In the first chapter of the bible’s Book of Genesis, the opening account of creation, the Deity calls the matter of the world out of chaos and into a harmonious order. Seven times, coinciding with the seven days of the creation story, God said that it was “good,” and in the final declaration of the world’s goodness, God, in seeing all that was made, proclaims, “Indeed, it was very good.”
The Hebrew word "tov," is translated into English as “good,” implies functionality. When God says that the creation is tov, the inference is the world will function well. With the final affirmation that, “Indeed, it is very tov,” the deeper meaning is the world, more than working well, will work beautifully.
The seven assertions that the creation is good, along with seven days of the creative process, are symbolic of the wholeness of creation. The number seven is regarded as an expression of such wholeness throughout the world.
The seventh son of the seventh son in Ireland refers to one with great healing powers. The Seven Hills of Rome symbolizes the wholeness of the city of Rome, as well as its empire. The Seven Wonders of the World expresses the wholeness of all that is wonderful. From Japan, we hear of the myth of the Seven Lucky Gods. There is even an evil expression of wholeness in the seven deadly sins.
In the Genesis story, we're not provided with a chronological account, nor a literal account of the creation. Rather, the wholeness of the story invites us into an appreciation of the creation’s goodness, and ultimately its beauty. Creation – the whole cosmos, of which we human beings are unique observers and at the same time participants in it – is good not just because it works well, but because it is beautiful. Its beauty is what makes life itself worth living.
Beauty, in ancient Greek (the word is, hōraios) means to be of one’s hour as a ripe fruit is of one’s hour in the fullness of time.
Euripides wrote that, “a young woman trying to appear older, or an older woman trying to appear younger, would not be considered beautiful.” Beauty is, like a ripe fruit, sweet and delicious. Its lusciousness exists because everything that makes it up has come together in time simply to be an expression of the beautiful.
As we contemplate these ideas about goodness and beauty, it is surprising how little beauty appears to be a significant part of the way we live in the world.
For the most part, we relegate beauty to the superficial. It is cosmetic rather than natural. We claim to be appreciative of the beauty of the natural world, but our lives are so deeply enmeshed in the world of our own construction that the gift of the natural beauty around is consigned to second, third, or more likely, last place.
Beauty is, like a ripe fruit, fully realized in the time of its fullness. The mystery of beauty, though, is that at every moment there is always – and for everything – a fullness anxious to overflow into what will beautifully follow. The fullness of ripened fruit is experienced as the its sweet juices fill our mouths and washes down our faces. That joy sweetens our lives and we, like the fruit, overflow with a disposition that brings joy to the world around us.
The ripe hour flows with the flow of time and beauty reproduces itself along the way.
All beauty is lost when we try to isolate and capture it because beauty is not beautiful in itself, but only in the context of its unfolding as a part of the wholeness of the world. We fail to notice beauty when we separate ourselves from the world and live only within a human-defined reality.
Without beauty – and without being enthralled with the beautiful – life becomes contentious. Beauty baptizes us into the experience of being a vital participant in the wholeness of the whole creation.
When beauty does not wash over us we find ourselves alone, disconnected, isolated and estranged. In desperation, we behave in ways that are injurious to the wholeness that is our heart’s hidden desire. We try to conquer the very world that we secretly hope would embrace us. Without hope, we end up making war on one another and upon nature herself.
Deep within us there is the silent cry that knows that only beauty can bring us true peace. And, without the balm of the beautiful there is little that is able bring peace to the hurt that envelops us.
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Thomas Raphael-Nakos grew up in Connecticut, holds a bachelor of arts degree in history from Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, and a master of divinity degree from the University of Dubuque Theological Seminary. He has been a social worker in Louisiana and Iowa, and is a retired United Methodist minister.
