“For creation awaits with eager expectation

the revelation of the children of God;

for creation was made subject to futility,

not of its own accord but because of the one who subjected it,

in hope that creation itself

would be set free from slavery to corruption

and share in the glorious freedom of the children of God.

We know that all creation is groaning in labor pains even until now;

and not only that, but we ourselves,

who have the firstfruits of the Spirit,

we also groan within ourselves

as we wait for adoption, the redemption of our bodies.”

Kenosis, a Greek word from the verb “to empty,” describes Jesus in his incarnation and to his death on the cross. In the second chapter of Philippians we hear, “Who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God something to be grasped. Rather, he emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, coming in human likeness; and found human in appearance, he humbled himself, becoming obedient to death, even death on a cross.” God, in the person of Jesus, entered into creation as part of creation, an act of self emptying on God’s part. Another act of self emptying, on the part of God as Trinity, was in creation itself. When God, who was all that was, decided to create the universe in an act of love, he had to make room within himself for the existence of another. He humbled himself, restricting his perfect love and glory, for time and space to come into being. In a sense, then, the universe exists within God. The druids, who believed that this rock or that tree is a god, have it wrong, but only by location. It is not that the divine is located in that rock or tree, but that rock or tree is located in God. We are “located” in God. We exist within God. 

We usually reserve the theological idea of communion to a vertical dimension (that we are united with God) and to a horizontal dimension (that we are united with each other because of God). There is a sense, however, in which all of creation participates in this communion because it exists within God. The ocean on which creation floats is God. The air which all of creation breathes is God. Every thing and every time only “is” because it “is” in God. The vertical and horizontal dimensions of communion expand to include all. This is why the Canticle of the Sun, attributed to St. Francis, can speak of “Brother Sun” or “Sister Moon” or “Sister Mother Earth.” As created and sustained by God, all things are united in communion. One great move of the spiritual life is to discover God within ourselves. Rather than simply an exterior reality, where God is found in an action (like the Mass) or in a place (like a beautiful cathedral), we go deep within ourselves and find God in the silence of our conscience, where we are alone with God. That, however, isn’t the only great movement of the spiritual life. Another is to discover God in all things. We read in Laudato Si (the encyclical “on care for our common home”), “The universe unfolds in God, who fills it completely. Hence, there is a mystical meaning to be found in a leaf, in a mountain trail, in a dewdrop, in a poor person’s face. The ideal is not only to pass from the exterior to the interior to discover the action of God in the soul, but also to discover God in all things.” In the broad sweep of time, our consciousness represents the universe coming to know itself. In the sweep of God’s time, our salvation represents the promise of true freedom for all creation and the consummation of a “new heaven and new earth” to come. God’s action in us is the hope of all creation. We are all eagerly waiting, together.