DAYS OF CREATION 1
Truly the light is sweet.—Ecclesiastes 11:7
This is the first in a planned series of reflections on the days of creation, with suggested lesson plans for those teaching children.
I love sunlight, which is not a surprise considering that I live very happily in the Sunshine State. I often exasperate my family by turning off all the electric lights in order to enjoy the natural illumination streaming through the windows. It's not really enough for reading or sweeping the floor, I suppose, though I continue to insist that it is.
I get bored with the chill hum of florescence or steady glow of incandescence. What I love best about sunlight is its many moods: there's that silver-blue light that filters through wavering veils of rain; that green-gold light on clear, wet mornings; that white-turquoise light at summer noonday; that golden explosion during a sun-shower; that mother-of-pearl light on overcast afternoons; that pink light on rare evenings that feel like living in a flower.
Light is a theme that runs across Scripture like the golden fingers of Dawn. It surprises the world in the very first chapter of Genesis; even those explosive notes in Handel's oratorio cannot hold all the dazzling excitement of that moment. Can you imagine it?—light for the first time?
I am always playing this kind of game with myself: What if I was seeing this for the first time? I look at water, or the alphabet, or a family member, or a friend, and I am struck by the strangeness and wonder of them. I've always had these things, and sometimes I have to step away from them to see beauties I'd never appreciated; I think of Chesterton's character Innocent Smith, who ran away from home in order to find it.
Christ did not come to me as to Paul in a blinding flash of light, but gently lit the dawn of my life. It is my greatest blessing, I know, but sometimes I'm the fish who doesn't know he's wet. When I do try to step back just a little, I am overwhelmed by the beauty of Christ. I can't imagine the searing fire it will be to see him for the first time—to 'know even as also I am known.' My head wants to burst with an idea that is far too great for me.
For now, I bask in the 'part of his ways' that comes to me 'through a glass darkly.' Everywhere I turn, it warms my heart as the sun does my skin; the darkness is there, but it is no more than a void, the absence of light. It cannot 'comprehend', cannot 'catch hold of,' cannot defeat, the light; it ceases to be where the light is, by virtue of light's very existence.
I love the image of Creation given us by Tolkien: 'The music, and the echo of the music, went out into the Void, and it was not void.'
‘The people which sat in darkness saw a great light; and to them which sat in the region and shadow of death light is sprung up. From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.’ Matthew 4:16-17
CREATION OF LIGHT
The light shineth in the darkness, and the darkness comprehended it not.—John 1:5
{OBJECTS}
•To introduce the consecutive reading of the Old Testament stories
•To instill reverence and delight in the reading of God’s Word
•To impress upon the child the idea of God’s power and benevolence
•To plant as a seed the thought that Jesus Christ is the light of the world
{MATERIALS}
•large print of ‘The Creation of Light’ by Gustave Paul Doré†
•hymnal with hymn ‘I Sing the Mighty Power of God’ or ‘Rise, Shine, for the Light is a-Coming’‡
•King James version of the Bible
•audio recording of The Creation by Franz Joseph Haydn
•paper, pen, art supplies {brushes, watercolor, etc.}
† I favor the Doré prints, but his illustration of the Creation week are limited to the first, fifth and second days. M.C. Eschel created a series of six Creation woodcuts in a surreal style. If you prefer a colored artwork, selections can be made from various artists. An example for this lesson would be Chaos {The Creation} by Ivan Alvazovsky.
‡ See the Cyber Hymnal for other hymns about nature and the Creation.
{LESSON}
Step 1—Prominently display the Doré print. Open with prayer and singing of hymn, then draw observations from child about the print.
Primary Grades: Optional: Have child attempt to cross an obstacle course in a shuttered room. Notice how he gropes and stumbles. Let in the light, and have child try again. Notice how he walks upright, with certainty and direction, while avoiding obstacles. Draw these observations from child.
Step 2—Very briefly introduce and read Genesis 1:1-5. Read reverently, carefully, with good expression. Refrain from interrupting yourself with explanations; and teach child to save any questions until after the reading.
‘In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the waters. And God said, let there be light: and there was light. And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness. And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day.’ {Genesis 1:1-5]
Step 3—Have child narrate the passage as nearly as possible in the words of the Bible. Discuss passage, as necessary.
Step 4—Choose and assign an appropriate project to review the Scripture reading.
Primary Grades: 1) Have child transcribe in best handwriting a single sentence from the passage and illustrate. 2) Have child illustrate teacher’s transcription of oral narration. 3) Have child create a multi-media artwork to support oral narration and review.
Middle Grades: 1) Have child write and illustrate narration of passage. 2) Have child write a stanza in a hymn or a poem about the Creation week.
Higher Grades: 1) Have student transcribe passage with personal commentary in a journal. 2) Have student use a concordance and write an essay tracing the theme of ‘light’ in the Scriptures. 3) Have student work on an essay about the Creation week and the ideas or principles in may provide.
Step 5—While child works on assigned project, briefly introduce Haydn’s oratorio The Creation and play Part 1, No.1-2.
Optional Alternative Activity: While child works on assigned project, read {possibly, discuss} this Scriptural meditation on light.
‘They are of those that rebel against the light; they know not the ways thereof, nor abide in the paths thereof... For the morning is to them even as the shadow of death: if one know them, they are in the terrors of the shadow of death.’ {Job 13, 17}
‘The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? the LORD is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?’ {Psalm 27:1}
‘For with thee is the fountain of life: in thy light shall we see light.’ {Psalm 36:9}
‘The day is thine, the night also is thine...’ {Psalm 74:16}
‘The path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day. The way of the wicked is as darkness: they know not at what they stumble.’ {Proverbs 4:18-19}
‘The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined.’ {Isaiah 9:2}
‘I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these things.’ {Isaiah 45:7}
‘Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the LORD is risen upon thee. For, behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and the gross darkness the people: but the LORD shall arise upon thee, and his glory shall be seen upon thee.’ {Isaiah 60:1-2}
‘Rejoice not against me, O mine enemy: when I fall, I shall arise; when I sit in darkness, the LORD shall be a light unto me.’ {Micah 7:8}
‘Ye are the light of the world... Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.’ {Matthew 5:14, 16}
‘Light is come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than light, because their deeds were vil. For everyone that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deed may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.’ {John 3:19-21}
‘I am come a light into the world, that whosoever believeth on me should not abide in darkness.’ {John 12:46}
‘For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light.’ {Ephesians 5:8}
‘Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of the darkness. Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober.’ {1 Thessalonians 5:6]
‘For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.’ {2 Corinthians 4:6}
‘The darkness is past, and the true light now shineth. He that saieth his is in the light, and hateth his brother, is in darkness even until now. He that loveth his brother abideth in the light, and there is none occassion of stumblng in him. But he that hateth his brother is in darkness, and walketh in darkness, and knoweth not wither he goeth, because the darkness hath blinded his eyes. {1 John 2:8-11}
‘And there shall be no night there; and they need no candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord God giveth them light: and they shall reign for ever and ever.’ {Revelations 22:5}
• ‘The clouds were heaps of dramatic grays and blues, crowding above the jade treetops and shot through with the white-gold brilliance of the afternoon sun.’ •
July 25, 2014