Ode to joy
For the Lesson titled “Is the Universe, Including Man, Evolved by Atomic Force?” from June 16 - 22, 2014
Ralph Waldo Emerson once wrote that “nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm.” This quote is applicable to many things, but I never before thought about it as applying to all creation until I read this week’s Christian Science Bible Lesson, “Is the Universe, Including Man, Evolved by Atomic Force?” It shows that the universe is the manifestation of infinite Spirit—which has got to include joy and enthusiasm! In fact, the word enthusiasm originally comes from the Greek entheos, or “God within.” That is appropriate, as we see from the passages in this Lesson that the universe most definitely includes qualities of divine joy.
One way to describe enthusiasm is to be passionately committed. Genesis 1 describes a God who is committed to creation, carefully designing the universe with balance and goodness. And after every step of creation in Genesis 1, we have the words, “and God saw that it was good” (see 1:12 , citation 8).
Psalm 105 describes God’s commitment to creation: “He hath remembered his covenant for ever, the word which he commanded to a thousand generations” (verse 8 , cit. 17). The stories of the covenants made with Noah, then Abraham, then Moses, and then David, was the Old Testament’s way of describing God as perpetually faithful and committed to God’s people.
In the same section, Isaiah describes the “zeal” of God. When declaring that God’s people will be shepherded and ruled by justice, Isaiah says, “The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this” (Isaiah 9:7 , cit. 19). The New Living Translation puts it this way: “The passionate commitment of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies will make this happen!”
Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy gives this definition of zeal: “The reflected animation of Life, Truth, and Love” (p. 599 , cit. 18). And by reflection, each one of us has this zeal and enthusiasm, too. As we are animated by God, Spirit—thus naturally infused with joy—we can’t help but experience healing, restoration, and salvation, as seen in the stories within the books of Joshua (see cit. 12) and John (see cit. 21).
And we are invited right from the beginning of the Lesson to express that joy: “Praise ye the Lord. Praise ye the Lord from the heavens: praise him in the heights” (Psalms 148:1 , Responsive Reading). It continues on to invite all creation—from creatures of the earth and oceans to kings of all nations—to praise God. “Let them praise the name of the Lord: for his name alone is excellent; his glory is above the earth and heaven” (verse 13 ).
When we turn our gaze in the right direction—to see God’s glory, “an everlasting light” (Isaiah 60:19 , cit. 22), we see that God as Life, Truth, and Love, is fully and joyfully committed to His creation.
This week’s Bible Lesson wonderfully concludes with the invitation to participate in the joy of that fact. “Let us rejoice that we are subject to the divine ‘powers that be’ ” (Science and Health, p. 249 , cit. 28).
