“The Breath of Life” Text: Genesis 2:1-7
Elpis Christian Church
September 13, 2009
“Once upon a time….”
“Long ago, in a galaxy far, far away….”
“It was the best of times – it was the worst of times….”
First lines – they are meant to peak your interest, give you a little hint of the exciting things to come, and most of all – get you to keep reading or watching for whatever comes next. Authors and Advertisers have agonized over them since the printed word has existed. And storytellers of every culture and every age have struggled to find just the right words to get things going in the right direction. They have struggled to find that key, opening phrase that will get their hearers to scoot a little closer by the campfire, so that they won’t miss a word.
For the writers of Genesis – those words were simple and powerful enough.
“In the beginning….”
In the beginning- who did what? God. God did what? Created. Created – created what? Everything. And I mean EVERYTHING. Oh – then what happened next? This is how the ancient storytellers started to spin the tale that has captivated people ever since. And it’s where our story begins today.
Today I’m starting a sermon series that is going to take us all the way through the magnificent story of stories that we know as the BIBLE. And as we get started, the first thing I want to do is issue an invitation, or, to put it more strongly, I want to issue a warning of sorts. As together we weave our way through the stories, and poetry, and prophetic speeches, and personal correspondence, and everything else that makes up our Bible – don’t assume you’ve already heard it all. The scriptures may be as familiar to you as the back of your own hand – but that doesn’t mean you know what they say – not completely at least. Why? Well, J. Stephen Lang says it well, in quoting an old preacher he knows. He cautions us to remember something: “The Bible is never about someone else. It’s always about you – and God.”
So the very first thing we have to remember is this. The story we will be learning about is our OWN. The Bible’s many authors, what Lang rightly calls, “a mixed bag of shepherds, kings, fishermen, teachers, scribes, warriors, and many more – “had no intention of writing just to record history or just to entertain.” They wrote to establish a link between you and God. And that is what makes the Bible so unique a collection of texts.
So – “In the beginning…” isn’t just about what happened years and years ago when a swirling mass of chaos became a universe – it’s about how YOUR story – how YOU began. And that story – well, it’s still unfolding isn’t it? As one sage has put it, “we are ALL works in progress.”
So – let’s get back to the beginning….
The story begins with the startling idea that God himself blew the breath of life into the lungs of our ancestors. And that breath of life has been passed on again and again and again and again. We are not accidents. We are not just somebody’s chemistry experiment either. We have the divine breath in us – and that makes us something very special doesn’t it? When our story – when humanity’s story – begins with that as its preface – well, it changes everything doesn’t it? It means every single human being that has ever drew breath and ever walked the worth; every single man, woman, and child, who has ever looked around and wondered what it was all about – regardless of race, creed, color, politics, economic or social status – educated or illiterate, Christian, Buddhist, Muslim, Atheist – EVERYONE – is our brother or sister. God breathed – God breathes – the breath of life into all our lungs. That changes everything doesn’t it? It means that regardless of whatever else we do with our story – we remember that everyone shares in that story. We are all the children of God – PERIOD. Then, once we bring everything else into the picture, well, that’s when things get complicated.
Am I saying everyone’s beliefs are equal – everyone’s political opinions, or cultural practices, or religions, or attitudes or ideas are all equal? No. I am not a relativist. What I am saying is that everyone who ever walked the worth, everyone who walks the earth today, and everyone who will ever walk the earth is of equal value. God breathed the breath of life; God breathes the breath of life, into us all. And if we are ever to make sense of our story – we must remember that.
Another thing I take from our common story, right here at the beginning is that amazingly not only do we share a common creation – we all share a common creative responsibility as well. Genesis says at the very outset the Creator God said, “Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, and over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.” If you ask me, there’s a lot more to that statement than just giving us all a hunting and fishing license, and I think it’s a lot more than just a commercial for being environmentally careful too. I think God is saying, “I created all this – and now – I put it in your hands. Be careful with it. It’s a fragile, beautiful thing. This world – my world – is your world. Take care of it. Take care of each other.”
We have in us the very breath of life. And we share a responsibility with every other living, breathing, creature – to be good stewards of all that is. Not just the physical world in which we live – but everything – our relationships too. We are CO-CREATORS and CO-SUSTAINORS with God. What an awesome responsibility – what an awesome blessing! How much God must love us all, and how much he must TRUST us all. Unfortunately, also “in the beginning” humanity did a poor job of it. Genesis tells of paradise and plenty – and in the very next few lines – begins to unfold a terrible story of disobedience, mayhem, and murder. Paradise lost indeed.
What strikes me as being truly amazing is that this is not just the tale of some ancient ancestor. Again, it is our story – yours and mine – today. Every single day that we draw the breath that God first put inside of us – we have the choice to make in some fresh new way. To celebrate and care for creation – to celebrate and care for each other – once again, or to just use it up and throw it away – use each other and throw each other away – like so much garden refuse. Time marches on in a relentless straight line – and every single moment provides us with the opportunity to do our part to add something beautiful to the creation – or add something ugly.
Elizabeth and I just returned from a brief vacation. And I try never to take any vacation time when I don’t spend at least a few hours at the ocean. Why? Because in that massive, swirling, salty, mess of life there is a constant reminder of the amazing universe of which I am an important part. There is a reminder – in every leaping porpoise and every tiny hermit crab – a reminder that we all share the same divine breath. And I can either bring something beautiful and creative to the mix – or I can add something ugly and destructive with which some other child of God will need to contend. Life itself hangs in the balance.
It’s all part of the Genesis story. When we have lived out our allotted days and we pass from this earth and we are once again ashes to ashes and dust to dust – will we have shown we valued the divine breath we breathed and which we shared with others – or will have just taken up so much space?
When God first started the ball rolling our ancestors made a choice or two. They made some wonderful, life-giving, creative choices and they made some terribly destructive ones. And humanity has been making choices ever since. Now – you and I have come along – to be part of the story. What shall our contribution be?
Today – take a good look at the sunset. Take a deep breath of the evening air. Imagine what “Eden” must have first been like. Dream what “Paradise” to come might be. Listen to a child – your own or someone else – giggle in delight. Tell someone you love them, or forgive them, or just – laugh at the miracle of it all. Put your problems in proper perspective. Re-commit yourself to being part of God’s wonderful creation. Worry less. And - Thank God - for the breath of life.
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