SCRIPTURE: (Read, Wonder, Listen: Stories from the Bible for Young Readers  by Laura Alary and Ann Sheng.

Copyright © 2017 Laura Alary and Ann Sheng, Wood Lake Publishing Inc. Used by permission.)

 

In the Beginning (Based on Genesis 1)

In the beginning there was nothing.
No up or down.
No near or far.
No yesterday or tomorrow.
Only God.
Here.
Now.
Then came the idea.
The idea came from God and was part of God,
yet it seemed to have a life of its own.
From that idea all things came to be.
Light and darkness.
Time and space.
Energy and matter.
Everything needed to make a universe.
God gathered them together and set to work.
Out of swirling gas clouds, fiery stars ignited with a whoosh.
Planets and moons spun together,
and galaxies danced like snowflakes on a winter night.
It must have been wonderful –
dreaming, imagining,
making all those things that had never been made before.
God could see that it was all good.
The idea kept growing.
On the edge of one galaxy – a sun.
Whirling around the sun – a planet.
Small. Lifeless. Covered in dark waters.
Nothing special at first.
Then the breath of God came like a breeze and ruffled the
surface of the waters.
Something wonderful happened.
Deep in the seas, there was life.
Simple at first,
but then more complex.
It was as if God could simply not get enough of
dreaming up new forms of life.
They filled the seas.
They walked on the land.
They flew in the air.
Flowers bloomed and insects buzzed.
The little world teemed with life and colour,
scent and sound.
God looked at everything with delight.
You know how it is when you make something.
You picture it in your mind, but sometimes your
own creation can surprise you.
It was all so good – so wonderful:
lovely patterns hidden everywhere,
the cleverness of living things
who rode on the wind and waves to make their homes
in every imaginable place.
God enjoyed every bit of it.
Day and night.
Light and dark.
Land and sea.
Sky and earth.
Sun and moon.
Maybe God even laughed out loud at the sight
of dolphins leaping,
or birds doing funny dances to attract each other.
This is too good to keep to myself, thought God.
So God made another kind of living thing,
one even more like God than all the others.
This living thing could
love
laugh
delight in beauty
think
imagine
wonder
choose
maybe even have ideas of its own.
When God was finished working, it was time to rest.
Glad to be part of such a wonderful world,
the new creature rested too.

Affirmation:
One: This is the witness of The Church,
Many: thanks be to God!

THE MESSAGE:  Poetic Reflections

This week, I felt the need for poetic reflection, which doesn’t happen very often. I needed poetic reflection because in the midst of the 4^th wave which many, many experts predicted months and months ago, I find myself wondering how I can have so much love for humanity while, at the same time, have so much hate. And it truly is the emotion of hate; it’s not enough for me to use softened descriptors such as frustration or disappointment or disbelief. I’m embarrassed to admit that it is hate. And that very shocking realization followed 24 covid deaths in 24 hours, protests in front of hospitals, and the provincial government’s press conference Wednesday night, and it made me get up at 4am on Thursday morning, questioning whether I even had the capability to move from hate back to love of humanity.

It scared me – this visceral feeling of hate. And for my own wellbeing, I knew that I couldn’t remain in that state, but I honestly had no idea how to even begin to journey through this darkness that hit me like a brick wall. And that knowledge of knowing I couldn’t stay surrounded by this scary feeling, forced me to desperately seek hope. And my usual go-to would have been conversation with another human being, which, unfortunately, didn’t work. But to my surprise, while starting to work on my sermon, I found this morning’s scripture reading; in poetic form. It spoke to me right away.

I was drawn in with the very first line…’In the beginning there was nothing’…That’s how I felt; like there was no hope in humanity. No up or down, no near or far, no yesterday or tomorrow. Nothing. That feeling of being stuck, trapped in the only emotion I could feel which was the most awful for me, hate. And then… a glimmer of light came in the next lines ‘Only God. Here. Now.’ and I found myself tearing up with that reassurance that comes to me again and again, that I am not alone and this is God’s world.

I was hooked, and the poem didn’t disappoint because then came the playfulness, which is truly at the heart of who I am. ‘Then came the idea’ the poem continued, and I felt anticipation and excitement; tell me, what idea? ‘The idea came from God and was part of God, yet it seemed to have a life of its own. From that idea all things came to be.’ And all those things we are so familiar with in our Creation Story are listed and I especially appreciate the writer incorporating both the poetic storytelling with, essentially, the scientifically proven big bang at the start of our universe when they write ‘Out of swirling gas clouds, fiery starts ignited with a whoosh’.

As things were created, a pause… to acknowledge ‘It must have been wonderful – ‘ and all of us can relate to the words that follow: ‘dreaming, imaging, making all those things that had never been made before’ and God could see that it was all good. The idea kept growing and as in our traditional creation story, the sun came, the earth, and the acknowledgement that it was nothing special at first. Until, that is, until the breath of God came like a breeze and ruffled the surface of the waters and then life began, simply at first, but then more complex…’it was as if God could simply not get enough’ and life continued beyond the waters to the four-legged, the ones with wings, colour and life emerged and ‘God looked at everything with delight…and enjoyed every bit of the surprise at their own creation’. And I have to say my favourite part of this poem is when God is described as maybe having laughed out loud at the sight of dolphins leaping and the funny dances of birds. I’m exactly the same way when I see our pups chasing each other on our early-morning walks or when I’m on my bike and come across a very tame gopher saying hello to me or seeing a majestic heron in the water or an osprey on it’s nest or a fantastic sunrise. And what do I instantly do? I take a video or picture in order to show Todd when I get home because it’s too good to keep to myself. And in our reading this morning, God does the same and that’s when humanity is created and from that creation onward, we find ourselves striving to mimic God in the world with that same wonder and excitement. And slowly, my hate begins to weaken…

As my wall begins to show cracks of hope and light, I come across this poem and what attracted me to it was that I, the reader, was being invited to experience creation from the viewpoint of earth. I am invited into earth’s shoes, so to speak.

(slide of ‘earth has hope’) 

I Am Earth, Baby Earth, by Norman Habel

In the beginning, I was waiting deep in the primal waters, that primal womb. I was waiting in the darkness

like an embryo waiting to be born. Above, God hovered over the waters, like a midwife.

Then God said, “Light. We need some light so that Earth can be seen.” And night entered the primal darkness.

Then God said, “Space. We need some space for Earth to appear.” So God placed the canopy over the waters

with space below it.

Light! Space! Action!

Then God said, “Let the primal waters part and let the land waiting beneath appear.” Suddenly the waters burst

and I came forth, a newborn child of God.

Do you know what God named me? Earth!

Yes, I am baby Earth.

To demonstrate that I was alive and breathing, God said, “Let Earth bring forth vegetation, every kind of flora.”

Soon I was really alive and green!

God looked at me, this new living being, this baby from the deep and said, “Beautiful”!

© Norman Habel. Used by permission.

Me…Tracy Robertson of Calgary Alberta…God looked at ME….and said, ‘beautiful’ and it was then and there that I was suddenly reminded that if God thinks me beautiful, then they think others beautiful; in fact, all of humanity is beautiful in God’s eyes. Through God’s lens, those I felt true hate towards, are beautiful. And so all that I have preached about came at me at once; almost like a test. God being love and wherever we see love, we see God. When we witness love, we witness God. When we live out love to the other, we live out God. But what was I doing? Living out hate … is most assuredly not of God. But what to do? While vaccinations are now growing, there are still a lot of people who refuse; some of them our very own family members. No matter what your stance, we are in a state of division with people we love and so how do we continue to love? “I am Earth, Baby Earth” is a powerful poem because we are imagining being the Earth as she’s born. And this sort of imagining invites us to see things from another point of view. In fact, that imagining has often been my way of moving from judgment to Open Hands, from misunderstanding to an Open Heart; from closed-off to Open Minded. When I imagine being that body of water with more and more pollution running through me, I can almost feel myself being choked. When I saw the before and after pictures of places like Los Angeles and the air being visibly cleaner after COVID lockdowns, I almost felt the earth breath easier.

We become affirming after hearing personal stories of people being mistreated because we can imagine what they’ve experienced. Personal stories are what encouraged the Truth and Reconciliation process and it’s personal stories that continue to keep us truthful about our history. I’ve shared personal stories of my experiences in the jail and with ex-offenders after their release from prison; stories which I know have opened the minds of others and fostered some understanding. Empathy comes from walking in someone else’s shoes; imagining what it would be like to be in their situation, feel what they’re feeling, experience what they have experienced. When someone shares their excitement about learning they’re going to be a parent or grand parent, we feel that joy, too. When we hear stories about how our many rainbows make people literally feel safe, we feel their happiness and their relief. We plan surprise parties because we imagine the joy someone will feel. When we imagine the discomfort some experience at being touched and choose, instead, to greet someone without touch, we can feel their joy and comfort at being cared for in this way. We all share the same home – planet earth – which, of course, means we are all connected. If hate is what I am sharing with the world, then through this connection, many more are feeling hate. I don’t want to be responsible for that. I want to be responsible for sharing love with the world, so that through our interconnectedness, many more will, as a result, feel love.

(insert ‘identity’ picture) 

It is when I step into another’s experiences that I gain an awareness of their spirits. I’m reminded that their very presence is worthy and of value. All our spiritual forces interact with each other and it’s imagining that interaction that can lead me to understanding and empathy. All of creation’s spiritual forces are indeed connected. WE are interconnected with each other, with creation, and with God, and it is good.

This is too good to keep to myself, thought God.

So God made another kind of living thing,

one even more like God than all the others.

This living thing could

love

laugh

delight in beauty

think

imagine

wonder

choose

maybe even have ideas of its own.

And so, on this Planet Earth Sunday, I celebrate my identity; kin with all living creatures on Earth, and the amazing reality that Creator Spirit continues to help me imagine my interconnectedness which has widened the cracks in my wall of hate and allowed understanding and empathy through and the hope of finding common ground with all.

When God was finished working, it was time to rest.

Glad to be part of such a wonderful world,

the new creature rested too.

Amen