[A ‘Tuesday Challenge’ originally prepared for the congregation of Horley Baptist Church during October 2024]
As often happens when preparing these reflections, it starts with a question: “Where do I begin …” Fortunately, the actress Julie Andrews is able to offer some advice:
Let’s start at the very beginning, a very good place to start [1]
For us as Christians (and for everybody else but few admit it) that takes us to the earliest verses of the Bible.
I recall being told, by somebody who ought to know what they were talking about, that in the Hebrew scriptures the first verse of Genesis starts with the second letter of the alphabet, Beth – ‘B’ to us. The reason is both simple and thought-provoking. Starting with the second letter implies that there was something beforehand whereas if the scriptures were to begin with the first letter of the alphabet it would imply that there was nothing prior to that. Indeed, the second verse of Genesis tells us that the Spirit of God was there before the earth was formed.
So, if the beginning is not actually the beginning, what is the beginning? Once again, we can turn to the opening words of Genesis:
In the beginning, God
Genesis 1 v1 [ESVUK]
The gospel-writer, John, added to the Genesis account:
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God
John 1 v1 [ESVUK]
How do we define God?
? … ? … ?
Words fail us. Even if we could visualise God, our earthly vocabulary is just not up to the task of expressing our thoughts. Fortunately we have access to an extra-terrestrial acclamation:
Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come!
Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honour and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created.
Revelation 4 v8, 11 [ESVUK]
Of course, thinking about the beginning is liable to lead to thinking about the end.
“Begin at the beginning,” the King said, very gravely,”and go on till you come to the end: then stop.” [2]
In times past and in diverse ways God spoke to our forebears by the prophets but in these days there is a whole plethora of interpretations being offered to us. Do current events in the Middle East and elsewhere reflect those prophecies? How can we understand the visions that we read about in the book of Revelation? What are we to believe?
Once again there is advice available, this time from the man who will be at the centre of the action:
Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.
Luke 12 v40 [NKJV]
We may not know the details of what to expect but we must be ready.
References:
[1] The Sound of Music, Rodgers and Hammerstein, 1965
[2] Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, Lewis Carroll 1832–98
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Last week’s reflection: But This I Know
Contributed by Steve Humphreys; © Steve Humphreys