THE IMAGE OF GOD

PRAYER MOMENT Tuesday 10 February 2015 THE IMAGE OF GOD Pause. Enter into the stillness of God within. Reading: “God created human beings in the image of himself, in the image of God he created them, male and fmale he created them.” (Genesis 1:20-2:14) Reflection. Five times in a few sentences this phrase ‘the image of God’ is mentioned. The author of the sacred story we call Genesis is intent on making a point. Frequently, in the rest of the Old Testament, we are told how unapproachable God is. He appears in a burning bush, thunder, fire and cloud. It was impossible to see God and live. Yet here we have the leitmotif, the leading idea, of the whole bible. We are made in the image of God. When the human person, Jesus, was born among us he was ‘like God.’ In fact he was more than that; he was God. The boundary between ‘like’ and ‘is’ disappeared. Our awesome calling is to accept the invitation to approach God and be chaged into his likeness. Prayer. Lord, you make us in your image. You share with us all we can possibly take. Help us to welcome you and become like you as best we can. Amen. David Harold-Barry SJ