This time last week I was in
Alice Springs. I began and ended my blog on that week away with these words:
I feel like I've been away
forever.
Maybe I have.
Forever in time, place,
heart.
Forever, to places where
time is measured in thousands of years, or in generations, or in Dreamtime.
Where you can feel forever
in the soil, the sunrise, the rocks, the sunset.
After nights sleeping under
stars and cooking food on an open fire, I’m lying in bed in a motel in Alice, staring
at the ceiling and trying to make sense of those sunrises, that rock, the open
fire, sunsets that set fire to rocks, queues of aboriginal men outside a pub,
others congregating in a supermarket carpark in a curious mingle with suits who
have arrived in the latest Mini Cooper or Beemer, roos at sunset, dingos at
dinner time.
Occasionally the smell of
the fire smoke in our clothes reminds us that this was not a dream.
I feel like I have been away
Forever. Maybe Forever is a place (!?)
Maybe I am Dreaming, after
all, in that aboriginal sense.
But I can still smell the
smoke in my clothes ...
There are many different
ways to describe reality. When that reality is as complex as Creation or
Trinity, we can get lost in detail or we can find wonder. We may even hear
things with our hearts, or see things with different eyes if we are open to new
perspectives. At Uluru we were invited into a deeper understanding of that
sacred place. But for some of us,
that meant putting aside some of our expectations of time, our “right to climb
the rock” and our understanding of how we might learn. We were invited to
listen to ancient wisdom that uses different categories to ours – and still is
true and real.
Genesis 1 is a bit like
that.
These words of beginning, of
genesis, of creation.
Words written to speak of
God in action; awesome, amazing, creative, detailed, intimate, care-ful.
Some say this God sits on a
throne, but in the creation God is very present and close.
In the Worship Space in the
desert a lone voice is heard, “And God Said …”
And the people whisper in
response, “… and it was so.”
The voice continues more
strongly, “And God said …”
And the people utter the
words confidently, “And it was so”.
The voice shouts, “And God
said …”
And the people shout in
response, “And it was so.”
And God saw that it was
Good.
Words heard over
generations, passed on from parents to children.
And God created humankind
In his own image
In the image of God,
God Created them
Male and female
He created them.
(yes, male and female, in
his image)
And God saw
All
that he had made. And it was
VERY
Good.
And he rested.
Ancient words, written to
remind God’s people that at the beginning of the story, there is God who
creates and is intimately concerned with this creation. It is a theological statement.
Science is concerned with
giving nature its own meaning and purpose (or seeking to understand it) apart
from God; Mythology wants to tell stories of gods apart from created beings.
Genesis 1 is altogether
different. This story affirms that creator and creation are intimately linked
in a covenant expressed in action – God’s act of creation by the Spirit. As such it is neither science nor
history nor myth. It is a theological statement, a bold explosion of worship of
God - and of confidence in this one who is so intimately concerned with the
created world. Creator and creation are delicately and uniquely linked. Against
other ways of understanding the world, these words affirm that all that is
described is fully and joyfully God’s creation. What’s more, this creation and
this bond make salvation possible (or maybe even inevitable) – because God cannot
walk away from God’s creation, even if created beings may turn away from God.
These words of Genesis 1,
when disconnected from this setting of worship and theology, find themselves
used for purposes for which they were never intended. Their language and intention and purpose become confused.
Our questions of, “Is this historical” or “is it true and verifiable”, or even “is
it a mythical description” would never have been a question in the minds of the
writers, or the jewish people who first held these sacred texts. That is not to say that these questions
are irrelevant. But that is simply
not the concern of these texts, which have as their primary focus, the relationship
of the creator to the creation in a theological statement – which is still true
and real.
God is intimately concerned
with all of this world. This creator is not a manufacturer or carpenter who
makes something and walks away.
Words are spoken, “And God said…” and responded to, “And it was so.” God
puts God-self into creation through speaking. This creator has a purpose for creation, for each part of
this creation is stated as having a purpose.
And there is purpose in
having this explosion of worship as the very first words of the scriptures. It reminds us
- That our story starts with God.
- That this God brings order from chaos, and creates with intention and intimacy of words.
- That humanity is not only part of the creation, and not only the final part of the creation, but in the image of God.
- That this "image" is not just a select few. It is all. Male and female.
- That this not a statement of hubris, of pride and arrogance. No – it is a whispered response of awe at the purpose and intention and work of God; and the sacredness of the other. Each other. Every other.
- That All of creation is good.
- That All of creation is blessed.
- And that everything, and everyone, and even God, rests.
