The Gift of Creation and the Thanksgiving it Warrants

David Martin | The Daily Knight

The first chapter of Genesis opens with the historical account of the creation of the world, which laid the foundation for Christian history since the fall of our first parents through ingratitude led to the coming of Christ the Redeemer, the Word, who created the world out of nothing. As St. John says, ”All things were made by him: and without him was made nothing that was made.” (John 1:3)

The Bible says, “The just man lives by faith” (Romans 1:17), and faith, first and foremost, means believing that God created the world out of nothing. All existence began with the creation of heaven and earth, which occurred a little more than 6000 years ago. Prior to this nothing existed outside of God, dinosaurs included. What some call “prehistoric life” is a myth, for which there exists no evidence, whereas the existence of the world wholly testifies to God’s intelligent design. No further evidence is needed.

“For the invisible things of him, from the creation of the world, are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made; his eternal power also, and divinity: so that they [atheists, unbelievers] are inexcusable.” (Romans 1:20)

The Creation Bespeaks of God

In the Psalms it says: “The heavens shew forth the glory of God, and the firmament declareth the work of his hands. Day to day uttereth speech, and night to night sheweth knowledge. There are no speeches nor languages, where their voices are not heard.” (Psalms 18: 2-4)

That is, the creation of the firmament wholly declares the work of God and reveals his existence and might. The Creation is the eternal voice that speaks of God so that next to this voice all other voices are muted squeaks that “are not heard.” The Creation perfectly testifies to the Creator – it says it all.

It’s a matter of simple common sense. If you add 2 + 2 you get 4, if you throw ball in air it comes down and hits the ground, and if you perceive the order of reality it means the Creator willed it and put it there. There is no such thing that reality evolved out of nothing or from a disorderly “big-bang.”

Imagine you were walking through the forest and came upon a beautiful book of poems leaning against a pine tree and in this book were inscribed the most eloquent sayings. The existence of this book would clearly testify to the fact that someone had written it and left it there.

Some might argue that the book simply “evolved” and was never written, but this would be utter absurdity. To say the book of poems evolved would reveal insanity, yet it would make more sense to say the book evolved than to say that the tree it leaned on evolved since a tree is far greater evidence of God’s intelligent design than a book. Most anyone can write a book of poems but no one can create a tree or even one atom thereof. If the tree is there it's because the Creator designed it and put it there.

Today’s scientists only make fun of themselves when they deny indisputable fact and then call it fact. St. Paul spoke of such morons, saying, “They are inexcusable. Because that, when they knew God, they have not glorified him as God, or given thanks; but became vain in their thoughts, and their foolish heart was darkened. For professing themselves to be wise, they became fools.” (Romans 1: 20-22)

The Creation of the World and Cosmos in Six Days

Now the Book of Genesis says that God made the world in six days. “And God saw all the things that he had made, and they were very good. And the evening and morning were the sixth day.” (Genesis 1:31) “And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made: and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had done.” (Genesis 2:2)

From this we see that God loves and relishes his own work, which might help us to understand why He created the world in six days. For it wasn’t that God “needed six days” to create heaven and earth. God is omnipotent and could have easily blinked the world into existence in a fraction of a second, but because He loved his own work He chose to relish it over six days so that upon completion He could stand back with joy and say, “It is done.”

The Sabbath Reminds us of the Gratitude due for Creation

But it goes beyond that. The creation of the world in six days was done for our instruction since God had already decreed that man would do his work for six days and rest on the seventh in thanksgiving for Creation. Keeping the seventh day holy is the fourth of the Ten Commandments given to Moses by which we are perpetually reminded of the gratitude we owe God for Creation.

“Remember that thou keep holy the sabbath day. Six days shalt thou labor, and shalt do all thy works. But on the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord thy God: thou shalt do no work on it, thou nor thy son, nor thy daughter, nor thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy beast, nor the stranger that is within thy gates. For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, and the sea, and all things that are in them, and rested on the seventh day: therefore the Lord blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it.” (Exodus 20: 8-11)

Hence God went to great extent to show us that thanksgiving is due for his gift of Creation. Many praise the works of God yet they treat Sunday like it’s any other day, even working a full shift and engaging in shameful pursuits. The supreme act of thanksgiving that we can render to God is by keeping the seventh day holy, most especially by attending Mass and dispensing with servile work on that day. For Sunday is the Lord’s Day, and as the Lord rested on the seventh day so he expects his sons and daughters to do the same.

Meditation for Pentecost

Christ said, “If you love me, keep my commandments.” (John 14:15) God is all mercy and love but many shortchange themselves of this mercy by slighting the commandment to not work on Sunday, so this season of Pentecost is a time to remember that the outpouring of God’s mercy is only upon those who honor His commandments in holy fear. For “his mercy is from generation unto generations, to them that fear him.” (Luke 1:50)

Feast of Pentecost 2022