4 June 2023

"In the Beginning, God." (sermon)

Two Rivers Pastoral Charge

Sunday June 4 – Trinity Sunday

Scripture Reading:  Genesis 1:1 – 2:3

 

 

In the beginning, God.

Before the beginning, God.

In the beginning, God began to create.

The wind of God, the breath of God, the Spirit of God

hovered and swept and danced over the chaotic waters.

 

In the beginning, God.

 

And God took a deep breath,

and God spoke.

And by God’s Word, there was light and there was darkness,

Night and Day.

By God’s Word, there was twilight, there was dawn, there was dusk.

And God saw that it was good.

 

And God took another deep breath,

            and God spoke,

and by God’s Word there were seas and there was sky and there was dry land.

By God’s Word there was shoreline and there were beaches

and there were marshy places

and there were bogs and there were rivers

and there were puddles.

And God saw that it was good.

 

And God took another deep breath,

            and God spoke,

and by God’s Word there were plants and fruit trees.

By God’s Word there were flowers and there was seaweed

and there were Venus Flytraps and there was poison ivy.

And God saw that it was good.

Even the poison ivy was good.

 

And God took another deep breath,

            and God spoke,

and by God’s Word the sun and the moon and the stars appeared.

By God’s Word, there were comets and planets

and black holes and shooting stars.

And God saw that it was good.

 

And God took another deep breath,

            and God spoke,

and by God’s Word there were fish and birds.

By God’s Word, there were penguins and platypuses

and emus and whales and dolphins

and squid and lobsters and plankton.

And God saw that all of it was good.

 

And God took another deep breath,

            and God spoke,

and by God’s Word there were animals and insects.

By God’s Word, there were snakes and spiders

and centipedes and giraffes and horses

and mosquitoes and alligators.

And God saw that it was good.

Yes, even the snakes and the spiders were good.

 

And God took another deep breath,

            and God spoke,

and by God’s Word, humans were created in God’s image.

By God’s Word, women and men,

cis-gender and transgender,

non-binary and gender-fluid

all came in to being,

all beautifully and perfectly created in God’s image.

And God saw that it was very, very good.

 

And God told humanity:

            by my Breath and by my Word,

                        all of this has come out of the chaos.

            You are part of this beautiful web of creation,

                        this beautiful community of creation.

 

God told humanity:

            You must tend and care for the other members

                        of this community of creation on my behalf;

            this community depends on you,

                        just as you depend on the rest of creation.

 

God told humanity,

            be fruitful.

            Be co-creators in this community of creation.

            Create not only new life,

                        but create also works of art,

                                    music,

                                    theatre,

                                    poetry,

                                    and literature.

                      Create peace;

create justice;

create harmony;

create understanding;

create beauty.

            Be fruitful in all that you do.

 

In the beginning, God.

 

In the beginning, God began to create,

            and on the seventh day, rest.

On the seventh day, God delighted

            in all that they had created –

                        sun, moon, and stars,

                        darkness and light,

                        plants, animals, and humans.

On the seventh day, all of creation delighted in God,

            and delighted in each other,

and the voice of all creation cries out

            in a song of praise!

 

And on the eighth day?

And on the eighth day, God continues to create.

 

In the beginning, God.

In the beginning, Creator, Spirit-Breath, and Word

            transforming chaos into goodness.

In the beginning, God.

In the middle, God.

At the end, God.

Thanks be to God!

 

 

Image:  “Let There Be”

Lauren Pittman

Used with Permission


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