Genesis 1:1—2:4a Creation by word; light, life; it was good.
They say that the beginning is a very fine place to start, and that is where we find ourselves at the start of this narrative lectionary year. We probably know this passage. We may know that this passage and its content have been and are at the center of debates that have split the church. (7 24 hours for creation, metaphor, creation or evolution) What happens on each day, the order of creation, and what the individual words mean have been the subject of much theological debate.
Because it is the beginning, the creation, it is innately connected to everything that comes after it. This is a foundational passage. So what should we remember from this passage as we approach everything else? God speaks, and things happen. God made it all, and declared it good and very good. God’s word – spoken, incarnate, written – sets the boundaries and defines the creation. God’s work is only done with rest.
This passage is first for a reason. How does its message resonate in our faiths lived each and every day?
