Genesis 2:4b-25 is the second story of creation. Each of the creation stories was intended to stand alone, even though we often mash them together into one story.
The earth creature was made from the clay of the earth. God blew into the creature and it came to life. I can almost imagine God as a sculptor working with the clay, creating this earth creature. Once it is complete, God steps back to imagine their creation and decides it needs one more thing. God kisses the creature and blows life into this being. The being comes to life. In this version of the story, the earth creature is the first living being. Before the earth being, there was clay and water. Once the earth being was created, the rest of life could come forth.
And then God planted a garden—the Land of Pleasure—with the instruction to “till the ground.” A better translation of the Hebrew might be “serve the earth.” Serve the earth—one of the first commandments. There is a mutuality in this relationship. Our responsibility is to serve and care for the earth. In response, the earth will provide what we need for life.
In the story, the earth has springs of water welling up and overflowing. Those streams spread throughout the whole earth nourishing life everywhere. That water allowed all sorts of plants and trees to flourish. (slides) Imagine the lush green forest, a mountain stream, a flowered meadow. Even the desert blooms with life. This is creation, full and abundant.
Throughout this story, we see God improvising and trying to figure out what will be best. God doesn’t immediately know what the best companion for the earth creature looks like, so God uses the same clay to sculpt all sorts of creatures. This God is creative and experimental. This God keeps evolving the creatures. As they are formed, the first human names each one and in doing so enters into relationship with the creatures. The lives of the creatures and the first human were intertwined by their substance as clay, sharing the same creator, and by relationship. The Hebrew word for all the insects, animals and people translates as “a soul of life.” (Eco Bible vol 1)
Finally, a second human was created from the first. There is no hierarchy intended in this story because they come from the same flesh. The other creatures, who were not suitable partners, came directly from the clay. This second human came from the same flesh. They are intended as equal partners. This is a God who is all about relationships.
In the centre of the garden, the Land of Pleasure, there were two trees. One was the tree of life. The other was the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. God gave the first human instructions: “You may eat as much as you like from any trees of the garden—except the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil.” Right from the beginning, there were boundaries placed around what humans should and should not do. And from the beginning humans have struggled with those boundaries. Just one chapter later, we hear the story of Adam and Eve eating from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. That moment is a defining moment in humanity’s life. We begin in relationship with God, with all the other creatures, with the earth, and with one another. The breaking of that boundary caused a strain in all the first human relationships. Once one boundary had been crossed it became easier to cross others.
We often live as though there are no boundaries to what we can consume. We live as though we can go on taking resources from the earth. And yet the earth is telling us we cannot continue to live in this way. I want to offer words of lament.
Lament for the Earth
O God, this summer we have witnessed our own country and others burning up. We experience heat waves and smoke filled days. We watch people flee their homes and communities.We witness animals destroyed by human activity. We see animals losing their habitat, living in captivity, and nearing extinction. We witness invasive species spreading to new areas. We remember that all these creatures have a soul of life.
We watch as glaciers and icecaps melt. We watch as deserts expand. We witness crops destroyed by drought or insects or floods. We watch coral reefs die.
We know that the air is clogged with pollution and the earth is heating up. We know that waterways are being polluted and disappearing in many places. We see the earth filled with plastic and waste and chemicals.
We see forests destroyed. We witness the destruction of stronger storms and hurricanes. We witness climate refugees moving because their own communities can no longer sustain their needs.
We go back to the creation story and remember the soul of life in all living things. We and all creation carry the soul of life and the breath of God within us. We believe in a God of redemption and resurrection. So this is not the end of the story. We remember that God isn’t finished with us yet. We open ourselves to God’s spirit at work in us and others. We are people of hope. We share with other United Church people an excerpt from A Song of Faith, our most recent statement of faith:
God is creative and self-giving,
generously moving
in all the near and distant corners of the universe.
Nothing exists that does not find its source in God.
Our first response to God’s providence is gratitude.
We sing thanksgiving.Finding ourselves in a world of beauty and mystery,
of living things, diverse and interdependent,
of complex patterns of growth and evolution,
of subatomic particles and cosmic swirls,
we sing of God the Creator,
the Maker and Source of all that is.Each part of creation reveals unique aspects of God the Creator,
who is both in creation and beyond it.
All parts of creation, animate and inanimate, are related.
All creation is good.
We sing of the Creator,
who made humans to live and move
and have their being in God.
In and with God,
we can direct our lives toward right relationship
with each other and with God.
We can discover our place as one strand in the web of life.
We can grow in wisdom and compassion.
We can recognize all people as kin.
We can accept our mortality and finitude, not as a curse,
but as a challenge to make our lives and choices matter.Made in the image of God,
we yearn for the fulfillment that is life in God.
Yet we choose to turn away from God.
We surrender ourselves to sin,
a disposition revealed in selfishness, cowardice, or apathy.
Becoming bound and complacent
in a web of false desires and wrong choices,
we bring harm to ourselves and others.
This brokenness in human life and community
is an outcome of sin.
Sin is not only personal
but accumulates
to become habitual and systemic forms
of injustice, violence, and hatred.We are all touched by this brokenness:
the rise of selfish individualism
that erodes human solidarity;
the concentration of wealth and power
without regard for the needs of all;
the toxins of religious and ethnic bigotry;
the degradation of the blessedness of human bodies
and human passions through sexual exploitation;
the delusion of unchecked progress and limitless growth
that threatens our home, the earth;
the covert despair that lulls many into numb complicity
with empires and systems of domination.
We sing lament and repentance.Yet evil does not—cannot—undermine or overcome the love of God.
God forgives,
and calls all of us to confess our fears and failings
with honesty and humility.
God reconciles,
and calls us to repent the part we have played
in damaging our world, ourselves, and each other.
God transforms,
and calls us to protect the vulnerable,
to pray for deliverance from evil,
to work with God for the healing of the world,
that all might have abundant life.
We sing of grace.The fullness of life includes
moments of unexpected inspiration and courage lived out,
experiences of beauty, truth, and goodness,
blessings of seeds and harvest,
friendship and family, intellect and sexuality,
the reconciliation of persons through justice
and communities living in righteousness,
and the articulation of meaning.
And so we sing of God the Spirit,
who from the beginning has swept over the face of creation,
animating all energy and matter
and moving in the human heart.We sing of God the Spirit,
faithful and untameable,
who is creatively and redemptively active in the world.In grateful response to God’s abundant love,
we bear in mind our integral connection
to the earth and one another;
we participate in God’s work of healing and mending creation.
Excerpt from Song of faith
Twirling Jen 