Genesis: In the Beginning

Last weekend, I joined thousands of people who went to go see the movie, Wonder Woman in the theater.  A story some will be familiar with from the comic books of yesteryear.  The movie builds on what is known, as well as introduces answers to burning questions.  Every good story hooks the reader with an unfolding storyline and just enough detail to allow the reader to visualize in their mind.  The prequel tells the back story, the origin and gives great insight into the how and the why with an eye to key details.  How did a small Diana come from the idyllic island of Amazons to seek to save the world from evil in World War I.   The arc keeps the theme and movement of characters and plot moving towards the episodic end.  Does this method feel familiar?  Remember it.

Today, we begin a series on reading through Genesis together.  Genesis, the first book in our Bible, was not necessarily the first book recorded, but the poetic and theological record of how we have come to be who we are and whose we are.  Many of us met God in the Gospels, through Jesus.  We have known God in the miracles and teachings, healings and life of Jesus.  Perhaps, we can understand Genesis as one of the prequels (many great stories take multiple prequels to reveal the fullness of the story arc and universe).

Many of you have taken the challenge to read through the Bible this year.  Some of you have used the layout we provided.  There are still copies in the lobby for anyone who wants to pick it.  It is never too late to start!  In my prayer time, last year as I was discerning, where we were heading in worship, I continued to feel God calling us to go back to the beginning.  But back to the beginning with a twist.  Many of the stories of Genesis you learned in Sunday School or hear in our popular culture.  How many children have Noah’s Ark nurseries or hear about people fighting like brothers, without knowing the story of the Flood or realizing that phrase references Cain and Abel?

Some people of faith have gotten tangled up in concerns about Genesis.  Sometimes the question gets asked, “Is it true?” over again to many of the stories in Genesis.   To which the answer is yes.  It is true and dependable that God created the world around us.  It is much more nuanced to understand that Genesis, which means beginnings or origin, comes from a long of oral traditions, told and retold from person to person. These stories are always true, but let us not reduce them to their simplest understandings. Let us allow God to open our eyes to the vastness of creation and the fullness of how creation might be understood, not merely as one beginning, but God’s ongoing story of creation.

God’s creation begins with nothing.  The prequel goes back to the time before time, the space before space, and the place before place.  God greets even nothingness with the invitation to be, become, and be blessed.   Day by day, God created and created.  Light and darkness, water and dry land, sky, moon, and stars, plants and tree, animals of all sorts, and people.

God’s creation amazes and astounds every day.  New species are being discovered and God’s handiwork is being revealed.  A recent trip of 5 scientists, ornithologists, entomologists, and mammologists to Suriname in the mountains, armed with laptops and keen eyes discovered 60 previously unknown species.  Beetles and hummingbirds, and even a new rat with incredibly large feet have been revealed and recorded1.

Our scientists would tell us with reverent curiosity and fervent determination that the world is a wonder.  That experiments and discoveries are full of awe.  Just this week, researchers reported that they think fossils found in North Africa are the remains of Homo sapiens from over 300,000 years ago. If their hypothesis is confirmed, the find represents the oldest known Homo sapiens fossils. Where was it found?  A site in Morocco with tools as well.  This could change our understanding that the Ethiopia’s Rift Valley was the first place for early humans2.   With awe and trepidation, I tell you that this this is all based on the modern art and science of ancient dental features.  We have learned so much as to know a person’s region of origin by the number of cusps on their teeth.

Science expands awe, not crushes it, and leads us towards worship.  Our world is expanding in knowledge and discovery every day.  Exoplanet hunters, these are scientist looking for a planet to live beyond earth, would tell you about the recent discovery of KELT-9b twice the size of Jupiter. With a temperature of over 4,600 degrees Kelvin, it’s hotter than most stars3.   At approximately 650 light years away, it is far beyond our universe and yet, part of the largest understanding of God’s creation.

Frederick Buechner reminds us: “Using the same old materials of earth, air, fire, and water, every twenty-four hours God creates something new out of them.   If you think you’re seeing the same show all over again seven times a week, you’re crazy.  Every morning you wake up to something that in all eternity never was before and never will be again. And the you that wakes up was never the same before and will never be the same again either.”

God created and is still creating.  God who created everything out of nothing, still makes creates every day.  Each new day is filled with a day that has never been seen before.  Each day is full of possibility and potentiality.   God not only creates what is around us, but also what we are made of and who we are.  All of the foundation pieces of us were created by the God who made the heavens and the earth.

There are two creation stories.  We will hear the other one next week.  Despite your first concern, they are not in any way in conflict with one another.  Rather, they highlight different foci of creation and point us back to the Creator.  Genesis 1 and John 1 collaborate in the prequel, but tell it from as different perspectives as a brother and a sister arguing about who should eat the last M and M out of the bowl.

And in the Gospel of John, the creation story is told again from another angle.  The author wants you to cultivate awe for vastness across time, space, and understanding with the telling the relationship of the Trinity was not located only in one time and place, but across the vastness of universes.  In Creation, God already was.   God who creates, God’s Spirit who moved over the chaos and brought forth life, and God’s Word, Logos, in Jesus Christ.

So, as we preach through Genesis, hear again, my invitation to read along.  To read in community with others seeking God.  Over the course of 6 months, we will read 50 chapters, all unfolding the backstory of beginnings.  With twists and turns, the backstory of God’s people might surprise.  Let us read through it together.  Episode after episode, let us explore where we find God and what revelations God has for us to discover.

The beginnings impact our lives.  Many of the creation images you saw today were provided by members of our community here.  Many have been shared and I will be using your photos throughout this series.  Seeing God’s world through your eyes has been joy-filled for me.  May you gain insight and awe in the sharing of God’s creation.  Please feel free to send your creation photos for me to use.  Also, as God creates, we who are made in the image of God create.  We are creating a fuller image in the lobby of Creation.  Each week a new image created by someone in our congregation will tell the story revealing God’s creation.  We are still looking for artists to help us unveil this image.  See me for details.

God who has created this incredible world we inhabit, is still creating and recreating.  We, who are made in the image of God, created by God’s love, and sustained by God’s presence, are encouraged, inspired, and perhaps, even obliged to discover, uncover, and explore God’s very creation.    Science has never been in conflict with God, only human regulation of theological understanding.  You and I were created to explore, examine, and  uncover God’s great mysteries tucked into every corner of the galaxy.

So, let us.  Together, let us study the beginnings.  The beginnings of trees and mountains, stars and rivers, but also humanity and relationships. God has granted us incredible privilege and gift.  Let us unwrap God’s gifts and embrace the responsibilities those gifts grant.

This is the Gospel, the good news, prequel, main story, and sequel, all wrapped into one, in God’s incredible timing, of our Lord Jesus Christ, thanks be to God, Amen.

(1) Smithsonian, March 2017, “The New Age of Discovery” p21-27, 94.

(2) http://www.sciencefriday.com/videos/the-wisdom-of-teeth/

(3) http://www.sciencefriday.com/segments/the-hottest-known-exoplanet-is-probably-slowly-melting-away/

              Old Testament Lesson: Genesis 1-2:3

In the beginning when God created the heavens and the earth, the earth was a formless void and darkness covered the face of the deep, while a wind from God swept over the face of the waters. Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light. And God saw that the light was good; and God separated the light from the darkness. God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day.

And God said, “Let there be a dome in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters.” So God made the dome and separated the waters that were under the dome from the waters that were above the dome. And it was so. God called the dome Sky. And there was evening and there was morning, the second day.

And God said, “Let the waters under the sky be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear.” And it was so. God called the dry land Earth, and the waters that were gathered together he called Seas. And God saw that it was good. Then God said, “Let the earth put forth vegetation: plants yielding seed, and fruit trees of every kind on earth that bear fruit with the seed in it.” And it was so. The earth brought forth vegetation: plants yielding seed of every kind, and trees of every kind bearing fruit with the seed in it. And God saw that it was good. And there was evening and there was morning, the third day.

And God said, “Let there be lights in the dome of the sky to separate the day from the night; and let them be for signs and for seasons and for days and years, and let them be lights in the dome of the sky to give light upon the earth.” And it was so. God made the two great lights—the greater light to rule the day and the lesser light to rule the night—and the stars. God set them in the dome of the sky to give light upon the earth, to rule over the day and over the night, and to separate the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good. And there was evening and there was morning, the fourth day.

And God said, “Let the waters bring forth swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the dome of the sky.” So God created the great sea monsters and every living creature that moves, of every kind, with which the waters swarm, and every winged bird of every kind. And God saw that it was good. God blessed them, saying, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth.” And there was evening and there was morning, the fifth day.

And God said, “Let the earth bring forth living creatures of every kind: cattle and creeping things and wild animals of the earth of every kind.” And it was so. God made the wild animals of the earth of every kind, and the cattle of every kind, and everything that creeps upon the ground of every kind. And God saw that it was good.

Then God said, “Let us make humankind in our image, according to our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the wild animals of the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth.”

So God created humankind in his image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.

God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air and over every living thing that moves upon the earth.” God said, “See, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit; you shall have them for food. And to every beast of the earth, and to every bird of the air, and to everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life, I have given every green plant for food.” And it was so. God saw everything that he had made, and indeed, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.

Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all their multitude.  And on the seventh day God finished the work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all the work that he had done.  So God blessed the seventh day and hallowed it, because on it God rested from all the work that he had done in creation.

Gospel Lesson:  John 1: 1-14

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.

There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. He came as a witness to testify to the light, so that all might believe through him. He himself was not the light, but he came to testify to the light. The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world.

He was in the world, and the world came into being through him; yet the world did not know him. He came to what was his own, and his own people did not accept him. But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God, who were born, not of blood or of the will of the flesh or of the will of man, but of God.

And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the  glory as of a father’s only son, full of grace and truth.

Meditations For Your Week

Sunday, June 11 ~ Saturday, June 17

Sunday: “In the beginning when God created the heavens and the earth,” Genesis                 1:1.  All things are of God and for God.  Pause to find awe in God’s         creation.

Monday: “Then God said, ‘Let there be light’; and there was light.” Genesis 1:3. God speaks and light is created.  Light in the dark places, we hear Jesus      proclaim alongside the reminder, “Do not be afraid.”  May God’s light          encourage your fear and embolden your courage.

Tuesday: “So God created humankind in his image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.” Genesis 1:27. You are created in the very image of God.  Prayerfully consider how you have reflected God today.

Wednesday: “God saw everything that God had made, and indeed, it was very good.  And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.” Genesis 1:31.  God’s creation is very good.  Where is God showing you God’s very good creation to care for?

Thursday: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” John 1:1. Word or Logos in Greek, refers to Jesus Christ as the Word of God.  From the beginning, Jesus the Christ, God the Creator, and the Spirit were together.  The Trinity models relationship for us.  Prayerfully ask God to give you insight into your relationships through the trinity.

Friday: “All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people.” John 1:3-4.  Through Jesus, we are given life.  Life in our birth, and new life in rebirth.  Where is Jesus inviting you to new life    today?

Saturday: “And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father’s only son, full of grace and truth.” John 1: 14.  Christ Jesus lived a human life, so we might know human life.  Where is Jesus’ life inspiring you to live more fully as God called you?