The First Day

“…and God separated the light from darkness. God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day.” Gen. 1:4-5 (NRSV)

In this photo I am reminded of God’s creation of the cosmos, particularly the creation of day and night. Ascending out of the darkness of the underground tunnel, you can see the contrasts between darkness and light. As the steps rise, little bursts of plant life begin to appear, ultimately leading up to a tree branch that basks in the open sunlight. Water; found throughout the temple grounds, rushes down the steps representing the life-giving substance that permeates both realms. As the water rushes down and the sunlight peers in from above a dialogue is formed between both locations. This dialogue does not present a hierarchy of light over darkness, but a dynamic representation of God’s creative forces in both places mediated by the steps. Running my eyes back and forth among the steps, I imagine the first day of creation, an enunciation from the void into light that initiated a cosmic, though intimate relationship between God and the universe.
Matthew Strickland