Sermon Texts

May 18, 2008

When I teach the creation story in Genesis One, I like to ask the question, "What religious practice does this version of the creation story support?" [Pause for response.] Yes, from the point of view of religious practice, the main point of this story seems to be its support of the Jewish practice of keeping Sabbath. The word for God resting is the word "Shabbat," the same word that we pronounce "Sabbath" and that refers to the seventh day of the week on which Jews are to rest from all work, as commanded in the Third Commandment, "Remember the Sabbath Day to keep it holy."

Most Christians have transferred the Sabbath Day to Sunday, and we typically interpret the Third Commandment to mean that we should regularly set aside time for worship. Originally, however, the commandment meant to rest from work - just as God did on the seventh day of creation. Yes, that rest from work allowed for time for worship, but it also allowed for time with family and friends and for the refreshment and renewal that comes from setting aside the stress and anxiety of daily work. Many people feel that we need to recover that original concern of the commandment in our workaholic, overly busy and stressed-out society. The commandment shows God's compassionate wisdom in providing for regular cessation from the demands of work. I hope that I'm not being too self-serving in emphasizing this point, for surely the wisdom of Sabbath rest from work encourages programs like the Sabbatical I begin tomorrow.

While I think it is true that the religious point of Genesis One is providing the basis for Sabbath rest, I think that it also has several important theological points. On this Trinity Sunday I want to look at Genesis One along with the other lessons of the day and address three questions: "Who is our God?" "What does God assign us?" and "What does God promise us?"

"Who is our God?" Genesis shows us that our God is the one God who created heaven and earth. That may sound obvious, even tedious. But I have found that the meaning of Genesis One has become clearer to me when I have seen how it compares with other creation stories from the ancient world. In the ancient world people believed in many gods. The major point of Genesis is that there is but one God who is the creator. Moreover, in these other creations stories the creation of the world resulted from some sort of violent conflict, and the creation itself was seen as evil or at least as unimportant from the gods' point of view. Not so in Genesis; God looks at what God has created and sees that it is very good. Creation is not evil or the result of conflict; creation is good, a gift of the loving Creator.

Yes, our God is the Creator. Our other lessons remind us that our God is also our Redeemer and Sanctifier, the Son and the Holy Spirit. As Jesus blesses the disciples, he commissions them to baptize in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit - reminding them that the God of Creation is also the God who came into our world to die and rise for us and the God who remains among us, inspiring and encouraging our faith.

"What does God assign us?" Yes, our lessons tell us about who our God is, but they also give us assignments. One of the important theological points of the creation story in Genesis One is God's deciding to create us humans in the image of God. Theologians have argued for centuries over what this means, and there still are a variety of ways to interpret the meaning of "the image of God." What makes most sense to me is this: in the ancient world emperors would often erect statues - images - of themselves in the distant corners of their empire to remind people of who their ruler was. Likewise God creates us in the image of God and places us in the world to represent God in the world. We're given dominion, but that word is used in the Bible only for rule that is responsible and caring for those who are ruled. So what does God assign us to do? In Genesis One God assigns us to be the image of God, to represent God in the world and to care for the world according to God's will and values. This creation story becomes today, I believe, an important theological foundation for environmental concern. We are not given carte blanche permission to do whatever we want with the rest of creation; we are commissioned to care for creation and to help it flourish.

What does God assign us? In 2 Corinthians Paul tells the Christians in Corinth "agree with one another and live in peace." Perhaps that sounds obvious to us, but the church in Corinth was anything but peaceful and agreeable. They were divided into factions that broke into hateful conflict. Paul did not have a smooth, loving relationship with them. I think that we are blessed that, right now at least, we have a relatively positive, peaceful congregation, but divisiveness is not an unusual human trait. God calls us to live out the kind of love we have seen in Christ and thus to live in peace.

What does God assign us? Jesus gives us another major assignment, one that points us beyond our own congregation. "Go," Jesus says, "make disciples of all nations, baptizing them and teaching them to obey what I have commanded you." As we have celebrated Ascension and Pentecost, we have been encouraged to be open to the work of the Holy Spirit among us and to follow the Spirit's prompting by sharing our faith with others. This is one of the points of our Sabbatical time - that after this time of renewal, when I return we will be geared up to work together more effectively to teach and make disciples. As we work together to strengthen preaching among us, we hope that these efforts will strengthen us for sharing our faith and responding to Jesus' assignment to his disciples.

What does God promise us? Jesus says, "Remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age." God gives us assignments, yes, but God does not abandon us. Our God accompanies us through all that we face. Our God is with us as we care for God's creation, as we seek to live in peace and love with one another, as we reach out to others to share our faith. Our God walks with us in all our joys and sorrows, delights and difficulties.

As I leave on my sabbatical, let us remember this promise - our Jesus goes with us, surrounding you with God's care as you carry on the ministry of Ascension here, sustaining us as we leave for this time of study and renewal. And let us hear Paul's blessing for us all: May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with us all! Amen.