CHAPTER 2
In the Beginning Lift up your eyes on high and see: who created these? He who brings out their host by number, calling them all by name. —Isaiah 40:26
T
he traditional presentation of the kerygma, or “gospel message,” has always invited us to first consider the goodness of creation. “But,” you say, “that phrase hardly overwhelms me, as Pope St. John Paul II said should happen!” As I mentioned in the last chapter, perhaps we can rephrase it to ask, “Why is there something rather than nothing?” Does that still feel a little too academic? Let’s whittle it down to the bare bones: Created. And let’s ask the Holy Spirit for the grace to be overwhelmed and filled with awe, wonder, and trust as we break this word open. What does it mean to be created? When human beings consider where they came from and why, what conclusions can we, or should we, reach?
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