On the 6th Day of Christmas....

On the sixth day of Christmas my true love gave to me, six geese a-laying.

So… On the subject of birds laying eggs… Did you hear about the chicken who could only lay eggs in winter? She was no Spring Chicken!
Perhaps today we will solve the question of which came first, the chicken or the egg? The sixth geese a-laying is a representation of the 6 days of creation.

It is the 6th day of Christmas, reading the account of the creation from Genesis 1 may be a very apt thing for humans, created on the 6th day, to do. This reading is often read at the Easter vigil service. The most memorable service of this type took place in Cairns where the church was in darkness and the service began outside. We each carried lit candles into the dark church. The reading from Genesis began:
Genesis 1:1-5 “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. And God said, "Let there be light," and there was light. God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness. God called the light "day," and the darkness he called "night." And there was evening, and there was morning--the first day.”

When these words were read a single light came on that lit up a particular stained glass window, whose artwork portrayed this part of the creation story. The sense of drama gave an exciting hint of the magnitude of a story that we often read with a politely stifled yawn.

When looking at the creation story there are always those who want to discuss the theories of fact, fiction and all places in between. I would much rather see this story dramatized and come to life then I would dissect it for its authenticity.

We know that the first five books of the Bible are attributed to the authorship of Moses, and we assume that the story of creation was an oral tradition prior to its being written. We should also remember that Moses was one who spoke, face to face with God.

“In the beginning” – This is the meaning of “Genesis”, it means “beginnings”. We know from Psalm 19:1-4 “The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they reveal knowledge. They have no speech, they use no words; no sound is heard from them. Yet their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world. “
Along with the Psalmist, we believe that creation is proof of an intelligent creator. How it happened and how long it took doesn’t really worry me, but if God is God, omnipotent and all powerful, what took him so long? He could have created everything in a single moment. If we are going to be people of faith at all we need to acknowledge honestly what we don’t know or understand, but have enough faith to acknowledge that what is written is sacred and needs to be taken to heart.

God created the heavens and the earth. In that one sentence something about the nature of God is also revealed. The word for God in Hebrew is “Elohim”. It is a plural, yet the verbs and pronouns used around it are singular, which indicate that God is one. David Guzik explains it, from this website: https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/guzik_david/StudyGuide_Gen/Gen_1.cfm and quotes: “Rabbi Simeon ben Joachi, commenting on the word Elohim: "Come and see the mystery of the word Elohim; there are three degrees, and each degree by itself alone, and yet notwithstanding they are all one, and joined together in one, and are not divided from each other." Clarke adds: "He must be strangely prejudiced indeed who cannot see that the doctrine of a Trinity, and of a Trinity in unity, is expressed in the above words."”

“Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.” It is so hard to imagine that the earth as formless and empty. The word for this in the original language is, Tohu. Some have translated it as chaos or disorganized. The understanding is that the earth was not, in any way, organized or able to sustain order. Most importantly though are the words that follow, “The Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.” This is where we first meet that part of God which is the Holy Spirit. The Hebrew word is “Ruach Elohim” meaning “great wind”. The word “hover” is also used in Deuteronomy 32:10-11 to describe a mother eagle hovering over her nest, caring, protecting, nourishing and strengthening.

“And God said, "Let there be light," and there was light.” This is where we find the pre-existence of the Son of God, otherwise known as, “The Word”, when God spoke. Jesus is the visible expression of God. In this instance he was the audible expression, but as we know from John 1, the word was there in the beginning and through him all things were created. It is most fitting that he is revealed and the word which revealed him was, “let there be light”, as it is light that makes things clear and understood.
God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness. God called the light "day," and the darkness he called "night." And there was evening, and there was morning--the first day.”
God declares this light to be good. Please note that even though light was created the sun and moon were not the source.
I’ll briefly list the following days of creation:
• The sky was created on the second day. The declaration of “it was good” is absent on the second day.
• On the third day the dry ground and sea were separated… this is declared good. And then vegetation was brought forth. Once again this is proclaimed as being good.
• Finally on the fourth day God makes the sun, moon and stars. The purpose for these lights is to serve as signs to mark sacred times and days and years.
• On the fifth day living creatures are created in the water and birds that fly. These are declared good and then also they are blessed with the words, “be fruitful and increase in number”. I suspect that this means the answer to the question, “which came first, the chicken or the egg?” must then be the chicken!!! 
• On the sixth day other living creatures were created and God declared it to be good.
Genesis 1:26- “Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.” So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.
Both man and woman are created in the image of God, in that, like God, we have a mind, will, intellect, emotions, and moral capacity. This sets us apart from all others of creation. Other parts of Scripture tell us that God is spirit. Humans have this spiritual capacity, but we are mostly unaware of it. We, like God are triune beings. We have a body – our physicality, our Soul, which encompasses our emotions, our mind and personality, and we have a spirit.

When the fall happened our spirit is what died. This is why Jesus said we must be born again… born of spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but spirit gives birth to spirit – meaning that we needed to be born of God.

Each person since Adam has been born with their spirit dead – or I like to think of it like a seed is dead when it is out of the soil… Jesus is the exception.

Jesus was spiritually alive and death could not hold him. Something that most people forget is that Jesus rose from the dead and is alive still. People saw him, touched him and even ate with him. Our sixth article of faith tells us that Jesus ascended into the heavens, and sits at the right hand of the Father.

Do we believe in the resurrection?
I have actually heard some theologians explain away miracles as possibly natural occurrences. But it all comes down to this; we have faith or we do not. Either we believe or we do not. We are Christian or we are not.
I don’t know all the how’s’and why’s, but I do know Jesus lives.

Our faith needs a starting point – a Genesis. Let there be light! A light that illuminates us to God’s truth…. All we need is faith the size of a mustard seed… Just as the Holy Spirit hovered over the deep to bring life and light, may the Holy Spirit enlighten us.

Youtube link for the song indescribable : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qF9aY49oQTs