Connections

So God created humankind in his image,

in the image of God he created them;

male and female he created them.

-Genesis 1: 27 (NRSV)

Spoiler alert: I'm going to step all over the sermon I'm writing for Sunday, so if you like a surprise, and you're going to GSPC on Sunday, stop reading.

I was mulling over the connection between Genesis 1 and the Gospel according to Matthew's "great commission."  It seemed like there should be something, but I just couldn't figure out what it was.  Then it hit me: it's me, or rather us, humankind.

For better or worse, Genesis is an unavoidably anthropocentric account of creation.  This is the primary reason why people who want to hold on to a literal interpretation of Genesis have so much trouble with the theory of evolution.  Because in evolutionary theory, humans aren't really that special, we're just higher primates who have developed language and technology to their advantage in the survival of the fittest contest that is natural selection.

In Genesis though, we are made in the image of God, we are extensions of the being of the Creator, God's signature.  To me this carries some weight. After all what good, evolution wise, does it do us to write poetry or create works of art?  How does it help us survive predators or fight off disease if we write sweeping and beautiful poems about what happened, "In the beginning?"

We do that you know.

If you know me, or if you've read my blog during the Ham on Nye debates, you know that I have deep problems with those who want to read Genesis as a science text.  But I love Genesis 1, it is actually one of my favorite parts of the Bible because it sets the stage for everything else, not in a literal: this actually what happened sense, but with a very important concept: God has made us for a specific purpose, to be a part of, and actually to be caretakers (stewards) of the Creation.

To look at Genesis as simply an explanation, rather than a creative expression, is probably going to lead you to miss the point.  I love to lean on God's sovereignty when things get tough.  I love to put my faith in the reality that God will not let me go, when I feel utterly inadequate.  It is actually a little bit scary to think that God made everything that is and then put it in our hands.  But that's what God did.  Everything was very good, and then he called us in to give it all a name, and he put us in charge!

Sheer madness.

I think we've adequately proven that we can't be trusted.  We allow greed and selfishness to run us, we constantly create new idols and go running back to old ones, we even make up stupid rules for ourselves and then break them.

But God has doubled down on trusting us.

Jesus came and did some things, for a very short period of time.  He taught a handful of people, who were, quite frankly, not the best and brightest, about the kingdom of heaven, and what it's actually supposed to be like; then he left.  He said, "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations..."

As much as we would probably love it for God to show up and take charge of this mess, it doesn't seem like that's the plan.  Acting as though it is, keeps getting us into trouble.  We think that we can go on pretty much as we have been, acting in self interest, destroying our world and stepping on our neighbors, and we think that having faith means believing that someday, God is just going to ride to the rescue.

That's destructive.  It's why the early church fathers really didn't want to even put Revelation in the book in the first place, not because it's bad, but because if  you read it the wrong way, it gives you some really bad ideas.  Like: just sit back and wait, don't worry, Jesus is coming back soon!

Don't bother trying to work for a better world, sin is too big a problem, you'll never fix it, you just need to wait on God.  Where on earth did we get this idea?  It certainly wasn't from the Bible.

Sure, there are moments where there's a deus ex machina (hand of God) moment.  Sometimes the Red Sea was parted or a crucified man was resurrected, but for the most part the story arc is in the awfully precarious hands of some pretty flawed people.

When we pray: "Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven," we should stop thinking that's the future tense.  It's not wishful thinking, it's a call.  It's the object of our prayers, our deeds and our very lives.  We are the Body of Christ, we were made in God's image, and we are the ones chosen to do this thing.

Too often, we have used the notion that the world is not our ultimate home as a justification for sitting on our hands while it all goes to pot.  I know it seems like a big job, and there are just so many problems.  God is not impressed with our excuses, instead he rather insistently asks that we get to work.

The covenant with Abram was to be a blessing to the nations.

The commission of the disciples was to bring the good news into all the world.

Whether you think that this plan just happened 6000 years ago or whether you believe, as I do, that it has been in the works for billions of years, it still tells us that God is pretty good at sticking to a plan.

I wouldn't look for him to change it any time soon.