April 5, 2021

Genesis 1:1-19 CEB
Rev. Dr. Carole R. Martin
Retired Clergy
Appalachian District

 

Genesis 1:1-19

1:1 At the beginning of God’s creating

           of the heavens and the earth,

2         when the earth was wild and waste,

           Darkness over the face of Ocean,

           Rushing-spirit of God hovering over the face of the waters –

3         God said: Let there be light! And there was light.

4         God saw the light: that it was good.

           God separated the light from the darkness.

5         God called the light: Day! and the darkness he called: Night!

           There was setting, there was dawning: one day.

6         God said:

           Let there be a dome amid the waters,

           and let it separate waters from waters!

7         God made the dome

           and separated the waters that were below the dome from the  

              waters that were above the dome.

           It was so.

8         God called the dome: Heaven!

           There was setting, there was dawning: second day.

9         God said:

           Let the waters under the heavens be gathered to one place,

           and let the dry land be seen!

           It was so.

10       God called the dry land: Earth! and the gathering of the waters he

              called Seas!

           God saw that it was good.

11       God said:

           Let the earth sprout forth with sprouting-growth,

           plants that seed forth seeds, fruit trees that yield fruit, after

              kind (and) in which is their seed, upon the earth!

           It was so.

12       The earth brought forth sprouting-growth,

           plants that seed forth seeds, after their kind,

           trees that yield fruit, in which is their seed, after their kind.

           God saw that it was good.

13       There was setting, there was dawning: third day.

14       God said:

           Let there be lights in the dome of the heavens, to separate the

              day from the night,

           that they may be for signs—for set-times, for days and years,

15       and let them be for lights in the dome of the heavens, to provide

              light upon the earth!

           It was so.

16       God made the two great lights,

           the greater light for ruling the day and the smaller light for ruling

   the night,

           and the stars.

17       God placed them in the dome of the heavens

18       to provide light upon the earth, to rule the day and the night, to

              separate the light from the darkness.

           God saw that it was good.

19       There was setting, there was dawning: fourth day.

Devotion

Easter Monday

Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! The shout still echoes on the days and weeks after Easter. Alleluia! Or, as some might wonder – now what? From the earliest days of the Christian church, many scholars have considered Easter Sunday to be the 8th day of creation. With that in mind, we will look at the creation story in Genesis. I am using the translation by Everett Fox.[1] His translation from the Hebrew to English is guided by the principle that the Bible is meant to be read aloud. Therefore, his translation simulates the rhythm and sound of the original Hebrew. 

Out of chaos, order begins to take shape. Notice the pattern – God speaks, it happens, it’s good. God names it. Night. Morning. Next! Also notice, the day begins in the evening, when the world is at rest. God is at work without anyone’s help. Day and night are separated, light from dark. Plants spring up that can reproduce, but no animals or people just yet. God declares it all good. When we speak of creation, there is something else that seems obvious, but is worth mentioning. We believe that there is a Creator who creates creatures or creations. Subject-verb – object. John Wesley says that we are to notice that the Lord gave the world and that the Lord also did the work.  

During this Easter season, we celebrate Christ’s resurrection. And we also see in the gospel of John that Christ was there from the beginning, “The Word was with God in the beginning. Everything came into being through the Word, and without the Word, nothing came into being.” (John 1:2-3a CEB) 

In the spring of the year, new life is bursting forth, as it was planned from the beginning.  At the same time, we celebrate Resurrection – new life bursting forth from the grave. This is good news! What are we doing to invite others to share in that life in the light of God? In that life that, from the beginning, God declared good? 

Prayer

Holy Creator God, help us to see your work in the world around us, including all humans you created in your image. Remind us that we are loved. Amen.