I know it long but it is creation!
Genesis 1:1-2:4 The Message
1 1-2 First this: God created the Heavens and Earth—all you see, all you don’t see. Earth was a soup of nothingness, a bottomless emptiness, an inky blackness. God’s Spirit brooded like a bird above the watery abyss.
3-5 God spoke: “Light!”
And light appeared.
God saw that light was good
and separated light from dark.
God named the light Day,
he named the dark Night.
It was evening, it was morning—Day One.
6-8 God spoke: “Sky! In the middle of the waters;
separate water from water!”
God made sky.
He separated the water under sky
from the water above sky.
And there it was:
he named sky the Heavens;
It was evening, it was morning—Day Two.
9-10 God spoke: “Separate!
Water-beneath-Heaven, gather into one place;
Land, appear!”
And there it was.
God named the land Earth.
He named the pooled water Ocean.
God saw that it was good.
11-13 God spoke: “Earth, green up! Grow all varieties
of seed-bearing plants,
Every sort of fruit-bearing tree.”
And there it was.
Earth produced green seed-bearing plants,
all varieties,
And fruit-bearing trees of all sorts.
God saw that it was good.
It was evening, it was morning— Day Three.
14-15 God spoke: “Lights! Come out!
Shine in Heaven’s sky!
Separate Day from Night.
Mark seasons and days and years,
Lights in Heaven’s sky to give light to Earth.”
And there it was.
16-19 God made two big lights, the larger
to take charge of Day,
The smaller to be in charge of Night;
and he made the stars.
God placed them in the heavenly sky
to light up Earth
And oversee Day and Night,
to separate light and dark.
God saw that it was good.
It was evening, it was morning—Day Four.
20-23 God spoke: “Swarm, Ocean, with fish and all sea life!
Birds, fly through the sky over Earth!”
God saw that it was good.
God blessed them: “Prosper! Reproduce! Fill Ocean!
Birds, reproduce on Earth!”
It was evening, it was morning—Day Five.
24-25 God spoke: “Earth, generate life! Every sort and kind:
cattle and reptiles and wild animals—all kinds.”
And there it was:
wild animals of every kind,
Cattle of all kinds, every sort of reptile and bug.
God saw that it was good.
26-28 God spoke: “Let us make human beings in our image, make them reflecting our nature
God created human beings;
he created them reflecting God’s nature.
He created them male and female.
God blessed them:
“Prosper! Reproduce! Fill Earth! Take charge!
Be responsible for fish in the sea and birds in the air,
for every living thing that moves on the face of Earth.”
29-30 Then God said, “I’ve given you
every sort of seed-bearing plant on Earth
And every kind of fruit-bearing tree,
given them to you for food.
To all animals and all birds,
everything that moves and breathes,
I give whatever grows out of the ground for food.”
And there it was.
31 God looked over everything he had made;
it was so good, so very good!
It was evening, it was morning—Day Six.
2 1Heaven and Earth were finished,
down to the last detail.
2-4 By the seventh day
God had finished his work.
On the seventh day
he rested from all his work.
God blessed the seventh day.
He made it a Holy Day
Because on that day he rested from his work,
all the creating God had done.
This is the story of how it all started,
of Heaven and Earth when they were created.
John 1:1-5, 9-13,14 Good News Version
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
2 From the very beginning the Word was with God.
3 Through him God made all things; not one thing in all creation was made without him.
4 The Word was the source of life, and this life brought light to people. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has never put it out.
9 This was the real light—the light that comes into the world and shines on all people.
10 The Word was in the world, and though God made the world through him, yet the world did not recognize him.
11 He came to his own country, but his own people did not receive him.
12 Some, however, did receive him and believed in him; so he gave them the right to become God's children.
14 The Word became flesh and dwelt among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.
Genesis 1:1-2:4 The Message
1 1-2 First this: God created the Heavens and Earth—all you see, all you don’t see. Earth was a soup of nothingness, a bottomless emptiness, an inky blackness. God’s Spirit brooded like a bird above the watery abyss.
3-5 God spoke: “Light!”
And light appeared.
God saw that light was good
and separated light from dark.
God named the light Day,
he named the dark Night.
It was evening, it was morning—Day One.
6-8 God spoke: “Sky! In the middle of the waters;
separate water from water!”
God made sky.
He separated the water under sky
from the water above sky.
And there it was:
he named sky the Heavens;
It was evening, it was morning—Day Two.
9-10 God spoke: “Separate!
Water-beneath-Heaven, gather into one place;
Land, appear!”
And there it was.
God named the land Earth.
He named the pooled water Ocean.
God saw that it was good.
11-13 God spoke: “Earth, green up! Grow all varieties
of seed-bearing plants,
Every sort of fruit-bearing tree.”
And there it was.
Earth produced green seed-bearing plants,
all varieties,
And fruit-bearing trees of all sorts.
God saw that it was good.
It was evening, it was morning— Day Three.
14-15 God spoke: “Lights! Come out!
Shine in Heaven’s sky!
Separate Day from Night.
Mark seasons and days and years,
Lights in Heaven’s sky to give light to Earth.”
And there it was.
16-19 God made two big lights, the larger
to take charge of Day,
The smaller to be in charge of Night;
and he made the stars.
God placed them in the heavenly sky
to light up Earth
And oversee Day and Night,
to separate light and dark.
God saw that it was good.
It was evening, it was morning—Day Four.
20-23 God spoke: “Swarm, Ocean, with fish and all sea life!
Birds, fly through the sky over Earth!”
God saw that it was good.
God blessed them: “Prosper! Reproduce! Fill Ocean!
Birds, reproduce on Earth!”
It was evening, it was morning—Day Five.
24-25 God spoke: “Earth, generate life! Every sort and kind:
cattle and reptiles and wild animals—all kinds.”
And there it was:
wild animals of every kind,
Cattle of all kinds, every sort of reptile and bug.
God saw that it was good.
26-28 God spoke: “Let us make human beings in our image, make them reflecting our nature
God created human beings;
he created them reflecting God’s nature.
He created them male and female.
God blessed them:
“Prosper! Reproduce! Fill Earth! Take charge!
Be responsible for fish in the sea and birds in the air,
for every living thing that moves on the face of Earth.”
29-30 Then God said, “I’ve given you
every sort of seed-bearing plant on Earth
And every kind of fruit-bearing tree,
given them to you for food.
To all animals and all birds,
everything that moves and breathes,
I give whatever grows out of the ground for food.”
And there it was.
31 God looked over everything he had made;
it was so good, so very good!
It was evening, it was morning—Day Six.
2 1Heaven and Earth were finished,
down to the last detail.
2-4 By the seventh day
God had finished his work.
On the seventh day
he rested from all his work.
God blessed the seventh day.
He made it a Holy Day
Because on that day he rested from his work,
all the creating God had done.
This is the story of how it all started,
of Heaven and Earth when they were created.
John 1:1-5, 9-13,14 Good News Version
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
2 From the very beginning the Word was with God.
3 Through him God made all things; not one thing in all creation was made without him.
4 The Word was the source of life, and this life brought light to people. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has never put it out.
9 This was the real light—the light that comes into the world and shines on all people.
10 The Word was in the world, and though God made the world through him, yet the world did not recognize him.
11 He came to his own country, but his own people did not receive him.
12 Some, however, did receive him and believed in him; so he gave them the right to become God's children.
14 The Word became flesh and dwelt among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.
Reflection
How many of us have questions about our faith, about God, about the Bible?
If you do, I’m glad because we should. For the next few weeks we’re going to be looking at the Bible starting with Genesis.
It’s a good place to start, at the beginning!
Our scripture reading this morning from Genesis reminds us that the Creation story is a wonderful story of light and dark, chaos and order and that the creator, our God, says of all creation “This is Good” and God created human beings;
he created them reflecting God’s nature.
He created them male and female.
and God blessed them
God is delighted with Creation - and a little tired.
John’s Gospel begins at the beginning with light and darkness, with the Word, with God becoming human in the person of Jesus
“9 This was the real light—the light that comes into the world and shines on all people.
10 The Word was in the world, and though God made the world through him, yet the world did not recognize him.
11 He came to his own country, but his own people did not receive him.
12 Some, however, did receive him and believed in him; so he gave them the right to become God's children.
14 The Word became flesh and dwelt among us.”
When I think about stories: the in the beginning stories: I think we all have them. We all came from somewhere, born at a certain, into a certain family and Genesis is the story of the people of God, how Israel understands itself and maybe even more important how the people of Israel understand their God.
Now, usually you hear me refer to Israel’s God as Yahweh but in this story the Hebrew name for God is Elohim- in fact when you see the word God in the Bible usually that the translation for Elohim. The Yahweh version of creation is found in Genesis 2:4-25, so where you see Lord in the Old Testament , that usually a signal that it’s been translated from Yahweh – the name God says to Moses: “I am who I am” or “I am who I will be” – Yahweh. We know that names are really important in the Bible because we see name changes happen Abram to Abraham, Jacob to Israel, so when God speak to Moses on Mount Sinai and tells Moses to tell the people “I am” – Yahweh – what we would say is the Lord sent me that Yahweh is significant, that Yahweh is personal to Israel.
Back to Genesis and creation, and back to John and the Word because in Genesis 1 God (Elohim), the universal supreme God, speaks and things change:
God says light and there is light
God names the light day
God spoke ‘Sky” and so on and so on – creation is presented as the spoken Word which brings order to that which is unordered-chaos.
And John creates this link between Jesus the Christ and the God of Creation with Word; that which is spoken. This link takes the beginning and makes it a new beginning. A time for a new Israel to start again, a time for people’s relationship to Creator God to be remade a time for a renewed people of God,- and to do that we go back to the beginning.
So creation begins with God speaking: “In the beginning Elohim created the skies and the land ..the spirit or breath of Elohim was hovering over the waters , and Elohim said…, (Gen. 1:1-3) , and then a new creation begins with this speaking “In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God. 2 From the very beginning the Word was with God.” (John 1:1-2)
And we don’t just have creation, it’s a good creation, pronounced good, “God said: “Let there be light” and there was light. God saw that the light was good and God separated the light from the darkness.” (Gen.1:3-4)
John just picks that right up and says that; this is the time of re-creation, this is the opportunity we have to change things, this possibility of re-creation in manifested in the person of Jesus, he is the Word “In him was life, and the life was the light of humanity. And the light was shining in darkness and the darkness could not overcome it.
You know how quickly we pass over these words at Christmas time in our hurry to get to Jesus being born.
But to hear them today during Lent is quite a different thing. After all light added to a room full of light and celebration is hardly even noticed but when you go into a dark or dimly lit room with a light it makes a big difference.
Lent, with it’s disciplines of giving up something, of reflection and prayer, of personal examination and service, opens up to us a the opportunity for a deeper faith, the possibility of a closer relationship with God, a chance to become a more dedicated, loving and compassionate follower of Jesus the Christ.
Jesus, the light of the world, the Word made flesh, the one who would follow where God led, who would love as God loved.
Jesus the Messiah, who would travel from town to town announcing the coming of the Kingdom of God, teaching with parables, preaching the Good News, seeking out the lost, embracing the outcast, healing those who needed healing, and praying constantly.
Jesus, the Anointed One, who would find his way to Jerusalem with his disciples and followers for Passover, be arrested and crucified on a cross.
Jesus, the carpenter’s son, full of grace and truth, who rises from a terrible death, to become for us the promise of renewed life in the here and now.
We, who gather in Jesus’ name, disciples of Christ,
worshipping, praying and praising God, we are the faithful children of God made in God’s image and we are blessed.
May it be so Amen
How many of us have questions about our faith, about God, about the Bible?
If you do, I’m glad because we should. For the next few weeks we’re going to be looking at the Bible starting with Genesis.
It’s a good place to start, at the beginning!
Our scripture reading this morning from Genesis reminds us that the Creation story is a wonderful story of light and dark, chaos and order and that the creator, our God, says of all creation “This is Good” and God created human beings;
he created them reflecting God’s nature.
He created them male and female.
and God blessed them
God is delighted with Creation - and a little tired.
John’s Gospel begins at the beginning with light and darkness, with the Word, with God becoming human in the person of Jesus
“9 This was the real light—the light that comes into the world and shines on all people.
10 The Word was in the world, and though God made the world through him, yet the world did not recognize him.
11 He came to his own country, but his own people did not receive him.
12 Some, however, did receive him and believed in him; so he gave them the right to become God's children.
14 The Word became flesh and dwelt among us.”
When I think about stories: the in the beginning stories: I think we all have them. We all came from somewhere, born at a certain, into a certain family and Genesis is the story of the people of God, how Israel understands itself and maybe even more important how the people of Israel understand their God.
Now, usually you hear me refer to Israel’s God as Yahweh but in this story the Hebrew name for God is Elohim- in fact when you see the word God in the Bible usually that the translation for Elohim. The Yahweh version of creation is found in Genesis 2:4-25, so where you see Lord in the Old Testament , that usually a signal that it’s been translated from Yahweh – the name God says to Moses: “I am who I am” or “I am who I will be” – Yahweh. We know that names are really important in the Bible because we see name changes happen Abram to Abraham, Jacob to Israel, so when God speak to Moses on Mount Sinai and tells Moses to tell the people “I am” – Yahweh – what we would say is the Lord sent me that Yahweh is significant, that Yahweh is personal to Israel.
Back to Genesis and creation, and back to John and the Word because in Genesis 1 God (Elohim), the universal supreme God, speaks and things change:
God says light and there is light
God names the light day
God spoke ‘Sky” and so on and so on – creation is presented as the spoken Word which brings order to that which is unordered-chaos.
And John creates this link between Jesus the Christ and the God of Creation with Word; that which is spoken. This link takes the beginning and makes it a new beginning. A time for a new Israel to start again, a time for people’s relationship to Creator God to be remade a time for a renewed people of God,- and to do that we go back to the beginning.
So creation begins with God speaking: “In the beginning Elohim created the skies and the land ..the spirit or breath of Elohim was hovering over the waters , and Elohim said…, (Gen. 1:1-3) , and then a new creation begins with this speaking “In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God. 2 From the very beginning the Word was with God.” (John 1:1-2)
And we don’t just have creation, it’s a good creation, pronounced good, “God said: “Let there be light” and there was light. God saw that the light was good and God separated the light from the darkness.” (Gen.1:3-4)
John just picks that right up and says that; this is the time of re-creation, this is the opportunity we have to change things, this possibility of re-creation in manifested in the person of Jesus, he is the Word “In him was life, and the life was the light of humanity. And the light was shining in darkness and the darkness could not overcome it.
You know how quickly we pass over these words at Christmas time in our hurry to get to Jesus being born.
But to hear them today during Lent is quite a different thing. After all light added to a room full of light and celebration is hardly even noticed but when you go into a dark or dimly lit room with a light it makes a big difference.
Lent, with it’s disciplines of giving up something, of reflection and prayer, of personal examination and service, opens up to us a the opportunity for a deeper faith, the possibility of a closer relationship with God, a chance to become a more dedicated, loving and compassionate follower of Jesus the Christ.
Jesus, the light of the world, the Word made flesh, the one who would follow where God led, who would love as God loved.
Jesus the Messiah, who would travel from town to town announcing the coming of the Kingdom of God, teaching with parables, preaching the Good News, seeking out the lost, embracing the outcast, healing those who needed healing, and praying constantly.
Jesus, the Anointed One, who would find his way to Jerusalem with his disciples and followers for Passover, be arrested and crucified on a cross.
Jesus, the carpenter’s son, full of grace and truth, who rises from a terrible death, to become for us the promise of renewed life in the here and now.
We, who gather in Jesus’ name, disciples of Christ,
worshipping, praying and praising God, we are the faithful children of God made in God’s image and we are blessed.
May it be so Amen
