Genesis 1:1 - 2:3
Gen. 1:1 In the beginning when God created the
heavens and the earth, 2 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.
3 Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was
light. 4 And God saw that the
light was good; and God separated the light from the darkness. 5 God called the light
Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was
morning, the first day.
Gen. 1:6 And God said, “Let there be a dome in the
midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters.” 7 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. 8 God
called the dome Sky. And there was evening and there was morning, the second
day.
Gen. 1:9 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. 10 God called the dry land
Earth, and the waters that were gathered together he called Seas. And God saw
that it was good. 11 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. 12 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. 13 And there was evening
and there was morning, the third day.
Gen.
1:14 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, 15 and let them be lights
in the dome of the sky to give light upon the earth.” And it was so. 16 God made the two great
lights—the greater light to rule the day and the lesser light to rule the
night—and the stars. 17 God set
them in the dome of the sky to give light upon the earth, 18 to rule over the day
and over the night, and to separate the light from the darkness. And God saw
that it was good. 19 And there
was evening and there was morning, the fourth day.
Gen.
1:20 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.”
21 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. 22 God blessed them,
saying, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the waters in the seas, and let
birds multiply on the earth.” 23 And there
was evening and there was morning, the fifth day.
Gen.
1:24 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. 25 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.
Gen.
1:26 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.”
27 So God created
humankind in his image,
in the image of God he created them;
male and female he created them.
28 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.” 29 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. 30 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. 31 God saw
everything that he had made, and indeed, it was very good. And there was
evening and there was morning, the sixth day.
Gen. 2:1 Thus the heavens and the earth were
finished, and all their multitude. 2 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. 3 So God blessed the seventh day and hallowed it, because
on it God rested from all the work that he had done in creation.
1 The heavens
are telling the glory of God;
and the firmament proclaims his handiwork.
2 Day
to day pours forth speech,
and night to night declares knowledge.
3 There is no
speech, nor are there words;
their voice is not heard;
4 yet their voice goes out through all the
earth,
and their words to the end of the world.
In the heavens he has
set a tent for the sun,
5 which comes
out like a bridegroom from his wedding canopy,
and like a strong man runs its course with joy.
6 Its rising is from the end of the heavens,
and its circuit to the end of them;
and nothing is hid from its heat.
Psa.
19:7 The law of the LORD is perfect,
reviving the soul;
the decrees of the LORD are sure,
making wise the simple;
8 the precepts of the LORD are right,
rejoicing the heart;
the commandment of the LORD is clear,
enlightening the eyes;
9 the fear of
the LORD is pure,
enduring forever;
the ordinances of the LORD are true
and righteous altogether.
10 More to be desired are they than gold,
even much fine gold;
sweeter also than honey,
and drippings of the honeycomb.
Psa.
19:11 Moreover by them is your servant warned;
in keeping them there is great reward.
12 But who can detect their errors?
Clear me from hidden faults.
13 Keep back your
servant also from the insolent;
do not let them have dominion over me.
Then I shall be blameless,
and innocent of great transgression.
Psa. 19:14 Let
the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart
be acceptable to you,
O
LORD, my rock and my redeemer.
Matt.
6:25 “Therefore
I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will
drink, or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and
the body more than clothing? 26 Look at
the birds of the air; they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet
your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? 27 And can any of you by
worrying add a single hour to your span of life? 28 And why do you worry
about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither
toil nor spin, 29 yet I
tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these. 30 But if God so clothes
the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the
oven, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? 31 Therefore do not worry,
saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we
wear?’ 32 For it is the Gentiles
who strive for all these things; and indeed your heavenly Father knows that you
need all these things. 33 But
strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things
will be given to you as well.
Matt. 6:34 “So do not worry about tomorrow, for
tomorrow will bring worries of its own. Today’s trouble is enough for
today.
What is your reaction when Jesus says to us today,
·
Therefore, I tell you, do
not worry about your life?
·
What immediate responses
come to your mind?
·
How prepared are you to
obey this command?
When I looked up the Greek word that is translated as “worry”, I found
that it is more closely translated as “be anxious for”.
Do not be anxious for your life…
Talk about counter-cultural.
Being an adult is mostly about being anxious and worried, isn’t it? And
increasingly, it is imposed upon our children as well, at earlier and earlier
ages, right?
We have worries about work, and school, and worries about home and family
life.
We have worries about the world – about the economy, about a friend who’s
facing a major illness, about the car needing repair, about the wildfires in
Washington and Oregon.
Where do all these worries and anxieties come from?
·
Many arise out of the
circumstances of our real lives.
·
Many are initiated by
media – the news depends on worry and fear, it seems, to draw us in and make
sure we tune in at 11 pm and 7 am and whenever we feel compelled to know what
the next awful thing is that is happening.
·
Marketing and advertising
contributes greatly to our worries and anxieties – because profits of companies
depend on the sale of products and services to resolve worries we didn’t even
know we had until the ad told us we ought to be worried about it.
And here comes Jesus with another teaching that seems next to impossible
for us to accept. Is it any easier to hear him say “do not worry about your
life” than it is to accept him saying “I am the bread of life – unless you eat
my flesh and drink my blood you have no claim in me”, the passages we have
studied over the past few weeks? Why is it so hard to accept these teachings?
And if we continue worrying about these things, is that the same thing as turning
away from Jesus?
It’s interesting, isn’t it, that this lesson from Jesus is paired up with
the first chapter of Genesis, the story of creation, of God providing all that
we have in this world. We can see the connection in the way that Jesus says, consider
the lilies of the field, or look at the sparrow – if God feeds and clothes
them, why should we expect any less? But it doesn’t take long for us to go back
into our earlier reaction – easy for you to say, Jesus. I am not a lily, and I
am not a sparrow. Life doesn’t work that way for me, or for any of the human
beings I know. We have responsibilities, and things to worry about that lilies
and sparrows don’t even begin to understand.
When I read these scriptures together, what emerges for me is the abundance
of what God has provided for us, and the goodness of it all, and the fact that
it should be enough, that it is enough. The creation story, and the Psalm that
we read together, speak of the magnificence of this creation that we are part
of. In the devotion this week from Brian McLaren’s book, he talks about how God
is clearly not boring, “because God’s creation is so amazingly, wonderfully,
surprisingly fascinating. “
He says, “The best thing in Genesis is not simply human beings, but the
whole creation considered and enjoyed together, as a beautiful, integrated
whole, and us a part. The poetry of Genesis describes the “very goodness” that
comes at the end of a long process of creation… when all the parts, including
us, are working together as one whole. That harmonious whole is so good that
the Creator takes a day off, as it were, just to enjoy it. That day of restful
enjoyment tells us that the purpose of existence isn’t money or power or fame
or security or anything less than this: to participate in the goodness and
beauty and aliveness of creation. And so we join the Creator in good and
fruitful work… and in delightful enjoyment, play, and rest as well. So here we
are, friends. Here we are. Alive! “
This is to me a great reminder of how the essence of life is not
scarcity, but great abundance, and providence, and diversity, all coming from
God, all freely given for us.
So why do we keep focusing on scarcity? What is keeping us from
experiencing and enjoying and sharing this abundance from God?
A few years ago I read a book called “Money and Faith: The Search for
Enough”. Its editor, Michael Schut, wrote an essay in it about economics. I
know, who wants to read or to hear about economics, right? But what he wrote
has stayed with me, and so I pulled it back out this week.
He talks about two economies operating in the world. One he calls Earth’s
Economy. It is the economy that God gave to us. This economy is a circular,
closed system, having everything it needs – using energy from the sun, and growing
food locally, and allowing the time for waste to be rejuvenated as food once
again – composting is the primary example of this. It takes time for the circle
to come around, but it’s sustainable based on making that time available. It is
an economy that is operating solely off the bounty of Earth’s one-time creation
and the continuing re-creation that it offers. Relying on that closed loop
system, there is enough for all God’s people to live – provided that we live in
community, not individually, not in isolation. Provided that we share with one
another, that we care for one another.
How is this different from the way we live? He describes that as the Big
Human Economy. This economy operates in a straight line, rather than a circle.
It take capital, labor and resources, and produces stuff for consumption,
enticing us to consume through advertising and marketing, and allowing the
resulting industrial waste to be released, rather than it being the kind of
waste that can be returned to the earth as food. In this straight line system,
there is not enough to be sustainable, and the waste cannot be used to help
re-create more resources for the future. It’s just waste.
This past Monday the Honey-Doers and I discussed today’s Gospel passage,
and someone pointed out that Jesus doesn’t say “don’t think about food or
clothing or shelter – but he says, don’t make it the top priority”.
Jesus’ words are “strive first for the kingdom of God, and all these
things will be given to you”.
I think that’s an important distinction to make. If we put the kingdom of
God, the love of God, and God’s righteousness, God’s justice, at the top of our
agendas, then the abundance of creation, and the providence of God to make sure
there is enough for us all, through Earth’s economy, comes shining
through. Because human beings are meant
to be “persons in community”, and when we seek first the kingdom of God we
acknowledge God’s love and God’s justice, given for all people, first and
foremost, above all other things.
And this changes us –
from greedy people, to
needy people.
And it changes the world for us –
from isolation to
community.
And it changes our view of creation –
from scarcity to abundance
– to way beyond enough.
My friend Hugh Hollowell runs a ministry of relationship and community
for people experiencing homelessness in Raleigh, North Carolina. He posted this
yesterday: “We believe that the community contains all the resources necessary
to live a full life.” I believe this is true, and I believe that it is what
Jesus is calling us to be – a community of believers who are grateful to God
for what we have, and who want to reach out and serve others, knowing that in
the community are all the resources necessary to live a full life.
So I want to challenge you to think about the world in a different way
this coming week. If we are surrounded by images in our daily lives that make
us focus on scarcity, and worry, and fear, then let’s shift our gaze this week
to capture images of their opposites: abundance, and courage, and trust, and
love. I’m asking you to take pictures, to draw pictures, to share stories and
experiences from your lives and the lives of those who make up community for
you, images that express and portray signs of God’s love, ways that we trust in
God, and courage in caring for one another, and abundance in creation. You can
bring drawings or paintings or pictures into the church office, or you can
email photos to me, or you can post them on the church’s Facebook page. But
let’s shift our gaze, because there truly is an abundance of signs of God’s
kingdom out there, if we have eyes to see and a heart to embrace them. And it
is truly what God created the world to be for all God’s people.
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