I have been generously asked by Dr Ruth Bancewicz, Church Engagement Director of the Faraday Institute for Science and Religion to give a link to my Reimagining of Job 38 from verse 4 onwards, on the background of my acrylic painting called “Starburst’. The thumbnail here is a jpeg, so as the text could not be easily lifted from the image, I have followed the thumbnail with a plain words version below and you will find a ‘dropbox’ printable version HERE.
I found it a delight to overlay the words on to on to my painting and a number of people have been kind in telling me they have found the re-imagining helpful. For me, both exercises try to convey the glory of God in His amazing universe, in the language of today, and building this on the magnificent passage of Job 38 felt compelling.
Job 38 v4ff re-imagined for Today
on Acrylic ’Starburst’ painted by
the author
This is not the only re-imagining I have enjoyed putting together. So if this resonates with you, then you might also enjoy Psalm 24 Reimagined for Today which sets out the reimagining in a format for a cantor to speak the verses other than the ‘chorus', which can be sung by a choir or congregation. The 'chorus' in the Psalm starts ‘Lift up Your Heads, you gates’ and in the reimagining becomes ‘Lift up your heads, you galaxies’ and I hope might speak not only to those who are familiar with the Psalms but to some who may never have encountered them - but can see, in this reimagining, a glimpse of the sheer wonder of Creation expressed poetically in English that might be used when looking up on a clear night at the hint of the immensity of Creation. You will also find a link on this page to a YouTube video of the re-imagined Psalm.
Trevor Thorn,
posted on an unexpected ‘extra’ retreat day on the Island of Iona when another amazing demonstration of the glory of our planet is being manifested in a 'ferry-stopping' storm and we are in the warmth and comfort afforded by The Iona Community a dispersed Christian Community, working for Peace and Justice, which you also might like to check out. Job 38. 4ff re-imagined for the 21st Century.
Where were you when I gave birth to the universe; when my Wisdom called forth particles from the womb of the cosmic void and seeded them into the realm of existence?
Who marked off its dimensions and form and let matter prevail over anti-matter?
On what were its footings set or who provoked its mighty expansion in the blinking of an eye?
How deeply do you comprehend the gift of light or understand the mysteries of its nature?
Who of you knows from where the sounds that fill the cosmos emanated or how music distilled its harmonies from the roaring cadences of creation?
Who gave water its extraordinary properties, decreed its many forms and accorded rôles to each that it might adhere to the surfaces of gathering spheres, to nurture and give shape to barren terrains?
Can you make sense of the patterns of constellations as they would be seen from planets in the extreme reaches of the universe?
Can you leap between galaxies or re-fashion the orbits of stars or planets, or yet fully understand the fundamental forces of the cosmos?
Can you yet contemplate travelling to the beautiful Pleiades or loosening the cords of Orion? Have you fully uncovered the laws of the universe or can you emulate God’s care for it?
Could you reduce turbulences that beset distant planets, weather the extreme storms on other worlds or alter the path of the arrow of time?
Have you even perfected knowledge of your own benign planet, understood the reason for its existence and how to encourage your own people to act as responsible stewards for it?
Can you fathom in your exquisitely fashioned brain the mind of your maker or conceive the depth of his love?
Will you ever understand enough to render praise and thanksgiving truly worthy of the Creator of heaven and the entire cosmos?
