1–Is the Bible Wrong???

We continue our Summer Fun with Biblical Numbers with a short meditation on the number Two.

Step 1: Still yourself and your surroundings.

Step 2: Start by inviting God to sit with you. Read today’s prompt:

One symbolizes primacy, singleness, individual, absoluteness, first or best. There is one butterfly in this image, and one source of light. Your church has one altar, one tabernacle, one baptismal font and one pulpit. We have one Communion. There is one Lord of all.

In the words of Saint Terese of Avila, you have only one soul…one death to die…one life to be lived by you alone.

As Catholics, we celebrate many “firsts” in our faith. Our first (and only) Baptism. Our first Communion. Our first Confession. Our first (and only) Confirmation. Our first (hopefully of many) personal encounter with Jesus.

One ‘first’ that confuses people is the First Day of Creation. The bible says that on that day God said, “Let their be light–and light appeared.”(Gen. 1:3) But on day four God said, “Let lights appear in the sky to separate day from night and to show the time when days, years, and religious festivals begin.” (The New Catholic Study Bible, Saint Jerome Edition) Many people think that proves that the bible doesn’t know what it’s talking about.

I’m actually not confused by this. To me, on Day One God was saying, “I am the light.” Or maybe He was saying, “Let Me manifest myself as light.” Or maybe He created light as energy that could then make suns for solar systems across the universe and Day Four was our sun. I heard a Protestant minister say that Days One through Three were setting up the sky, earth and oceans and Days Four through Six were spent filling up the sky, earth and oceans; that Days one and four go hand-in-hand.

ONE thing is for sure: the bible does not lie whether we understand it all or not–and we do not understand it all. God is living and is constantly revealing more truth to us, more of Himself to us. And though it seems like a contradiction, it is still very true that in our civilization of billions of people over the centuries, the ONE that is of primary concern to Him is you.

Step 3: Speak to God to about your thoughts and feelings concerning what you read.

What stood out to you? How has God created light in the dark segments of your life? Have you created light for others? How might you have prevented light from shining on others? Do you believe God is concerned about you as an individual? (If not, please talk to Him in prayer because it’s true.)

Step 4: Silence yourself again and relax in the presence of God. Use a timer so you can think only of God.

Step 5: Say a prayer.   

Sample: Dear Father, I could get a headache trying to figure out how existence began. So I gladly take it on faith that You are #1 in the universe and that You made me. And I thank You not just for making me, but for making me for the purpose of spending forever with You. Again, what a mystery it is that heaven is forever. It’s so hard to comprehend.

I remember when Mom said she thought You made “time”–the fourth day of creation with the sun and the moon–because humans need a time to rest. She said she needed to look forward to work ending at night because she couldn’t keep up with all she had to do during the day nonstop forever. Raising fourteen children, she more than many of us, needed that nightly break.

Father, thank You for sticking with me even when I don’t make You #1 in my life. Help me to shine light on others by being supportive of their development, joyous in their achievements, and generous in my judgments when their words and actions hurt me. Thank you for loving me as a shepherd who has 99 other sheep but would still pursue me, keep me safe, and bring me home to heaven.

Step 6: Save a word, phrase, image, or feeling to hold in your heart until your next prayer session. Thank God for the visit.