations of grade-school teachers, (such as: trees are brown and leaves are green, sky is blue, apples are red and so forth) we have been taught that shadows are gray. A cast shadow is caused by the blocking of the most direct rays of light. The graying effect is from the indirect light that is present within the shadowed area. Without light, there are no shadows, only absolute blackness. So the shadow is filled with light at a lesser intensity than the areas in direct path of the light source, allowing them to be the color of the surface the shadow is resting on, only muted by the blocking object. The shadow becomes the blending of the (often distorted) shape of the object casting the shadow and the color, texture and shape of the surface that catches the shadow. So the shadow is a blend of diferent "things." Just like God is plural, (not referencing the trinity, but the Genesis use of the word we translate as God) Elohim, which conotates the multidimensionality of God. He is the light source, he is found in the things that catch the light and in the shadows that blend the object, the light and the surface holding the shadow. Shadows show us the complexity of the simple, the profound of the obvious and the richness of the visual world we so often neglect to carefully observe.

Peter Pan Shadows

Late in the evening, darker gray shapes follow our every move. Starting out long and stretched from heel towards the edge of the lamp light, they shrink as we approach the light post and spring ahead when we pass. They appear to have limbs and a torso and head, but the shapes are more alien than human. How does one identify the source as it changes and distorts? What are these shadows that follow us through our lives? Bonded by the dark and the light, we dance through time casting shadow puppets in our wake.

Orion Rising

I look forward to seeing Orion each Fall. The first night it rises lifts my spirits. My earliest childhood memories of looking up at the night sky contain the three stars of his belt. It is not an accident that seasons change, that temperatures drop and rain begins. We are meant to shift our focus as the year progresses. Fall leads to the introspection of winter and the quietness of cloud filled afternoons. Tonight, Orion is mid sky, commanding the center of the night, leading my thoughts to the new year and the chance to do "things" different this time. To think more carefully, listen with greater attention, walk more slowly, drive with care, hold onto the joy of living in the face of pain and sorrow. To move through to the other side of silence.