Genesis 1:1-2:4a; Psalm 8; II Corinthians 13:11-13; Matthew 28:16-20
The Rev. Candice B. Frazer
Our world has devolved into one of division and despair. At least that is our common perception. We live in a time of angst and anxiety that has difficulty pointing toward a hopeful future, one filled with possibility and promise. Instead, we look back and believe that the best of our years is behind us. We’ve bought into the belief that there was some golden era in which all was right and the world was good and we yearn for that time again. Of course, the last time that all was right and the world was good seems to be the seventh day of creation when God rested. For the next day, Eve would be tempted by a snake and from then on humanity would find itself in a love/hate, redeemed/fall relationship with God that reconstitutes itself again and again across the ages.
We know the story of creation. We know the story of Christ’s resurrection and our redemption. But are we as aware of the story of our regeneration? That is the story of the patriarchs—Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph. It is the story of Moses, of Joshua, of the kings of Israel. It is the story of the prophets—not just Isaiah and Jeremiah but also the songs of Miriam and Hannah and Mary. It is the story of Jesus and the disciples and Paul. Our regeneration is the story of our renewal—a story that never ends because we are bound in an eternal circle with our Creator who is divine and we, as his creation, are tied to our earthliness. The gift we were once given—to be created in his image—has become a curse. Or, at least, so might some believe.
In the beginning God created. Take a moment to think about that. Are your thoughts about what God created or how God created? Are you thinking about the categories of creation: days one through three God created the places—light and dark, sea and sky, dry land—and then, subsequent days four through six, filled them with occupants—sun and moon, sea creatures and birds, animals and humans? Or are you thinking about the Godhead—the God who created through ruahk and word: his breath and his calling into beingness? It is not that one way or the other is better or worse. But the way we think about creation shapes the way we believe we are part of that creation, specifically whether we will favor diversity or unity. To think in terms of the categories of creation is to think in terms of difference. To think in terms of the Godhead, is to think in terms of unity. When I asked you to take a moment to think about the words, “in the beginning God created…” the direction of your thoughts is telling as to the bias that you might hold in this world. Only you will know your own bias—what you do with that will make God known to the world.
As Christians we are called to celebrate the diversity of God even as we worship the unity of God. The diversity of God is made known to us in creation and so is the unity. God works together through breath and word as Creator, Redeemer, Sustainer—that which we know as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—to bring about a creation so diverse and yet, in harmony with itself. And God calls that good. And by the time he gets to us, he calls it very good. Who are we to complain? And yet, that is exactly what our resistance to God and one another manifested through our anxieties and angst really are. Complaints against the divine diversity.
We are created last after the cosmos—the sun and the moon—after the plants and animals—fish and birds and cattle, even worms—and God sees all that he has made and finds pleasure with it. And he takes a day off to soak it up, to rest, to renew. I wonder if he knew just exactly what he had done and thus knew he needed a day in order to appreciate the world he had created because for the rest of eternity he would have to renew it.
The world is created through the Trinity—the Creator, the ruahk (the Spirit), the Word (that second person of the Trinity we know as Jesus)—and it is regenerated—redeemed and renewed again and again through that same Trinity. The story of the book of Genesis is pretty basic: God creates; humans mess it up; but instead of God judging and punishing humankind, he blesses us. He gives Abraham a covenant even though Abraham and Sarah doubt. He gives Jacob the many nations—twelve tribes—even though he is a swindler and a cheat. He gives Joseph—the lowliest, the imprisoned—the power of salvation. That story doesn’t end with Genesis—it is just the beginning. The story of mankind is one of fall and redemption—the blessing of God again and again. We are part of that story—we are part of the Trinity.
The classic example of what Trinity is comes from creation itself. St. Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland, is credited with converting the Irish heathens by comparing the Trinity to a three-leaf clover. It is a striking image and one that has withstood the test of time. For hundreds of years, people have turned to this little weed that grows rampant throughout the world to explain a complicated theological idea. Three-in-One and One-in-Three. Three green leaves all connected together growing from one stem. Good thing St. Patrick wasn’t trying to convert the Southern Redneck—he might have come down with a case of poison ivy.
There is an interesting aspect of the three-leaf clover that St. Patrick doesn’t really touch upon—the stem. There are actually four parts of a three-leaf clover as it is attached to a stem. I don’t think this discounts Patrick’s analogy—I think it offers us a deeper perspective. It gives us a place in the Trinity. We are not God. But the Divine Trinity offers us a place to participate in its creative work. It is not uncommon to hear the Trinity explained as a dance in which we are called to be a partner. The most famous icon of the Trinity depicts a scene in which three divine figures sit at table with an open, fourth space for us to join them in the feast. We are part of the Trinity—and when we are not there, there is a void. We are not God, but we are created in God’s image and invited…afforded the opportunity to partner with God in his creative and redemptive work.
The gift we were given—to be created in God’s image—is the gift of redemption. It has become a curse because we have taken that gift and made it one of judgment. Instead of discovering that no matter how often we fall we are judged harshly and punished for that; how often we put ourselves at the top of the pyramid and want to exercise dominance over others, over creation; or how often just keep our head down and go along to get along believing someone else will take care of it, it’s not my responsibility—no matter how often we fall, we always have to chance to take our place with God lifting up our hearts and our hands to support one another, to support creation. The Trinity is not simply the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—it is our divine dance partner that calls us into harmony with all creation. It calls us into that which is good, which is very good.
The stem which supports the three-leaf clover does not lord itself over the leaf, it holds the leaf up. It holds up the creation, nourishing it, tending to it. Just like the stem, we are not called to be lord of all, instead, in falling the call of Jesus Christ, we are called to be servant of all—to nourish, to tend, to hold up one another, to hold up creation. Jesus’ final words to his disciples begin with a call to action—go and baptize and teach—and they end with a reminder that he will be with us to the end of the age. Jesus as the second person of the Trinity—the Word—has served as the one who reveals the divine presence on earth in human form. We are called to follow in his footsteps in continuing to reveal that presence and we are to remind others that we will never be without his presence.
To be created in God’s image has become a curse because we have forgotten the gift of redemption; because we have forgotten that we are the very presence of the Trinity for those who do not know God. We have become so distracted by our divisions and discord we have forgotten how to celebrate our differences—how to discover that only through our differences that we can be in harmony with one another, with God, with creation itself. We’ve forgotten that to be a part of creation is to be diverse and yet the world, in all of that diversity, lives in harmonious creation. Our world has devolved into despair and discord, and as people of the Trinity, we know that the only way to live in unity is by celebrating our diversity and turning our hearts to the possibility and promise that God’s very creation offers us. Amen.