The Beauty of this World and its Creator is Lofty and Intimate

The only accurate response to such universal grandeur and personal care is awe.

Yesterday, we were given a gorgeous autum-like day in Worcester. It brought to mind thoughts of Terence Malick's stunning creation sequence in The Tree of Life and Propaganda's, Lofty, which both beautifully look to the Creator who is:

Elohim, God beyond us (Genesis 1) and Yahweh, the LORD God who is near us (Genesis 2). 

Elohim, God who the manages stars (Genesis 1), and Yahweh, the LORD God who mingles with humans (Genesis 2). 

Elohim, God our King (Genesis 1) and Yahweh, the LORD God who is also our Friend (Genesis 2). 

Elohim, God who is infinitely powerful (Genesis 1) and Yahweh, the LORD God who is intimately personal (Genesis 2). 

Elohim, the God of raw might (Genesis 1) and Yahweh, the LORD God who gives earthy affection (Genesis 2). 

Elohim, the God who creates the universe (Genesis 1) and Yahweh, LORD God who plays in the dirt (Genesis 2).

And Jesus, Yehoshua, who is Elohim, God in the flesh, our Yahweh, the LORD God of salvation. 

All things were made through Jesus, and without Him was not any thing made that was made (John 1:3) and by Jesus all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through Him and for Him (Colossians 1:16).

This Good News of God revealed through Jesus is the incredible origin of art, and He can inspire us every day with His creation and redemption as He makes all things new. 

Enjoy.

"Lofty" by Propaganda lyrics and video

God spoke

and the formless earth was sculpted,
His poetry producing populations,
making constellations with His conversations.

Gazing at His own creation,
proclaiming it was good and there we stood
Fashioned from the dust.

With authority He orchestrated organisms

and every single cell in every ecosystem:
Every creature that dwells
The planets, the plants
the whole expanse,

the sky above your head,
and the ground where you stand.
The clouds and the rain,

the soil that soaks it up
and feeds tiny seeds

so they sprout and vegetation proceeds.
Infinite wisdom intrinsic within Him, self-sufficient.
Intricate systems begin

and end with His decisions.

Lofty, out of reach, 

how He procreated with speech
so it's appropriate for us to be completely in awe.

I don't know why, still I try

to wrap my mind around You.
Your thoughts are higher,

Your ways are better
and I'm in awe,
so bring me up to where You are.
Bring me up to where You are.

It's evident in creation

that God is the primary cause,
the origin of all scientific laws,
everything else is secondary.
The very breath that comes from lungs is caused

by the fact that God is involved.
One must begin with the mind that was given to him

to even believe he's evolved.
I'm in awe when I think about

quantum mechanics

and the rotation of planets,
And that the exact calculation of the universe

is permanently impossible to manage;
how photosynthesis takes place

to perfectly convert the vividness of light

into chemical energy

for the purpose of maintaining and giving life.
Intelligent design doesn't even begin to define

His creative craftsmanship.
Any attempt to align the mind of mankind to divine

is insufficient and inadequate.
It's too lofty and far beyond us

that God would not remain anonymous,
correspond with us

and out of all of God's creation

would become fond of us.
(Hook)

But worth, value, and beauty

is not determined by some innate quality,
but by the length for which the owner would go to possess them.
And broken and ugly things just like us
are stamped "Excellent" with ink tapped in wells of divine veins.
A system of redemption that could only be described as perfect,
a seal of approval, fatal debt removal,
promised, prominent, perfect Priest!
Brilliant designed system, redemption for our kinsmen
can only be described as perfect with excellent execution.
And I'm in awe.

The only One truly excellent.
The only source of excellence.

We are declared excellent only by His decree with His system.
The only accurate response is awe!
So we make lofty art.
See the presence of good art will unconsciously refine a community
and poor art will do an incalculable harm.
We're only accomplished in the light of His excellency.
It's too high, it's lofty

I don't why, still I try
To bring something of worth.
My words are fleeting,
They're flawed, depleting,
And You're leaving me in awe.

Bring me up to where You are, God.

Bring me up to where You are.

P.S. To visually complement the lyrics above, check out this clip from The Tree of Life.

Terrence Malick's The Tree of Life Creation Scene (3:15 minutes)

And to close, here is artist Makoto Fujimura and his reflections on beauty and intimacy, followed by his painting, "Trinity":

Jesus seemed to indicate that beauty is a door into the Gospel. Beauty is the door. In a remarkable scene in John 12, Mary of Bethany barges in and breaks open this jar of nard that she's been saving up all her life. The disciples are furious at her as she is doing only what a woman should be allowed to do on her wedding day, which was to anoint her bridegroom. Everybody knew what that aroma signified. They're expecting Jesus to kick her out and Jesus says, "No, you have no idea. You don't understand this night. She has done a beautiful thing to Me." Mary is responding to this encounter with Jesus when Jesus intentionally came late. He was supposed to come and heal Lazareth, her brother, and he's dead. So she's very upset with Him. And Jesus' answer to Mary was His tears. Jesus wept. When Jesus wept, it was this gratuitous, useless beauty that was flowing through Him to her and she knew that. And all she could do was to think, "What is the most valuable thing that I have to offer back to Him?" So she grabs this jar and runs in. She wasn't thinking about this drama that she would create. What she knew was that Jesus was going to suffer, so the only thing she can do is to anoint Him. But what she has done is beautiful and enduring because it's ephemeral, it's useless, because it's a waste. God demands of us so much more than what's transactional. It is really about the gift that we've been given and the only response we can give back is with extravagance, with gratuitous beauty. And we need to tell this story, not the story of pragmatism, not the story of utility. This story of extravagance, of gratuitous beauty is the Gospel. + Makoto Fujimura 

"Trinity" by Makoto Fujimura

Christ is all,

Rev. Mike "Sully" Sullivan

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