Day 1: Genesis 1-3, Matthew 1, Psalm 1
“…and they meditate on his law day and night. They are like trees planted by streams of water…” (Psalm 1:2b-3a).
My favorite tree is a venerable Atlas Cedar that stands
sentinel over the Bishop’s Garden on the grounds of the National
Cathedral. Impossibly long green-blue boughs, gnarled and lithe, reach to the sky in a loving embrace. It conveys power, beauty and life – a God-given image for a life rooted, growing and thriving in God’s love, as the psalmist understood.
In Genesis 1 we start not at the beginning but in the
beginning and so are drawn into the glorious mystery of God’s eternal being. From the creative power of God’s Word springs forth life, which evolves in an orderly way, from the simple to the complex, from the inorganic to the organic. God’s creative work culminates with humankind – male and female – formed in God’s image. Our spiritual DNA enables us to receive and respond to God and to mirror, however imperfectly, God’s nature. I find this holy and humbling each day. Genesis presents us not with a scientific blueprint of creation, but something more profoundly revealing: God’s desire for humanity and all creation to share in God’s abundant life. As God says, this is “very good”. It still is.
God’s affirmation of the goodness of creation is cosmic and personal. At our baptisms, the moment of God’s birthing us as children of God by water and the Holy Spirit, we hear the words Abba spoke at Jesus’ baptism, echoing and personalizing the divine affirmation: “This is my beloved child, joy of my
heart, with whom I am well pleased.” This is very good, indeed.
A favorite game we play in our family is selecting the names for future pets –Isabella the cat, Dietrich the German Shepherd. It’s not just a game, for in Genesis 2, God creates human community, the mutuality of Eve and Adam as companions, whose responsibility includes naming the animals. Stewardship of creation remains fundamental human work. This stewardship extends to ourselves. God gives us the gift of the Sabbath rest, the regular pause of reflection and re-creation as a holy pattern for living. This gift is ever more precious in a world which values human success increasingly in terms of multi-tasking productivity.
Genesis 3 changes everything. Evil craftily asserts itself into the human condition distorting our relationship with God. Disobedience to God’s command provokes the distressing consequences of fracturing our relationship with God, each other and with creation itself. A Dr. Phil-like episode of “the blame game” ensues in which Eve blames the snake, while Adam blames Eve and God. Instead of walking with God in the cool of the evening breeze, Adam and Eve run for cover. Banished from our intended home, they live in a world “east of Eden.” This is where we still live.
The word “obedient” at its etymological root means to “listen deeply”. As we listen anew for God’s call, we hear the call to come home to God. Our journey to read the Bible in a year points us to this second journey: the life-long sacred pilgrimage to return to our first Love and true home. As St. Augustine wrote, “our hearts are restless until they rest in Thee.”
Through the generations, God issues this call until the Call becomes flesh and dwells among us as Jesus, whose very name means “God saves”. As the opening of Matthew’s gospel reveals, it begins with a faithful maiden, Mary, and a gracious husband, Joseph, and continues when we say “yes” to God’s life being born in us.
In just these first several chapters, the flow of God’s living water feels unimaginable wide and deep. It’s good to be an Atlas Cedar planted by this stream.
The Rev. Andrew J. Sherman,
Rector, St. Gregory's Episcopal Church, Boca Raton
“…and they meditate on his law day and night. They are like trees planted by streams of water…” (Psalm 1:2b-3a).
My favorite tree is a venerable Atlas Cedar that stands
sentinel over the Bishop’s Garden on the grounds of the National
Cathedral. Impossibly long green-blue boughs, gnarled and lithe, reach to the sky in a loving embrace. It conveys power, beauty and life – a God-given image for a life rooted, growing and thriving in God’s love, as the psalmist understood.
In Genesis 1 we start not at the beginning but in the
beginning and so are drawn into the glorious mystery of God’s eternal being. From the creative power of God’s Word springs forth life, which evolves in an orderly way, from the simple to the complex, from the inorganic to the organic. God’s creative work culminates with humankind – male and female – formed in God’s image. Our spiritual DNA enables us to receive and respond to God and to mirror, however imperfectly, God’s nature. I find this holy and humbling each day. Genesis presents us not with a scientific blueprint of creation, but something more profoundly revealing: God’s desire for humanity and all creation to share in God’s abundant life. As God says, this is “very good”. It still is.
God’s affirmation of the goodness of creation is cosmic and personal. At our baptisms, the moment of God’s birthing us as children of God by water and the Holy Spirit, we hear the words Abba spoke at Jesus’ baptism, echoing and personalizing the divine affirmation: “This is my beloved child, joy of my
heart, with whom I am well pleased.” This is very good, indeed.
A favorite game we play in our family is selecting the names for future pets –Isabella the cat, Dietrich the German Shepherd. It’s not just a game, for in Genesis 2, God creates human community, the mutuality of Eve and Adam as companions, whose responsibility includes naming the animals. Stewardship of creation remains fundamental human work. This stewardship extends to ourselves. God gives us the gift of the Sabbath rest, the regular pause of reflection and re-creation as a holy pattern for living. This gift is ever more precious in a world which values human success increasingly in terms of multi-tasking productivity.
Genesis 3 changes everything. Evil craftily asserts itself into the human condition distorting our relationship with God. Disobedience to God’s command provokes the distressing consequences of fracturing our relationship with God, each other and with creation itself. A Dr. Phil-like episode of “the blame game” ensues in which Eve blames the snake, while Adam blames Eve and God. Instead of walking with God in the cool of the evening breeze, Adam and Eve run for cover. Banished from our intended home, they live in a world “east of Eden.” This is where we still live.
The word “obedient” at its etymological root means to “listen deeply”. As we listen anew for God’s call, we hear the call to come home to God. Our journey to read the Bible in a year points us to this second journey: the life-long sacred pilgrimage to return to our first Love and true home. As St. Augustine wrote, “our hearts are restless until they rest in Thee.”
Through the generations, God issues this call until the Call becomes flesh and dwells among us as Jesus, whose very name means “God saves”. As the opening of Matthew’s gospel reveals, it begins with a faithful maiden, Mary, and a gracious husband, Joseph, and continues when we say “yes” to God’s life being born in us.
In just these first several chapters, the flow of God’s living water feels unimaginable wide and deep. It’s good to be an Atlas Cedar planted by this stream.
The Rev. Andrew J. Sherman,
Rector, St. Gregory's Episcopal Church, Boca Raton
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