Read: A World of Meaning
The original creation stories bear witness to pattern, order, progress, etc. From galaxies to atoms, everything comes from God, reflects God, and returns to God. The single word to describe this is ‘Meaning.’
It is only after the Fall that chaos, randomness, and violence come into being. And on any given day, any one of us may experience life more in terms of mahem than Meaning.
The writer of Hebrews described this when he wrote, “we do not see everything in subjection to God. But we see Jesus” (Hebrews). The writer saw what McLaren points to in this week’s reading: the Genesis/Jesus connection.
The Logos made flesh is God’s revelation of what humanity is supposed to look like. The Logos made flesh is God’s reminder of what the rest of creation looks like when touched by the divine: wholeness, healing, restoration, love, etc–words all summarized in the one word ‘Meaning.’
That’s why Christians can never become fatalists. We see Jesus, ans so we never can stop believing that the world can be better–that we can be better.
Early Christians used the word ‘dance’ (perechoresis) to describe the movement of life. At the heart of everything is an orchestrated movement of joy. Science and theology are returning to ‘dance’ in their interpretation of things. And it is all summed up in the one word ‘Meaning.’
Excellent!