Wednesday, January 14, 2026
Then God looked at all God had made, and God saw that it was very good.
—Genesis 1:31
Cherokee theologian and CAC guest faculty member Rev. Dr. Randy Woodley considers how creation’s goodness includes diversity, balance, and harmony:
In the pronouncement that “it is good,” the Creator is making an accurate judgment about all that exists. By proclaiming that everything is good, right, in order, and as it should be, God sets the state of earthly normalcy. “Good” becomes the once-and-for-all standard of life on earth….
In the first account of creation, each action and each result of God’s action is differentiated. Not one created part is the other, nor does it become the other. Each part of creation was made unique and after its own kind, special. And yet, each part is incomplete without the whole, and everything is being and becoming in relationship to and with the other…. It is the essence of harmony and balance.
The celestials regulate the balance of the terrestrials. The night dusk comes to softly compel all creation to enter into rest and the calm brings about refreshing coolness to the world. The advent of the day provides new life and new opportunities like the embrace of warmth for plants, animals, and humans. The moon regulates all the waters. The sun regulates each season…. Everything created is in harmony and balance with everything else and with the Creator. The first week of creation is a grand picture of shalom on the earth.
God’s shalom, which is holistic peace and harmony, is discovered through the interconnectedness of all creation.
From God’s purview there is an interconnectedness of all God has made. All things are designed and created beautifully by their Creator. Each part of the created whole bears the mark of its Creator. Each element works in relationship with all the others. Each ingredient is connected through its common origin and, together, all share a common location in the universe; and when God is finished with creation there is a pause on the seventh day. Not a pause as if to look back and second-guess, but an intentional pause to celebrate the way it is. The Aboriginal Rainbow Elders in Australia say the Creator sang on the seventh day. The meaning is like that of a gathering or a community “get-together” where celebration is the only priority. The celebration is a party because everything is harmonious as it was meant to be. This is God’s shalom creation party. Though told in slightly different ways, many indigenous peoples around the world are able to recognize this story, and this pause, as the Harmony Way….
The idea of God’s shalom is not divorced from creation, but as we can plainly see from the earliest Genesis account, creation is central to our understanding of shalom. Creation (what God did and continues to do daily) and the carrying out of shalom (what we are to do daily) are inextricably interwoven. We have the opportunity each day to participate in God’s shalom activities.
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| JAN 14, 2026 God’s Glory Returns to the Temple |
 In 516 BC, the Jerusalem temple, destroyed by the Babylonians 70 years earlier, was rebuilt. This story is told in the Old Testament book of Ezra. With a remnant of Jews returning from exile and the temple’s reconstruction and rededication, God’s people expected that his glory would also return to dwell among them. But it didn’t. As Old Testament scholar Carmen Imes notes, “The rebuilt temple had never offered any proof of the presence of God. Unlike the tabernacle, which God’s glory filled (Ex. 40:34), and the temple of Solomon, where heavenly fire also came on the altar (2 Chron. 7:1), the rebuilt temple was a disappointment. At its dedication, there was no fire, no visible glory—nothing to signify that God dwelt there.”Jewish writings during this second-temple period frequently lamented the absence of God’s glory. Without any evidence of God’s presence, the temple wasn’t truly a temple, which meant the people of Israel couldn’t truly fulfill their calling to be a priesthood that mediates God’s presence to the world, and therefore their covenant with God wasn’t truly restored. This awkward state of ongoing exile persisted for 500 years, but there was still hope that the prophecies would be fulfilled and that God’s presence would one day return to the temple. That day is recorded in the second chapter of Luke’s gospel.In accordance with the Torah, Mary and Joseph took the infant Jesus to Jerusalem to consecrate him to the Lord. This involved offering prayers and sacrifices at the temple. When they entered the temple courtyard with Jesus, they were met by two very old, very devout people. Simeon is described as righteous, full of the Holy Spirit, and “waiting for the consolation of Israel.” This is the Bible’s way of saying that he was waiting for God’s presence to finally return to the temple. When he saw Jesus, Simeon took him in his arms and praised God:“My eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in the sight of all nations: a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and the glory of your people Israel” (Luke 2:30-32) The way Luke describes him and Simeon’s prayer are both filled with temple language lifted from the Old Testament. The people believed that God’s glory and presence would visibly return to the temple, just as it had visibly descended upon the tabernacle in Exodus and the first temple built by Solomon. And here, Simeon says his “eyes have seen” God’s salvation and glory, but he’s looking at the child in his arms, not the building behind them. He is declaring Jesus to be God’s true temple, the vessel of his presence, and the visible manifestation of his glory.Building on this, he argues that Jesus will reveal God to the nations. This is what the Old Testament prophets said the new, more glorious temple would do. The temple would be a light that draws the Gentiles, and the nations would stream into the house of the Lord (see Isaiah 2:1-5). By applying this language to Jesus, Simeon is underscoring that this child is the true temple of God.The second person in the courtyard seals the temple theology that Luke is trying to communicate. Anna was a prophet who never left the temple, and she “spoke about the child to all who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem” (Luke 2:38). That’s an odd phrase to our modern, American ears. What does “the redemption of Jerusalem” mean? This is exile language. God’s people had returned to the city, rebuilt its walls, and constructed a new temple, but they were still in a state of exile because God’s presence had not yet returned. Anna, like Simeon, understood that the arrival of Jesus at the temple was the long-awaited return of God’s glory and the true restoration of Israel from their long captivity. Recognizing the temple language in this chapter and putting these events within the context of Israel’s exile and restoration helps us better grasp the true meaning of Jesus’ birth. He is the fulfillment of the whole narrative of the Hebrew Bible; he is what the entire Old Testament has been building toward. Likewise, it helps us avoid a common misreading of the Bible, in which some Christians believe that the Old Testament temple prophecies remain unfulfilled. They argue that we should still expect the construction of another temple in Jerusalem, which will be filled with God’s glory, and the reinstatement of another sacrificial system that will usher in the last days. But the gospel writers are practically shouting to us, “No!” All of those prophecies have been fulfilled in Jesus. He is the new temple that was promised, he is the presence of the Lord who now dwells among us, and he is the glory of the invisible God. To place these expectations on some future construction project in the Middle East is to miss the whole message of the New Testament. DAILY SCRIPTURE LUKE 2:22-33 LUKE 2:36-38 WEEKLY PRAYER from Clement of Alexandria (c.150 – c.215) Be kind to your little children, Lord. Be a gentle teacher, patient with our weakness and stupidity. And give us the strength and discernment to do what you tell us, and so grow in your likeness. Amen. |
