Sunday, March 12, 2023

Today’s Scripture Reading
Genesis 1:1–27

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. (NRSV)

Reflection

It is almost cliché to say that Presbyterians are Christians who have fallen in love with order. The unofficial motto of the tradition is that we do things “decently and in good order.” Never mind that Paul wrote those words while also affirming a quite disorderly conversation about speaking in tongues. We love our Book of Order. We refer in our Sunday bulletins to our Order of Worship. And we run many a committee and council meeting according to Robert’s Rules of Order.

The Creation story of Genesis 1 offers its own kind of salutation to the idea of order. In its rhythmic cadence, we witness the systematic unfurling of Creation in a mesmerizing pattern. Light from darkness, land from sea, plants from land, creatures after plants, and then the piece de resistance—human beings and Sabbath. Each day builds upon the next as Creation becomes more wondrous. One of the underlying metaphors in this passage is the temple. The verbs and grammatical structures employed in this story mirror the building of the temple. In other words, the whole earth becomes the abode of God.

When we build our mini temples, our homes, we also seek to make them places of order that accord to our needs and reflect our values. Recently the famed author Marie Kondo, who has built a reputation helping people order their domiciles, had an epiphany. Famous for asking the question “What brings you joy?” when designing spaces, she now says she has given up on tidiness and embraced chaos in her abode and her life. Interestingly, all the order we see in Genesis 1 gives way to its own brand of disorder, which we inhabit eons later. This includes the life-and-death struggles, the jealousy, misery, the compassion, and costly love that all take place under the same sun.

All this reminds us that God embraces both order and disorder, the beauty in the messiness, and makes it holy. That means both our struggles and successes are held together in a sacred space upon the ground we already tread.

It’s the psalmist’s wish to dwell in God’s holy temple. Genesis 1 reminds us that, even with the world’s untidiness, we already do. Thanks be to God.

Prayer

God of heaven and earth, all things seen and unseen, thank you for the beauty we find in both our ordered and disordered lives. Help us to recognize your presence and goodness across the face of the earth and to treasure the home for us you have made. Amen.

Written by Joseph L. Morrow, Associate Pastor for Evangelism and Community Engagement

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