Verses Speak Night
Verses Speak Night
There are some words that move across generations. Verses speak each night to our dreams and to our waking sensibilities. Verses speak night and verses speak day.
And God said,
‘Let there be lights in the dome of the sky to separate the day from the night;
and let them be for signs and for seasons and for days and years,
and let them be lights in the dome of the sky to give light upon the earth.’
And it was so.
God made the two great lights—
the greater light to rule the day and the lesser light to rule the night
—and the stars.
God set them in the dome of the sky to give light upon the earth,
to rule over the day and over the night,
and to separate the light from the darkness.
And God saw that it was good.
And there was evening and there was morning,
the fourth day.
I am opening a new group of images on the Montage page this evening. Perhaps just one image tonight, but you will see where I am headed. It is such a treat to allow verses the chance to touch our hearts.
This week I am thinking about creation and the gift of light and the poetic sense of the sky is so beautifully placed in the opening verses of Genesis. Verses speak each night for those who place them in their heart. We open ourselves to wonder as we dwell in the beauty of such imagery. Throughout the years I have seen such beautiful words become the glue that holds a life together.
One of my friends recently asked what was the most significant verse in the creation narrative. I suggested that perhaps these verses of the fourth day hold special depth. They express the clarifying gift of light in the darkness.
When I was young, I cherished the gift of sunsets on the ocean. I’ve paired these verses with a work by Léon Spilliaert. He is one of the Symbolist painters. Much of their thought went in, quite frankly, very odd directions. But I love the fact that they were seeking spiritual matters in ordinary life. They were tuning their spirit and inviting others to do the same through their art. I especially love the way that Spilliaert swirls his images and his contrasts. Take a look at a few of his paintings:
He is able to move the essence of creation into focused forms in a way that is clear and beautiful. I love this painter from Belgium!
