It Was Good, Is it Still?: Sermon Genesis 1:1-2-4a

Lord, open our hearts and minds by the power of your Holy Spirit, that as the Scriptures are read and your Word is proclaimed, we may hear with joy what you say to us today. Amen.

Don’t you hate when you miss the first part of a movie or TV show? It seems that no matter how hard you try if you miss the beginning you never fully understand the rest of the story. You don’t go to the movies an hour late missing the first part of the movie that doesn’t make much sense. You don’t open a book midway through and begin to read. You start at the beginning. A story, whether it is a book, movie, or TV show has a beginning, middle, and end and to fully appreciate the story you must start at the beginning.

Our story is no different. Humanity’s relationship with God, our story and history, has a beginning and to understand where we are now we have to know where we have been. I think that is one reason why I love history so much. The events of history are not a series of isolated incidents, but weave together and connect together and fortunately and unfortunately history does tend to repeat itself. If we look at the story of our relationship with God, then we would begin with Genesis. The word genesis means origin or coming into being. It comes from a Greek word that means to be born. For the Jewish, Christian, and Islamic faiths the story of Genesis is the beginning of what we know to be creation and it is begins our relationship with God and so if we want to really understand our relationship with God and with Creation there is no better place to start than in the beginning.

In the last 50 years the debate on the historical accuracy of Genesis has stirred debate and controversy. Was the Universe created in 6-24 hour days? If so, how old is the earth? Why does science tell us that the Earth is much older than the Bible asserts? Who is right and who is wrong? These are some of the controversial questions that stir up anger and division between religious folk and scientific folk and they deserve their own time and discussion. However, this morning I want to focus on a different part of the creation story. I want to look at God’s request and commandment to humanity over the care of his creation and how well we have cared for God’s creation. I also want to look at how we view this commandment today? Perhaps we need to go back to the beginning in order to fully appreciate this entrustment from God.

Our Scripture lesson this morning is the beginning, literally and symbolically. Genesis 1 and 2 contain the story of Creation; actually there are two separate and distinct creation stories in Genesis. We read the first of these stories a little while ago and most scholars believe that it was written by the Jewish priests. They claim this, in part, because Genesis 1:1-2:4 reads in a liturgical way. It follows a pattern that is unique in Scripture. If we look at this story from Genesis in a certain way then we can see the repetitive pattern that might have been recited in a worship setting. The pattern is that God speaks, “let there be…”, then there is a creation moment, then God looks over what he just created, and sees that it is good, and then you have the end of that particular day. That pattern is followed from day one to day six and of course on the seventh day he rested.

God creates the world, the universe, and everything in it just by speaking a word. Then after each step God looks over what he has just created and gives his stamp of approval, it was good. God looks at the sky, the waters and land, the day and night, the sun and moon, the plants and animals, and finally humankind and proclaims it was good. The Hebrew word tov translates to the English word good. Another way to translate the word is fantastic. Tov is something more than just good, as we know it today, it was fantastic. Theologian Richard Lowery calls this “God’s cosmic WOW”. God looks at the abundance and beauty of Creation and the love and grace that sustains it and says “Wow, this is fantastic.”

As God looks at creation today, would God still say “Wow, this is fantastic”? I am not so sure that he would. Although this country have taken important steps in the reduction of pollution and to increase ecological conservation, this country is still on of the biggest polluters in the world. We pump out almost 8 million metric tons of carbon dioxide annually in the United States with China not too far behind us. That is in addition to all the other pollutants from manufacturing and energy production. These pollutants in our air and water affect the health of the people. There is an increase of cancer, heart and lung diseases, and developmental problems in children and infants that are caused by pollution. When I went to school in Knoxville they told us that breathing the air in Knoxville was like smoking 2 cigarettes a day. We have all seen the smog and haze over major cities caused by car and factory emissions. I have talked to many people who don’t drink water from their taps because of the bad taste and out of fear of contamination not only what is in it, but also what they put in it to kill what was in it. They tell pregnant women not to too much fish out of the Gulf of Mexico because of the mercury in the fish that they got from the water that came from a factory.

Why have we allowed these things to occur? Why does the Church remain virtually silent on these issues? Much of the answer rest on the interpretation of Genesis 1:28 “God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air and over every living thing that moves upon the earth.” The key word here is dominion. The Hebrew word here is radah. The same word is used in Scripture to describe a king’s rule over his subjects. This word sets humanity above the rest of creation, it makes us special. This makes sense of course because God created humanity in his own image and it stands to reason that we would be special and exalted over the rest of creation. However, the word dominion has justified the destruction of the abundance that God once called good. Humanity justified its abuse and malevolent dominance over nature by citing this verse from Genesis. God gave us control over the world to do with as we wish and so we shall. Some Christians look at the Book of Revelation and add that God is going to restore and renew everything anyway so why worry about conservation and ecological ethics. Humanity has destroyed what was once beautiful, abundant, and good and we use God’s own words to justify it. There is something greatly wrong in that kind of thinking.

I will not argue that God gave humanity dominion and control over Creation; however this does not give us the right to destroy it. If you were to lend me your house, let’s say you were going on an extended vacation, maybe to live abroad for a few years, and you needed me to move and live in your house. You told me that I had dominion over your house. What’s yours is mine and I could do anything I wanted. Let’s say that I took those words to heart. A few months rolled by and you came home to find your house in ruins. The dishes were not done for months and they were piled up in the sink. The garbage was thrown in the corner of the living room. Let’s say I had let couple of dogs and cats live in the house and they did what animals do without me cleaning it up. The stench is unbearable and the sight is disgusting and then you find me asleep on the couch having done nothing to keep the place up. Then you shake me awake and say “How could you have done this to my house?” and I reply “You gave me dominion over it.” I bet you would be a little bit upset. Look around at the world today and imagine what God would say to all this destruction. I think he has the right to be upset with us. God entrusted Creation to us and we have failed to maintain its goodness and abundance. God’s plan is for a natural balance between humanity and Creation. We only take what we need and leave the rest for future generations. We have not done this.

We must repent for our destructive ways and return to a sense of balance and stewardship with Creation. We must educate ourselves on the environmental impact of the products we buy. We should recycle as much as possible and whenever possible buy recycled products. We must buy our produce from farmers who love and respect the land. We must buy our meat from producers who respect nature’s way and avoid use of chemicals and hormones. We have to speak out against polluters who poison our air, land, and water. We must be good stewards of the Creation God gave us.

I know this might sound like a political speech and not a sermon, but ecological responsibility is a theologically important theme. It is based in Scripture and commanded from God from the beginning of time. God gave us this beautiful place in which to be fruitful and multiply and it is our responsibility to maintain it for future generations until that day when God renews and restored everything better than it was in the beginning.

Let us pray…

Grant, O Lord,

that what has been said with our lips we may believe in our hearts,

and that what we believe in our hearts we may practice in our lives;

through Jesus Christ our Lord by the power of the Holy Spirit. Amen.