Readings:
Genesis 1:1-2:3;
Psalm 136;
Romans 8:18-25;
Matthew 6:25-34

Collect:
You alone, O God,
satisfy our deepest hunger,
and protect us from the lure of wealth and power.
Teach us to seek your commonwealth above all else,
that we may know the security and joy
of those who put their trust in you:
through Jesus Christ,
our Lord who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit supreme over all creation,
now and forever. Amen

Reflection

The ancient stories of Genesis are wonderful, especially the stories of creation. Challenging and confusing today, though, as we try to interpret them in our world so intent on scientific explanation. We all to easily forget how to read and appreciate them as poetry. Those who read the Bible devotionally may not notice that there are two distinct, and quite different, stories of creation in Genesis. There are others, especially Psalm 104, and we immediately recognize that one as poetry – it’s laid out like that. There is not only one story of creation.

Genesis 1 and the first few verses of chapter 2 are also poetry, though not presented as we might expect of poetry. In English translation, depending which you prefer, what is clear is that a few refrains occur over and over again. Everett Fox’s translation makes their repetition explicit:

“God said …” followed after the completion of the command: “It was so.”

“God saw is was good.”

“There was setting, there was dawning: first, second, third … day”. All the way to the sixth day. The seventh is different. The seventh is for rest, rest for God and for all creation.

Fox has here tried the impossible, to replicate the cadence of the Hebrew into English. While his is not the comfortable and free-flowing read we’re used to, it does bring out the almost chanting quality of the whole chapter, a reminder that there is something else going on here other than a description of what happened. This is about who and why, not about how and when. 

This last week we have been distressed to see the effects of the earthquake in Turkey and Syria. This is not the first, and may not be the worst, but it is devastating, and we continue to hold the people affected in our prayers, including those who have gone to help. This is what we call a natural disaster. Climate change, brought about by our persistent and excessive use of fossil-fuels, already has dramatic effects too, and we’ve not seen the end of it, or even the worst of it. This looks like natural disaster, but it is one of our own making – not mine or yours personally, but we each contribute just a little bit more today every time we use any fossil fuel. For all its apparent violence and destruction, creation also displays extraordinary diversity and beauty. Today I wonder if we might use Paul’s reflection when he says all creation groans in labour pains (Rom 8:22), waiting for the renewal of all creation. In the passage today Paul is reflecting on suffering. This is personal for him and his companions. He ends this passage assuring reader that nothing separates us from God’s love and God’s presence. For Paul, just to write is an act of praise, no matter his circumstances. This act of praise is not because he understands anything better than anyone, or more clearly. Just because God said … it was so … it was good … and that’s it.

Different time, different place, Charles Wesley offers us this doxology of praise:

Praise the Lord who reigns above
and keeps his courts below; 
praise the holy God of love,
and all God’s greatness show;
praise God for God’s noble deeds,
praise God for God’s matchless power:
God from whom all good proceeds,
let earth and heaven adore.

Barry Lotz