My family loves to put together puzzles. One of the first things I learned as a child was how to sort a puzzle before you really begin working on it. As I read the creation story of Genesis, I see God slowly beginning to sort through the pieces of creation. Creation is a complex process and the different stages of creation described in each day show the gradual ordering of things. When God creates light it takes several steps. In our culture we tend to simplify the creation of light to four words "let there be light." In reality the creation of light is not just about bringing light into being, it is separating the light from the darkness, creating the sun, the moon, the stars. The creation story in Genesis is about how God begins the process of bringing order to creation. In Jewish mythology as well as other Middle-Eastern cultures, water is the primordial symbol for chaos. Interwoven in the story is how God tames the water, defines its boundaries, channels its chaotic nature into a force for creation.
Often we try and make the creation story end with a sense of completeness. God looks around creation after six days, calls it "good" and then rests. What we forget is that the process of creation, the ordering of chaos is just beginning. God creates humanity and in doing so invites us into the role of co-creators, people with the charge of helping to order the chaos. When God rests on the seventh day it is not the end of the Genesis but still only the beginning. The rest of Genesis begins to set the story for how God will continue bringing order to chaos, interacting with and drawing us into the process of creation with God.
Questions to consider:
How do we step into that role today?
Do we still see water as something undefinable, uncontrollable, chaotic?
How does this view of creation work or not for you?
Monday, March 31, 2008
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