Civilization begins with order, grows with liberty and dies with chaos. Will Durant
Meditation: “Chaos” is captured within the Hebrew expression ”Tohu-wa-bohu”. This term describes the condition of the earth immediately before the creation of light. The kind of chaos that Genesis describes here is creative and generative chaos. It is the chaos during the experience of giving birth. Or the chaos of artistic enterprise and of creative expression. All those forms of chaos lead to new life. “Tohu-wa-bohu” is life-giving and birth giving chaos. However, there is also a kind of chaos that leads to death and to decay. This kind of chaos exists in the White House today. The current leadership first undermined civil order by leaving many government positions unfilled and by putting people in leadership positions tasked with making their department non- or dysfunctional. The growth of our society has been undermined with taking away liberties and stopping access to health insurance and programs that protect the poor and needy. The chaos we are experiencing in the White House today is not life and birth giving, but an expression of dysfunctionality and decay. Civilization dies with chaos. Democracy dies with chaos. May the “Tohu-wa-bohu” of our democracy rise and overcome the current chaos that leads to death.
Prayer: Life giving God, as our children and teens nationwide prepare to walk out of school classrooms for 17 minutes seven days from today to protest the Florida school shooting and to demand gun control, let their actions become life giving and birth giving “Tohu-wa-bohu”. Let their protest speak loudly. May their voices be heard nation wide. May any threats of retaliation of school principals and intimidation by our government not be able to stop our Youth from standing up for their right to protest gun laws and to demand to live and to learn in safe environments. We pray for an end of the destructive chaos that emanates from the White House. Amen
Now the earth was formless and empty (“Tohu-wa-bohu”), darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the spirit of God was hovering over the waters. Genesis 1:2 (NIV)
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