Mess

Formless and void
God called Gabriel to His side. ‘I want to show you something’ He said excitedly. Gabriel looked up, wondering as ever what might be next. He loved God, but never quite knew what to expect. ‘We’ve decided to create a universe’ He said. ‘A physical place for people to live and enjoy our love.’ Even though these were new concepts to Gabriel, he understood their meaning – yet another thing he didn’t really understand. ‘Look, I’ve begun the preparations.’ Gabriel saw and didn’t know quite what to say. It was a mess. Chaos. No shape, no form, just lots of, well, stuff. God smiled: ‘Go on, say it’ He encouraged. ‘Well, obviously I mean no disrespect. But it looks like, well, a mess’. Gabriel waited for the rebuke that in his heart he knew would never come. God laughed. ‘But I love mess!’ He said. Mess has potential, mess has creativity! We’ve got forever to clear up! This is just the raw materials for creation, now comes the fun part – what should we make?’ Gabriel waited a while for the answer then realised that it was a genuine question. God was asking his advice. ‘I don’t know’ he stammered, desperately trying to think of something that would sound intelligent. God put His arm round his shoulders and laughed again. ‘Don’t worry’ He said ‘Tell you what, how about if I show you some options, then you can help me decide?’

The World of ‘Little Loves’
In his mind Gabriel saw all the good stuff being swept up in God’s hands and being fashioned into something. Finally, God held out His hand and said ‘tell me what think.’ It was a world, a lovely world, made from good things. It teemed with life and chief amongst that were two-legged creatures that God called people. It was a fine world, peaceful, harmonious, un-messy in every respect. The people enjoyed their world, enjoyed each other, enjoyed God’s company, year after year, rolling into eternity.

God asked Gabriel ‘What do you think?’ ‘It is lovely’ he said. ‘Lovely’ God repeated. ‘Yes, it is. But it could be so much more. That’s the debate.’ ‘What do you mean Lord?’ ‘Look more closely Gabriel, tell me, are the people fulfilled, are they happy?’ Gabriel watched for a while. ‘Nothing changes’ he said ‘they seem to enjoy all the parts of their life and yet, deep down it is sad. I don’t understand.’ God smiled again ‘You are right Gabriel. These people I call ‘little loves’. They have only a small capacity to love and to be loved. It’s too risky you see. The more capacity for love, the more capacity to not love. The more potential for love the more they must be free to choose. Gabriel, the more good we allow them to do, the more evil they can do. So this is a world of ‘little loves’. They can’t hurt themselves or the world they are in. You’ll like this – it can never be messy.’ He shook His head with a kind of wistful sadness, then quietly, so Gabriel had to strain to hear: ‘There is another possibility Gabriel, let me show you, then we will decide.’

The Messy World
God took some more of the chaotic stuff of creation and formed from it a new world. Another lovely, beautiful world, again teeming with life, created from the very essence of goodness. Yet here, as Gabriel looked closely was a difference. The people seemed majestic, there was something divine about them, they seemed to shine with dazzling potential. Gabriel looked at God and saw Him smile. ‘This is so much better Lord’ and God nodded but said simply ‘keep watching Gabriel, keep watching.’ As he did, the splendour of the people and the world they inhabited grew. The joy, the inexpressible wonder seemed to be inexhaustible. Then it changed. Out of the corner of his eye he saw a blackness appear. A lie told, an envy, a lustful look. With horror he saw the beauty decay, the awesomeness shatter. He saw death and disease, he saw murder and rape. He turned away, unwilling to watch any more. ‘Make it stop Lord, how could they, please, they are causing so much pain, so much hurt, make it stop.’ ‘Ah, but that’s the point Gabriel. I cannot. I can destroy it, I can choose not to create it. But I cannot otherwise stop it. If they are to have the capacity to be all that you saw, they must be capable of what you now see. It is their choice. If I impose my choice on them, they have no choice, no love – they become less, they become ‘little loves’.

Gabriel couldn’t bear it: ‘But surely there must be a way, a way to warn them, a way that leaves them their dignity, their capacity, but doesn’t end in this.’ God looked at him kindly: ‘Trust me, we have thought of little else since we first imagined this possibility. But whatever we do, however we warn them, in the end, one of them chooses not to receive our love. We have played the possibilities countless times. It always ends the same’. Gabriel stared at the ground for long moments before saying finally ‘Then there is no alternative, if creation is to happen, it must the world of the ‘little loves’’ and with great sadness he turned to leave.

‘Gabriel’ God’s voice cut across his despair. ‘Keep watching’. Gabriel started to say something, to say that he couldn’t bring himself, to ask what was the point. But something in God’s tone caused him to pause, to turn and to watch again. At first the horror continued, a descent into depravity, blindness and death. Just occasionally someone would live a life that shadowed the original glory, once in a while someone would make extraordinary, courageous choices to love God despite the evidence and briefly there would be a blaze of colour against the backdrop of grey. But as time passed they were fewer and fewer and Gabriel was about to turn away once more. When he first saw it he assumed he had made a mistake, for there, right in the midst of the darkest place a light flickered. Not any light, not the light that had come from the poor brave souls who had made God their choice. A light that Gabriel knew well, a light that even now stood next to him. He gasped. ‘No, it can’t be. My Lord, I see you in their midst, at the heart of the storm.’ Gently God placed His arm around Gabriel and quietly said ‘you asked if there was a way to stop this. There is a better question Gabriel. Can it be redeemed? Watch’ And so He did. He saw how His God walked as a man with men. He saw how the darkness fled from His presence, saw how people were drawn to His light. He became excited, thrilled and amazed at what he was seeing – thought that God shared his hope as he felt his shoulder squeezed in companionship. But it wasn’t. As he watched, he realised that God was leaning on him for support. He tried to understand such a thing but suddenly everything else was erased by what he saw. The light was being murdered. God was being killed by the people He had gone to rescue. Mute, he stood transfixed, as motionless as this disfigured man now nailed to wood before his eyes. He saw the people mocking, he heard a cry that tore the heavens, he saw God die. As he stared in disbelief he heard God whisper ‘look closely’. He did. He saw a new morning about to begin, a day without hope. He saw a woman who had the memory of glory hidden deep inside, but who had been painted black by the world. He saw her walk to where they had buried the light, her heart as broken as was Gabriel’s own. Then God spoke. Not this time a whisper, not this time with sadness, not this time to Gabriel, but to this forlorn woman. ‘Mary’ He shouted so the whole of eternity heard it. The woman looked and saw, saw the man she would die for, saw the man who had died for her. Saw the light ablaze once more. Gabriel watched as she embraced the light, watched as the cloak of darkness vanished from around her, watched as the glory buried within burst uncontrollably, inextinguishably into life. Watched as they danced together, watched as she told her friends, watched as mankind was redeemed.

The Choice
‘So Gabriel, which should we choose? Little Loves or a cross? If they knew the full story, not just the suffering, not just the present, but the redeemed future as well, which would they choose? Tell me Gabriel which would you choose? But before you tell me know this. I created you and all those like you with great capacity too.’ Gabriel paused, his mind reeling from all he had seen, from the questions God had posed. Then remembering he said: ‘Lord, you said that at some point, no matter how you warned, at some point one of those with great capacity will end up betraying. And you have reminded me that we too have great capacity.’ ‘Indeed Gabriel. Which is why I invite you to choose with me, for you and your kind have a part to play. You will nurture and protect, you will advocate on my behalf. And some will choose a different path.’ Their eyes met and Gabriel knew the choice he would make. Knew the choice that was in God’s heart to make. He smiled and grew to his full stature and cried ‘I choose life!’ God laughed: ‘Well chosen Gabriel, go and prepare – I have a mess to make’

In the beginning of creation the earth was formless and void. Chaos, unformed goodness. And the triune God debated what they might create, discerned the cost, decided on a plan, out of love, made a choice.

And God said ‘Let there be light!’