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An ancient mid-eastern
storyteller sits by the fire in front of his nomadic tent
with his family gathered at his feet. They gaze up at the
stars, the moon, and the vast mid-eastern night sky and a
child asks, “Who made the stars? Where did the moon come
from? Why the night?” And the old storyteller would begin to
tell the old tale which had been passed on to him as it had
been for generations:
In
the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. And
the earth was without form and void, and darkness covered
the face of the earth. And God said, “Let there be light…”
and it was good.
It’s
an ancient tale told by the descendants of Moses and
Abraham, the people of Israel, as their way of answering the
question of creation, of beginnings, of the Genesis of life
itself. And it begins with the first great affirmation of
the holy scriptures:
1. Creation is God’s and the creation is good.
All
that is, is because God is. (Of course, I suppose it depends
on what your definition of “is” is.) All that exists finds
its origins, its genesis in the creative heart of God. The
Psalmist writes, “The earth is the Lord’s and the fullness
thereof, the world and they that dwell therein.” It all
belongs to God, and it is all good.
First
and foremost, Genesis is not trying to answer the “how”
question, but rather the “who” and “why” questions. Genome
pioneer and Christian believer Frances Collins reminds us
that Genesis is not intended to be a science textbook:
“Rather it was intended to be a description of who God was,
who we are and what our relationship with God and creation
is supposed to be.” (Time, Nov. 13, 2006, page 54)
The
overriding theme of the creation narrative is the witness to
who God is and an affirmation of the sacredness of all of
life from the smallest atom to the largest galaxy; from the
basic separation of light and dark to the complexity of the
human mind and soul. It not a story about how creation
happened, but it is primarily concerned with who God is and
what our relationship to God and the creation is meant to
be. Genesis is an anthem of praise, a hymn sung in six-part
harmony—six days, as it were—as life takes on meaning and
symmetry, each form of life finding its place in the order
of creation. And along the way, in each stage of evolution,
the creation is blessed and called good.
Over-against the simplistic notion of pantheism—God in
everything—the Bible witnesses to a God who is beyond
all things, greater than any bit of creation itself. But the
biblical God is also intimately involved in his
creation—step by step, trees and plants, fish and fowl,
until He breaths into humankind the very breath of life and
implants God’s own image upon our humanity. The God of
Genesis is a God who is so vast, He stands outside the chaos
of the origins of life, calls forth all forms of life, and
presides over its evolution. And yet this God who is so
vast, so “beyond” as to be beyond all of our understanding,
is a God who becomes so intimate He can walk with humankind
in the garden in the cool of the day. The Genesis story
refutes abstract notions like “Intelligent Design” in favor
of a God whose power and glory and intimate care can be seen
in all of life, can be known and experienced in all the
world and all that dwells therein.
Creation is God’s and creation is good.
Now if
that’s the case:
-
if this truly is my Father’s world,
-
if the earth really is the Lord’s,
-
if God has in fact created it and called it good,
…then
how we care for creation becomes not just a matter of
ecology or economy—and for heaven’s sake, not just a matter
of politics or even a matter of our own survival—but it is
in fact a deeply spiritual matter. Caring for God’s good
creation is part of the task entrusted to humankind. Earth
keeping, conservation, recycling, reusing, renewing the
earth are all spiritual disciplines to help us understand
“who God is, who we are and what our relationship to God and
the creation should be.”
Genesis says creation is God’s and creation is good.
2. But creation has fallen, and creation groans.
The
second theme of Genesis and the counterpoint in St. Paul’s
letter to the Romans is that evil has somehow entered this
good world and distorted God’s good plan. The Bible doesn’t
try to explain the origins of evil, it simply says that evil
slips into the human story with all the subtlety and silence
of a serpent, and the result is what we call the “fall.”
Adam and Eve find themselves literally “on the outs,” and
what was meant to be a seamless relationship between God,
creation and humankind has been forever altered so that “to
this day, the creation groans…awaiting its redemption.”
(Romans 8:20)
Can’t you hear it?
In the
destruction of Eden’s garden, the rainforest and the
wetlands, the creation groans. In the abuse and misuse of
the earth’s resources, the creation groans. In the mountains
of trash and the pollution of rivers and streams, the smog
in the air and the melting of the glaciers, the creation
groans. And we, as the sons and daughters of God, have been
entrusted with the care of God’s good creation. It awaits
our redemption.
That
brings us back to the original message of Genesis.
Unfortunately, the overriding affirmation gets lost in the
senseless debates about the length of days. It’s not about
timelines or date-setting and it’s not about how the
creation evolves. It’s about who God is, who we are and how
we are meant to live in relationship with God and God’s good
creation.
The
creation groans, awaiting redemption. One day, Paul says,
the redemption will come. One day, the earth will be renewed
and all creation will sing. Until that day, we bear witness.
Creation is God’s and creation is good. Until that day, we
are called to care for the earth and work for its
redemption.
And the old storyteller tells the tale of God’s creation…
In
the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth, and
the earth was without form and void, and God said, “It is
good.” |
