Easter Vigil in the Holy Night of Easter
From: Genesis 1:1-2:2
The Creation Account
[1] In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. [2] The earth
was without form and void, and darkness was upon the face of the deep; and
the Spirit of God was moving over the face of the waters.
[3] And God said, "Let there be light"; and there was light. [4] And God saw
that the light was good; and God separated the light from the darkness. [5]
God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was
evening and there was morning, one day.
[6] And God said, "Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and
let it separate the waters from the waters." [7] And God made the firmament
and separated the waters which were under the firmament from the waters
which were above the firmament. And it was so. [8] And God called the
firmament Heaven. And there was evening and there was morning, a second day.
[9] And God said, "Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together
into one place, and let the dry land appear." And it was so. [10] God called
the dry land Earth, and the waters that were gathered together he called
Seas. And God saw that it was good. [11] And God said, "Let the earth put
forth vegetation, plants yielding seed, and fruit trees bearing fruit in
which is their seed, each according to its kind, upon the earth." And it was
so. [12] The earth brought forth vegetation, plants yielding seed according
to their own kinds, and trees hearing fruit in which is their seed, each
according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. [13] And there was
evening and there was morning, a third day.
[14] And God said, "Let there be lights in the firmament of the heavens to
separate the day from the night; and let them be for signs and for seasons
and for days and years, [15] and let them be lights in the firmament of the
heavens to give light upon the earth." And it was so. [16] And God made the
two great lights, the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to
rule the night; he made the stars also. [17] And God set them in the
firmament of the heavens to give light upon the earth, [18] to rule over the
day and over the night, and to separate the light from the darkness. And God
saw that it was good. [19] And there was evening and there was morning, a
fourth day.
[20] And God said, "Let the waters bring forth swarms of living creatures,
and let birds fly above the earth across the firmament of the heavens." [21]
So God created the great sea monsters and every living creature that moves,
with which the waters swarm, according to their kinds, and every winged bird
according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. [22] And God blessed
them, saying, "Be fruitful and multiply and fill the waters in the seas, and let
birds multiply on the earth." [23] And there was evening and there was
morning, a fifth day.
[24] And God said, "Let the earth bring forth living creatures according to
their kinds: cattle and creeping things and beasts of the earth according to
their kinds." And it was so. [25] And God made the beasts of the earth
according to their kinds and the cattle according to their kinds, and
everything that creeps upon the ground according to its kind. And God saw
that it was good.
[26] Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, after our likeness; and
let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the
air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping
thing that creeps upon the earth." [27] So God created man in his own image,
in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. [28]
And God blessed them, and God said to them.,"Be fruitful and multiply, and
fill the earth and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea and
over the birds of the air and over every living thing that moves upon the
earth." [29] And God said, "Behold, I have given you every plant yielding
seed which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in
its fruit; you shall have them for food. [30] And to every beast of the
earth, and to every bird of the air, and to everything that creeps on the
earth, everything that has the breath of life, I have given every green
plant for food." And it was so. [31] And God saw everything that he had
made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was
morning, a sixth day.
[1] Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them.
[2] And on the seventh day God finished his work which he had done, and he
rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had done. [3] So God
blessed the seventh day and hallowed it, because on it God rested from all
his work which he had done in creation.
Commentary:
1:1-2:4a. Creatlon is the beginnrng of salvation history and the foundation
on which are built God's salvific plans, which reach their climax in Jesus
Christ. The biblical accounts of creation focus on the action of God; it is
he who sets the scene and he is the creator, too, of those who will act out
the drama and with whom he will enter into dialogue.
The sacred text incorporates ancient traditions about the origin of the
world; scholars identify two separate accounts in the early chapters of
Genesis. The first of these emphasizes God's transcendence over all created
things, and is written in a very schematic style; this account (1:1-2:4a) is
attributed to the "Priestly" tradition. The second, which also covers the
fall and the expulsion from paradise, speaks of God in an anthropomorphic
way; this more vivid, more popular account (2:4b-4:26) is considered to
belong to the "Yahwistic" tradition. Here we have two different ways in
which the Word of God (not intending to provide a scientific explanation of
the origin of the world and of man) expounds the basic facts and truths on
the subject in a way people can readily understand, inviting us to see me
greatness and love of God manifested first in creation and then in the
history of mankind. "Our faith teaches us," St. Josemaria Escriva writes,
"that all creation, the movement of the earth and the other heavenly bodies,
the good actions of creatures and all the good that has been achieved in
history, in short everything, comes from God and directed toward him"
("Christ Is Passing By", 130).
In the first account the Bible offers profound teaching about God, about man
and about the world. About God, who is the only God, creator of all things
and man in particular; he transcends the created world and is its supreme
master. About man, who is the image and likeness of God, above all other
created beings and placed in the world to rule all creation. About the
world, which is something good and is at the service of man.
1.1. "Three things are affirmed in these first words of Scripture: the
eternal God gave a beginning to all that exists outside of himself; he alone
is Creator (the verb 'create'--Hebrew "bara"--always has God for its
subject). The totality of what exists (expressed by the formula 'the heavens
and the earth') depends on the One who gives it being" ("Catechism of the
Catholic Church", 290).
"In the beginning" means that creation marks the start of time and the
course of history. Time and history have a beginning and they are headed
towards a final goal, which the Bible will tell us more about, especially in
its last book, Revelation. At the end, we are told: 'Then I saw a new heaven
and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away,
and the sea was no more" (Rev 21:1).
God the Creator is the same God as will manifest himself to the patriarchs,
to Moses and to the prophets and make himself known to as through Jesus
Christ. In the light of the New Testament we know that God created all
things through his eternal Word, his beloved Son (cf. Jn 1:1; Col 1:16-17).
God the Creator is Father and Son and (the relationship of love between
them) the Holy Spirit. Creation is the work of the Blessed Trinity, and all
of creation (particularly man, created in the image and likeness of God) in
some way bears their seal. Some Fathers of the Church (Augustine, Ambrose
and Basil, for example), in the light of the New Testament, saw the words
"in the beginning" as having a deeper meaning--namely, "in the Son".
The "action of creating" belongs exclusively to God; man cannot create; he
can only "change" or "develop" something that already exists. In the
creation accounts of other Near East religions the world and gods developed
out of preexistent matter. The Bible, however, records gradual revelation of
the mystery of creation interpreted in the light of God's choice of Israel
and his covenant with mankind; it roundly asserts that everything was made
by God. Later on it will draw the conclusion that everything was created out
of' nothing: "I beseech you, my child, to look at the heavens and the earth
and see everything that is in them, and to recognize that God did not make
them out of things that existed" (2 Mac 7:28). This creative power of God is
also able to give sinful man a pure heart (cf. Ps 51:12), to restore the
dead to life and to give the light of faith to those who do not know him
(cf. 2 Cor 4:6).
It was God's love and wisdom that moved him to create the world, thereby
communicating his goodness and making his glory manifest. The world,
therefore, "is not the product of any necessity whatever, nor of blind, fate
or chance. We believe that it proceeds from God's free will; he wanted to
make his creatures share in his being, wisdom and goodness" ("Catechism of
the Catholic Church", 295).
The expression "the heavens and the earth" means everything that exists. The
earth is the world of men; the sky (or the heavens) can mean the firmament
or the divine world, God's own "place", his glory and all spiritual
(non-material) creatures--the angels.
1:2. The Bible teaches not just that God created all things, but also that
the separation and ordering of the elements of nature is something
established by God once and for all. The presence of the loving power of
God, symbolized by a gentle breeze or a breath (the text refers to it as a
spirit; "ruah" in Hebrew) which hovers and keeps watch over the world when
it is still in chaos, shows that, as the text will go on to say, the Word of
God and his Breath are present in the origin of being and in the origin of
every creature's life. That is why many Fathers of the Church (Jerome and
Athanasaus, for example) saw this passage as reflecting the presence of the
Holy Spirit as a divine Person who, along with the Father and the Son, is at
work in the creation of the world, "This biblical concept of creation", John
Paul II explains, "includes not only the call to existence of the very being
of the cosmos, that is to say, "the giving of existence", but also the
presence of the Spirit of God in creation, that is to say, the beginning of
God's salvific self-communication to thq things he creates. This is true
"first of all concerning man", who has been created in the image and
likeness of God" ("Dominum Et Vivificantem", 12).
1:3-5. At this point strictly speaking begins the description of the
creation, which, according to the literary plan of this account, is going to
take place over six days. These six days are meant to indicate the
orderliness with which God went about his work, and to show a rhythm of work
and rest: the Jewish Law laid down Saturday, the sabbath, as a day of rest
and a day dedicatcd to the Lord. In the Christian Church this day was
shifted to Sunday, because Sunday was the day on which our Lord rose from
the dead, thereby inaugurating the new Creation: Sunday, the "dies dominica"
(Latin), the Lord's day.
On the first day God creates light and separates light from darkness (the
latter, being something negative--the absence of light--cannot be created).
Light is seen here as being a thing in its own right (without reference to
the fact that daylight comes from the sun, which will not be created until
the fourth day). The fact that God puts names on things (or in this case on
situations caused by some elements being separated from others) indicates
that he wields absolute power over them. God is in authority, whether it be
day or night.
Here we meet for the first time a phrase which is going to be used seven
times over the course of the narrative: "And God saw that it was good." This
means that everything that God creates is good because in some way it bears
his seal and shares in his own goodness, for it has come from divine
goodness. The goodness of the world proclaimed here by Holy Scripture has
important consequences for the Christian: "We must love the world and work
and all human things. For the world is good. Adam's sin destroyed the divine
balance of creation; but God the Father sent his only Son to re-establish
peace, so that we, his children by adoption, might free creation from
disorder and reconcile all things to God" ([St] Escriva, "Christ Is Passing
By", 112).
1:6-8. In line with the culture of their time, the early Hebrews thought
that rain came from huge containers of water in the vault of heaven; when
trapdoors were opened, the rain poured down. When it says here that God
separated the water which were above the firmament from those below, what is
really being taugt is that God imposed order on the natural world and is
responsible for the phenomenon of rain. It is also making it clear from the
outset that the firmament must not be thought to involve any divinity (as
was believed in the nations roundabout Israel); the firmament is part of the
created world.
1:11. As the inspired author depicts here, a distinction is made between
God's action in separating and ordering the elements (creating the vast
spaces of sky, sea and land) and his action of filling or adorning these
spaces with different kinds of creatures. These creatures introduced in an
increasing order of dignity (in line with the thinking of the time)--first
the vegetable kingdom, then the stellar kingdom, and, lastly, the animal
kingdom. Everything is perfectly arranged; the world of Creation invites to
contemplate the Creator.
1:14-17. Against the neighboring religions, which regarded the heavenly
bodies as divinities exerting influence over human life, the biblical
author, enlightened by inspiration, teaches that the sun, moon and stars are
simply created things; their purpose is to serve man by giving him light by
day and night, and to be a way of measuring time. Put in their proper,
natural place heavenly bodies (like all the rest of creation) lead man to
appreciate the greatness of God, and to praise him for his awesome works:
"The heavens are telling the glory of God; and the firmament proclaims his
handiwork..." (Ps 19:1; cf. Ps 104). It follows that all forms of divination
are to be rejected--consulting horoscopes, astrology, clairvoyance etc. (cf.
"Catechism of the Catholic Church", 2116).
1:26. The sacred text emphasizes the special significance of this moment:
God seems to stop to reflect and plan every detail of his next
creation--man. Ancient Jewish interpretation (followed also by some
Christian writers) saw the use of the plural "Let us make..." as meaning
that God deliberated with his heavenly court, that is, with the angels
(implying that God had created them at the very start, when he "created the
heavens and the earth"). But the use of the plural should rather be taken as
reflecting the greatness and power of God. A considerable part of Christian
tradition has seen the "Let us make" as reflecting the Holy Trinity, for New
Testament revelation has made the Christian reader more aware of the
unfathomable greatness of the divine mystery.
"Man" here has a collective meaning: every human being, by his or her very
nature, is in the image and likeness of God. The human being is intelligible
not by reference to other created beings in the universe but by reference to
God. The likeness between God and man is not a physical one, for God has no
body; it is a spiritual likeness, lying in the human being's capacity for
interiority. The Second Vatican Council teaches that man is not deceived
when he regards himself as superior to bodily things and as more than just a
speck of nature or a nameless unit in the city of man. For by his power to
know himself in the depths of his being he rises above the whole universe of
mere objects. When he is drawn to think about his real self, he turns to
those deep recesses of his being where God who probes the heart (1 Kings
1.6:7; Jer 17:10) awaits him, and where he himself decides his own destiny
in the sight of God. So when he recognizes in himself a spiritual and
immortal soul, he is not being led astray by false imaginings that are due
to merely physical or social causes. On the contrary, he grasps what is
profoundly true in this matter" ("Gaudium Et Spes", 14).
The fact that God creates man in own image and likeness "means not only
rationality and freedom as constitutive properties of human nature, but also
from the very beginning, the capacity of having a "personal relationship"
with God as 'I' and 'you' and therefore the capacity "of having a covenant",
which will take place in God's salvific communication with man" (John Paul
11, "Dominun Et Vivificantem", 34). In the light of this communication,
brought about in all its fullness by Jesus Christ, the Fathers the Church
read the words "image and likeness" as meaning, on the one hand man's
spiritual condition, and, on the other, his sharing in the divine nature
through sanctifying grace. Even after the fall, man is still in the "image"
of God; through sin, however, he lost his "likeness" but this was restored
through Christ's redemption.
It is part of God's design that human beings should have dominion over other
created things (represented here by the animals). This dominion makes man
God's representative (everything really belongs to God) in the created
world. Therefore, although man is going to be the lord of creation, he needs
to recognize that God alone is the Creator; man has to respect and look
after creation; he is responsible for it.
These words of Scripture show that "man is the only creature that God has
loved for itself alone, because all others were created to be at the service
of man. Here we can see, too, the basic equality of all human beings. For
the Church, this equality, which has its roots in man's very being, takes on
the very special dimension of brotherhood through the Incarnation of the Son
of God. [...] Therefore, discrimination of any type [...] is absolutely
unacceptable" (John Paul II, Address, 7 July 1984).
1:27. The creation of man marks the completion of God's plan, In presenting
this final act of creation, the sacred writer offers us a summary of the
things that go to make up the human being. As, well as repeating that God
created man in his image and likeness, he tells us that God created them man
and woman, that is to say, corporeal beings, endowed with sexuality, and
designed to live in society. "Being in the image of God, the human
individual possesses the dignity of a person, who is not just something, but
someone. He is capable of self-knowledge, of self-possession and of freely
giving himself and entering into communion with other persons. And he is
called by grace to a covenant with his Creator to offer him a response of
faith and love that no other creature can give in his stead" ("Catechism of
the Catholic Church", 357).
"The fact that man 'created as man and woman' is the image of God means not
only that each of them individually is like God, as a rational and free
being. It also means that man and woman, created as a 'unity of the two' in
their common humanity, are called to live in a communion of love, and in
this way to mirror in the world the communion of love that is in God,
through which the Three Persons love each other in the intimate mystery of
the one divine life. This 'unity of the two', which is a sign of
interpersonal communion, "shows that the creation of man" is also marked by
a certain likeness to the divine communion ("communio") This likeness is a
quality of the personal being of both man and woman, and is also a call and
a task" (John Paul II, "Mulieris Dignitatem", 7).
The fact that the Bible and everyday language speak of God as masculine is a
result of cultural influences and the great care taken in the Bible to avoid
any hint of polytheism (which could arise if the godhead were described as
feminine, opening the way to generations of gods, as in other religions).
God transcends the body and sexuality; therefore, both man (masc.) and woman
(fem.) equally reflect his image and likeness. In these words of Genesis,
for the very first time in history, the fundamental equality in dignity of
man and woman is proclaimed--in marked contrast with the low esteem in which
women were held in the ancient world.
According to the traditional Jewish and Christian interpretation, this verse
is alluding to marriage, as if God had already created the first man and the
first woman as a married couple--forming that human community which is the
basis of every society. In the second Genesis account of the creation of man
and woman (cf. 2:18-24), this will emerge even more clearly.
1:28. God has already created animals, endowing them with fruitfulness (v.
22). He now addresses these two human beings personally: "he said to
them..."; this indicates that the reproductive power of human beings (and
therefore their sexuality) are values for which they must assume
responsibility before God, as a way of co-operating in God's plans. Thus,
God, "wishing to associate them in a special way with his own creative work,
blessed man and woman with the words: 'Be fruitful and multiply' (Gen 1:28).
Without intending to underestimate the other ends of marriage, it must be
said that true married love and the whole structure of family life which
results from it is directed to disposing the spouses to cooperate valiantly
with the love of the Creator and Savior, who through them will increase and
enrich his family from day to day" (Vatican II, "Gaudium Et Spes", 50).
God also commands man to make the earth serve him. Here divine Revelation is
teaching us that human work is regarded as a way by which main operates in
the plan God had when he created the world: "By the work of his hands and
with the aid of technical means man tills the earth to bring fruit and to
make it a dwelling place for all mankind; he, also consciously plays his
part in the life of social groups; in so doing he is realizing the design,
which God revealed at the beginning of time, to subdue the earth and perfect
the work of creation, and at the same time he is improving his own person"
(Vatican II, "Gaudium Et Spes", 57).
From this divine disposition we see the importance a person's work has in
his or her personal life: "Your human vocation is a part--and an important
part--of your divine vocation. That reason why you must strive for holiness,
giving a particular character to your human personality, a style to your
life; contributing at the same time to the sanctification of others, your
fellow men; sanctifying your work and your environment: the profession or
job that fills day, your home and family and the country where you were born
and which you love [...]. Work, all work, bears witness to the dignity of
man, to his dominion over creation. It is an opportunity to develop one's
personality. It is a bond of union with others, the way to support one's
family, a means of aiding the improvement of the society in which we live
and in the progress of all mankind" ("Christ Is Passing By", 46-47).
Man is charged by God with mastery over the earth; but he may not do
whatever he likes with it or act despotically: he should respect the
universe as being the work of the Creator. In this regard, Wisdom 9:3 says:
"0 God, [...] who hast formed man, to have dominion over the creatures thou
hast made, and rule the world in holiness and righteousness, and pronounce
judgment in uprightness of soul." "This holds good also for out daily work.
When men and women provide for themselves and their families in such a way
as to be of service to the community as well, they can rightly look upon
their work as a prolongation of the work of the creator, a service to their
fellow men, and their personal contribution to the fulfillment in history of
the divine plan" (Vatican II, "Gaudium Et Spes", 34).
1:31. These words bring to an end this first description of the work of
Creation. It is as if God, after making man, stood back to see what he had
done and was very pleased with the result. Whereas the wording previously
used was "And God saw that it was good," now we are told that it was "very
good". In this way, the goodness of the created world is being stressed,
indicating that "this natural goodness of theirs receives an added dignity
from their relation with the human person, for whose use they have been
created" (Vatican II, "Apostolicam Actuositatem", 7). From this it follows
that the human person and his/her dignity must be valued above all other
created things, and all human endeavor should be geared to foster and defend
these values.
2:1-3. From this point onwards, God will almost never intervene in creation
directly. Now it is up to man to act in the created world through the work
he does.
God's "resting" sets an example for man. By resting, we are acknowledging
that creation in the last analysis depends on and belongs to God, and that
God is watching over it. Here rest is an example set by the Creator; we
shall later find it as one of the Ten Commandments (cf. Ex 20:8-18; Deut
5:42-14). "The institution of the Lord's Day helps everyone enjoy adequate
rest and leisure to cultivate their familial, cultural, social and religious
lives" ("Catechism of the Catholic Church", 2184; cf. also John Paul II,
Apostolic Letter, "Dies Domini", 31 May 1998).
Apropos of the sabbath, unlike the other days there is no mention of there
being evening and morning. It is as if that rhythm of time were being broken
by the sabbath--prefiguring the situation in which man, once he has
accomplished his mission of mastering the earth, will enjoy an unending
rest, at an eternal feast in God's presence (cf. Heb 4:1-10). In the
language of the Bible "feast" or "festival" means three things--a)
obligatory rest from everyday work; b) recognition of God as Lord of
creation, and joyful contemplation of the created world; c) a foretaste of
the enduring rest and joy that will be man's after he leaves this world.
Source: "The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries". Biblical text
taken from the Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries
made by members of the Faculty of Theology of the University of
Navarre, Spain. Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock,
Co. Dublin, Ireland.