In our first sermon on Genesis we said that the Bible is not a science book. We cannot expect the biblical writers to see creation as science understands the universe today. Ancient people basically understood the world as it appears. For example, it looks like the sun goes around the earth, although we know today that in fact the earth goes around the sun. It looks like the earth is flat although even a kindergartner today knows the earth is round. It looks like the sky is like a vault/dome and that rain, snow, sleet, and hail come from above the dome (see Genesis 1:6-8; Psalm 148:4), but we know today that the sky is not a dome (“chicken little and the sky is falling”) and rain, snow, sleet, and hail are the result of evaporation and condensation. It would be unfair (not to mention foolish) to expect the writers of the Bible to know about and understand quantum physics, the periodic table in chemistry, the existence of bacteria and viruses, and mental illnesses resulting from chemical imbalances and defects in the brain. Looking to the Bible for science would be like looking to cavemen for instructions on how to use a computer. Human beings simply had not yet evolved in their knowledge to understand many things about the world.
Looking to the Bible for science would be like looking to cavemen for instructions on how to use a computer.
But this does not mean that the ancients did not perceive patterns, design, harmony, and balance in the world. And we see that all through the first chapter of Genesis. The writers were awed by how they perceived the universe to operate. They saw time on earth as divided by periods alternating between darkness and light/night and day. They noticed the connections between the seasons and the movement of the sun, moon, and stars. They appreciated the boundaries set for the waters which covered the earth allowing for dry land to appear and for land animals to flourish. As they gathered plants, fruits, and grains for food, they noticed how some plants shed their seeds directly (like wheat) while other plants had their seeds within fruit (like apples). And even the slowest of humans understood that if you planted a grain of wheat you got wheat and not figs. Each seed had within it the ability to reproduce the plant from which it came. This was amazing to ancient people as it still is to gardeners today.
The biblical writers also noticed that animals had their own niches in the world: fish in the water, birds in the air, land animals on the land. And if we look elsewhere, for example in the Book of Job, we see that they even understood that some animals operate at night while others operate in the day–and some flourish in some types of trees while others flourish in other types. And they realized that plant life is the basis for all life on earth. Both animals and humans are at some point dependent on plants for their existence. Even carnivorous animals depend upon meat from animals which eat plants. All that and much more is found in the Hebrew Scriptures. The first chapter of Genesis and some of the psalms praise God for the design, patterns, balance, and harmony which allow for life, abundance, and beauty in our world.
Of course, today with our expanded knowledge of science and our interest in ecology we realize even more the importance of design, balance, patterns, and harmony. For example, we are fast learning that the thin ozone layer surrounding earth is crucial for the existence of life on this planet. Biologists have rediscovered the importance of beavers in maintaining the diversity, variety, and overall health of plant and animal life in North America. Farmers now appreciate more than ever the crucial role honey bees play in the pollination of plants. Without that pollination the world food supply would be critically diminished. Just this last week a new study suggests a connection between global warming and the destructive rainfall which is plaguing the Midwest. Nature has been created with checks and balances as well as design, patterns, and harmony which allow for life on this planet. And these checks and balances are ignored at our and the planet’s own peril.
…today with our expanded knowledge of science and our interest in ecology we realize even more the importance of design, balance, patterns, and harmony.
But scientists see today even more evidence of this design and balance in the universe than any other generation of people have ever imagined. Those scientists who study the universe talk about what they call the “Goldilocks Effect.” You remember what Goldilocks said in the fairy tale. “This porridge is too hot/too cold/just right.” For carbon-based life to exist in this universe many things must be “just right.” In fact, scientists tell us that there are six fundamental constants which must be “just right” for life to exist. And by “just right” they mean with no variation. One scientist, perhaps with tongue in cheek, said that the accuracy of one of these constants being just right and not one bit smaller or larger than it is can be compared to getting the mix of flour and sugar right to within one grain of sugar in a cake ten times the mass of the sun. One grain more or one grain less would not have allowed for carbon-based life in this universe. Now the writers of Genesis didn’t know any of this, but they did believe that the universe is held together by the will and design of a Creator. We would be wise in our time not to take creation for granted and not to ignore or violate the design, balance, harmony and patterns which have allowed this creation to come into being.
I want us to turn to another insight in these opening verses of the Bible which has profound implications. First, I want us to notice the word “let” in phrases like “Let there be.” These “let” phrases occur over and over in this chapter. God said, “Let there be.” In Hebrew grammar this is called a jussive mood. It is the mood of invitation and permission. It suggests in this chapter cooperation between God and the rest of creation. And it says a lot about the nature of God. My point is that the mood of the verb in “let there be” is not the imperative, the mood of command. The form of this verb for command was available to the writers. We find that verb form elsewhere in the Bible. God could have easily said in Genesis 1 “Be Light!” as a royal command/an order/a decree. But instead, God, using the jussive mood, said “Let there be.”
God does not manufacture creation. God invites creation to come into being.
So, what does this say about the nature of God? God is no tyrant and will not overpower creation. God does not coerce creation into being. The relationship between Creator and creation is not one of coercion. God’s word in this chapter invites but does not compel. It hopes rather than requires. God does not manufacture creation. God invites creation to come into being. God enters into dialogue with creation and becomes creation’s partner. The Creator cherishes, honors, and respects creation. God’s grace is seen in that the Creator who has caused to be now “lets be.”
The importance of this insight is seen in two other places in the chapter. Look again at verses 20 and 24. In verse 20 God invites the waters to bring forth all the creatures which live in the oceans, lakes, and rivers. The waters bring them forth, not God. Now yes, ultimately all creation is the result of God’s will and primary action, but in this verse God is indirectly the Creator. The waters actually bring forth the sea creatures. And in similar fashion in verse 24 God invites the earth itself to bring forth all forms of living creatures. And so we have creation from within creation as the earth participates with God in bringing forth life. God shares power. God defines and limits the divine self in terms of partnership by inviting and permitting. God who is free wants a creation which is free.
(I do not think for one moment that the biblical writers had in mind what we call today evolution when they wrote these words. As I said earlier, we cannot expect ancient people with rudimentary science at best to know and understand what we know and understand today after hundreds of years of scientific research and discovery. But I do find it interesting that these ancients had some notion that the plants and animals on this planet were not created directly by God but through the agency of water and earth. There was some deep intuition that creation participates with Creator in forming the awesome mystery we call life.)
In this grand experiment called creation God makes room for others. God chooses not to be alone and not to do it alone.
So, God who is free wants a creation which is free. But of course, this approach to creation by God is very risky. God becomes vulnerable when divine speech is jussive instead of imperative–when God says “let there be” and when God invites creation to join in the creative process. In this grand experiment called creation God makes room for others. God chooses not to be alone and not to do it alone. God chooses to share. And this risk becomes critical when God speaks those awesome words regarding humankind, “Let them have dominion.” And with the advent of human beings, the sovereign rule of God must be expressed in terms of faithfulness, patience, and anguish.
In our next sermon we will talk about how this relates specifically to human beings as we share in the creative process when we look at what it means to be created in the image of God. Today I want to look at a different and more complicated implication of what it means for God to share power and to become partners with creation—in particular, a creation which is free. Perhaps if we begin with a thought about the risk involved in our own freedom, we can appreciate the greater freedom of the whole universe. Scottish theologian John MacQuarrie once wrote that God intended to create human beings capable of love, freedom, creativity, and responsibility. God could have created human robots which have no choice but to love, will use their freedom only in responsible ways, will create only that which is desirable and good, and will automatically take care of each other and the planet. In other words, “things” which mechanically perform just as perfect robots should. But such a “thing” would never be a true human being. Love is truly love only if it is a choice. Freedom is liberating only if we are free to choose what we truly want. Creativity can occur only when we are not shackled by the expectations, desires, and regulations of others. And caring responsibility is possible only if we truly care from the heart.
But robots do not have hearts. They do not have authentic choices. They cannot love even if they have been programmed to love because love must be a choice. So once God decided to create free, loving, creative, and responsible human beings, God took a gigantic risk. Each one of us can choose not to love, not to value freedom, not to be creative, and not to care for others and creation in responsible ways. And if history is any reliable account of the human track record, it is apparent that many of us have chosen not to live up to God’s intention. But God took that chance. God is willing to take that risk because God values love, freedom, creativity, and caring responsibility. God desires beings capable of relating to a free, loving, creative, and responsible Deity. So, can you see that for God to allow for this kind of creature, God had to limit God’s control and power? God has to step back and back off to allow for the opportunity of our being here as we are. (Or there is the other possibility—that the way God has created this universe is the only way God could have created it. Perhaps God’s omnipotence is found in God’s sacrificial love and the power of such love to heal and transform and not in all the imagined powers about which we can speculate.)
God had to withdraw from the whole of creation to allow for the freedom necessary for this diverse, splendid, and beautiful universe to come into being.
In a similar and broader way God had to withdraw from the whole of creation to allow for the freedom necessary for this diverse, splendid, and beautiful universe to come into being. Although the writers did not understand the full implications of their words, once they write about God allowing the waters to bring forth the sea creatures and the earth to bring forth the land animals, they are saying that God has stepped back and has allowed creation to “create” itself. There is a certain amount of freedom inherent in creation itself—freedom is possessed not just by humans but by the whole universe. And all this is necessary for the kind of creation God intends: a creation which combines genuine love, creativity, freedom, and caring responsibility in dynamic and life-giving ways. And God takes the same risks with creation itself as God takes with us. The choices creation makes in the evolutionary process, in the movement of the galaxies, in the birthing and death of stars, and in the unpredictable events at the quantum level are not totally determined by a blueprint from God. Creation itself contributes and partners with God in this grand experiment we call the universe. And that helps explain (in some cases) why there are parts of our lives and our world which are troublesome and disturbing. Birth defects can be the result of genetics gone wrong. But the same free process which may result in a genetic defect could also result in a genetic variation which proves to be a strength and blessing. It would appear that if God wanted a creation characterized by love, freedom, creativity, and caring responsibility, the creation we live in was the best and perhaps only way God could accomplish that goal. When creation itself goes wrong with its choices, God is limited in the same way God is limited when we make wrong choices. But what would be the alternative? Can anyone imagine a better way to create a universe allowing for love, freedom, creativity, and caring responsibility than the way God has chosen?
And in addition to all this is the humble realization that we are only a part of creation. God cares for the whole, and so what we may experience as unpleasant or even tragic may have noble purposes beyond our own limited concerns. For example, the natural disasters we have experienced over the last decade have been heart wrenching and lethally destructive. But what if those disasters are the result of Mother Nature responding to what we are doing to our planet as we continue to pollute it through our greed, arrogance, and stupidity? Could this be creation’s way of trying to correct our mistakes before the earth itself is marred beyond redemption?
Ultimately God has the whole universe in dependable hands. And what we see in Christ Jesus is a preview of what that final creation will be.
Now all this could leave us a little overwhelmed, so at this point I would encourage you to remember that the New Testament promises a new heaven and a new earth which will be this heaven and this earth redeemed, healed, and made whole by God. The present universe is the first stage of God’s great creative purpose. This creation will become the building blocks for the new creation. And this beautiful but precarious creation we currently inhabit will be made whole by the patient and compassionate love of a God who is determined to see the divine purpose fulfilled. To paraphrase Paul, nothing in all creation can separate us or this world from the love of God. Ultimately God has the whole universe in dependable hands. And what we see in Christ Jesus is a preview of what that final creation will be. What we see in Jesus is the perfect harmony of love, freedom, creativity, and caring responsibility. That is our final destiny. But God will accomplish that goal without coercion, without violence, and without violating our or creation’s freedom. All this requires a lot of patience on God’s part and our part. But this God seems committed for the long haul. Meanwhile, our calling is to live like we believe this is our and the world’s future. And we do so by living as loving, free, creative, and responsible human beings in the time and space we now inhabit as creatures made in the image of God.
