And God said, "That's Good!"

Genesis 1-2:4a

 

Substitute scripture by reading or listening to James Weldon Johnson’s sermon The Creation. https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=the+creation+by+james+weldon+johnson&&view=detail&mid=9B999EB5DF67364BC8C99B999EB5DF67364BC8C9&&FORM=VRDGAR&ru=%2Fvideos%2Fsearch%3Fq%3Dthe%2Bcreation%2Bby%2Bjames%2Bweldon%2Bjohnson%26%26FORM%3DVDVVXX

 

Late in the 19^th century the word “myth” was demonized by the general public.  Much of this was due to Christian leaders fearing folks like Darwin and others were trying to dismantle the notion of a creating God. If a story was labeled a myth, the story was declared fiction and could not possibly be understood as a vessel holding sacred truths. This debate thrust a wedge between the religious and scientific community, a separation that in many circles continues to exist today. 40 years ago, teaching a study on the Book of Genesis I began the class by declaring the creation story to be a myth. A number of folks left the class and informed the session that I was teaching heresies. We have come a long way since 1981. Thanks to Joseph Campbell, the theological world has rediscovered the power and truth that can be found in a mythical story.

“God stepped out on space. He looked around and said, “I’m lonely, I will make me a world.” Place that statement over against, “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.” Which statement is factual? I would suggest neither. Yet both contain a deep and abiding truth. The phrase, “In the beginning”, suggests a moment in time when the formation of the universe began. “In the beginning” has been stolen from the lips of a storyteller and been asked to compete against such scientific ideas as the Big Bang Theory. The truth is, “In the beginning”, is not even a good translation of the Hebrew text. Jon Levenson, a premier Jewish scholar of the Old Testament writes the phrase should be translated, “Out of chaos, God created.” Now look at the beginning of each story. “I’m lonely, I’ll make me a world”. “Out of chaos, God created.” James Weldon Johnson, a black poet living in Harlem in the 1920’s looked out his window, looked at a city divided, looked at a society fragmented, and felt alone. A Hebrew poet, sitting in Babylon in 580 BC looked out his window, saw his people enslaved, witnessed his people broken, and saw chaos. Neither poet was writing from a position of power, or wealth, or fame, or advantage. Yet both poets, through the amazing power of a story, declared in the midst of loneliness, in the midst of slavery, in the midst of chaos, God is not only capable of creating, God created something good.

Look at the Genesis poem. It is not about how the world was created but rather why.  Light, water, ground, birds, fish, animals and finally humans were formed by a word from God. After each creation God sang a doxology, “It is good.” What is the antithesis of chaos? Goodness, righteousness, wholeness, mercy, forgiveness, community.

Look at Johnson’s poem. “God smiled, and the light broke. God stepped, and the mountains bulged. God spoke and man became a living soul.” What is the antithesis of loneliness? Smiles, togetherness, sitting around a table, having your story  heard.

When we try to make a myth factual it eventually becomes inconsequential at best and laughable at worst. Who among us believes the creation of the universe took place in six days? Who among us believes the earth is only 6,000 years old? The creation story cannot compete with science. It was never meant to.

But how many of us have felt loneliness? How many of us have felt our world is about to explode into anarchy? Look out your window. To be more specific, gaze through the looking glass that sits in every home.  Do you see the chaos? Do you feel the loneliness? I am not naïve. I know there are some people on the streets of America who crave mayhem and are looking for a fight. I suspect there are a few law enforcement officers who have had enough and are willing to take them on. But do either represent who God created us to be?

In both creation poems God steps out. God observes what isn’t and what could be. God does not destroy and start over. God created out of what was already there.

 As white folk, our first step in recreating America needs to be acknowledging racism is our nation’s greatest tragedy. I didn’t own slaves but my life has always been easier because of the color of my skin. I have never worn a hood or burned a cross but I have thought if black folks would try just a little harder we might all get along. How naive is that? I have dedicated my whole life to preaching social justice but the honest truth is before I can even begin to change America I need to change me. This insight led to an epiphany. I went back and read the creation myth in Genesis. I searched for some great truth I had missed. Then  there it was. “The void and darkness covered the face of the deep and a breath from God swept over the chaos.”

Could it be that the first step toward any hopes of racial equality in America is to let creation …….. Breathe?

To God be the Glory. Amen.