In the Beginning - Blessing!
Genesis 1:1-31
October 15, 2006
In the beginning... In the beginning, in the time before time...
In the beginning, before there was anything, when everything that was to be was still part
of one gigantic emptiness, a sphere of pregnant possibility....
In the beginning there was Love, pulsing, beating, yearning; LOVE longing, for a way to
love.
In the beginning there was Love and the creative energy of Love would not, could not be
contained.
In the beginning there was Love and the Creative Energy of Love moved across the sphere
of pregnant possibility calling forth from its very heart the shimmering radiance we call LIGHT.
And Love saw that LIGHT was good, which is to say a blessing. But Love also recognized the
need for darkness, a time to rest and grow, a time to ponder and pause and so the Creative
Energy of Love separated the Holy LIGHT from the Sacred DARK and those blessings of creation
we call day and night first took shape. And Love saw that LIGHT and DARK were good, which is
to say a blessing.
But Love needed more ways to pour forth the blessings of Love's Heart and so in the
beginningness of all things the Creative Energy of Love moved again and a blanket of Holy
Breath enveloped the sphere of pregnant possibility, protected and nurtured it like a mother
enfolds her newborn babe and the sky above became distinct from the waters below. Not yet
satisfied the Creative Energy of Love moved again and the waters began to separate and the
dry land began to emerge and the sparking orb we call Earth began to take shape. And Love
saw that all that was, was good, which is to say a blessing.
Even so Love had still more blessings to pour forth and so the Creative Energy of Love
moved again and the earth began to sprout all manner of green and growing things, and moon
and stars took shape, fish began to play in the water and birds began to soar through the air
and all manner of life began to dance on the sacred earth. And Love saw that it was all good,
which is to say a blessing.
But still there was more love that needed to be expressed, more blessings that Love longed
to share and so Love pondered the possibilities and danced with the Creative Energy of Love
until a deep desire was fulfilled and two earth creatures took shape, two creatures we call
female and male, two souls teeming with all the Creative Energy of Love, two selves filled with
the deep desire to continue Love's work, the very image of Love, capable of Loving Love with
Love's own passion. And Love saw that all of Love's work was good, so very, very good, which
is to say a blessing, a gift, a treasure to be savored and enjoyed and cherished. May Love -
which is to say God- bless our hearing and our understanding of this story of the begingingness
of all things.
In the beginning, at the moment of creation, there is blessing -immeasurable blessing;
unimaginable blessing. In fact in his book Original Blessing, Matthew Fox asserts that blessing is
the very purpose of creation. And he points to the fact that the word for blessing -Berakah and
the word for create -Bara come from the same root and carry the same energy. The Whole of
Creation -and that includes each of us- is a blessing, an original blessing, a gift from the heart
of Love, which is to say God.
E:\Church Web\Sermons\10-15-06 Gen 1-1-31.docLast printed 10/31/2006 9:11:00 AM - 2 -
Think about it for a minute.... When we love others -especially our children- what is it we
want to do? We want to provide for them and give them every opportunity for a full and joyous
life, don't we? We want to spend time with them. We want to share with them the things that
will bless their lives. We want to give them the blessings we call gifts. And we hope, don't we,
that they will enjoy, cherish and savor the gifts we give, the opportunities we provide and the
blessings we share.
Once upon a time there was a Jewish Rabbi who dreamed that he had a heart attack and
died. In the way of dreams he then saw himself outside the throne room of God, waiting to be
called before the Holy One. The Archangel Uriel appeared and said "In just a moment you will
be called before the Holy One -Blessed be He/ Blessed be She- where your life will be judged
based on how you answer one question and one question only. So, while you wait, you should
prepare yourself by reviewing your life."
Alarmed at this possibility the Rabbi began pacing back and forth thinking, thinking,
reviewing his life, trying to remember which of the 612 commandments he might have failed to
follow. Was their some wrong he had failed to right? If so it would be his luck that it would be
the basis of the question rather than all the good things he did and all the times when he did
follow the Torah. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, the doors opened and he was
escorted into the Holy of Holies, where he immediately fell to the ground, lest he look upon the
face of God.
"Stand up, my child," the voice of Love said. "Stand up and behold my beauty and my
radiance." Slowly and cautiously the Rabbi got to his feet and was dazzled by the shimmering
radiance before him. And the voice of Love spoke saying, "My beloved child, your life will be
judged on the basis of how you answer this question: 'Which one of the good gifts of my
creation, the blessings I have poured into your life, have you failed to savor, cherish and
enjoy?"
Then suddenly in the way of dreams the Rabbi saw the doctors apply the defibrillator
paddles to the chest of his corpse and he was shocked back to life. Awakening with a start he
began to see with new eyes and love with a new heart as he began to celebrate the goodness
and cherish the blessing of all that is.
In another one of his books, Creation Spirituality: Liberating Gifts for the Peoples of the
Earth, Matthew Fox offers what he calls the Four Commandments of the way of blessing named
Creation Centered Spirituality, the first of those commandments is "Thou shalt fall in love at
least three times a day." In elaborating what he means by this he enumerates things that
might be objects of our love saying:
...we could fall in love with a galaxy every day ...there are one trillion of them,... or
we could fall in love with a star, of which there are 200 billion in our galaxy alone.
Or a species of wildflower, of which there are at least 10,000 on this planet. Or a
species of bird, of fish, of tree, of plant.... We could fall in love with music, poetry,
painting, dance. If we fell in love with one of Mozart's works each week we would
have seven years of joy. How could we ever be bored?
In Paul's letter to the Philippians, we read:
Finally, beloved, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just,
whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any
excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.
[Philippians 4:8]
It seems to me that all too often we focus on our lack, rather than on the abundance of
God's blessings. We focus on our failures rather than the times we have lived up to the vision
E:\Church Web\Sermons\10-15-06 Gen 1-1-31.docLast printed 10/31/2006 9:11:00 AM - 3 -
God had for us in the beginning, at the moment of our creation. How many of the good gifts of
God's creation, the blessings God has poured into your life, have you failed to savor, cherish
and enjoy? As a congregation, how many of the good gifts of God's creation, the blessings God
has poured into our life, have we failed to savor, cherish and enjoy because we have been so
concerned about meeting the budget and paying the bills? God has given enough and more
than enough. We are blessed beyond reason. How might our lives and this community of faith
be different if we "fell in love" at least three times every day?
I don't have the answer to that question, but I have a deep sense that life might just be a
whole lot more joyful if we did. So I want to challenge all of us to a spiritual practice for the
next 30 days. I want you to get a small notebook or a journal and at least one time everyday sit
quietly, breathe in God's loving presence for a minute or two and then write down three
blessings in your life that come to mind. Sounds easy, doesn't it? But here's the challenge, once
you've written something down you can't repeat it -ever. So don't just say family -name the
individuals God has given into your closest circle of relationships. Don't just say friends, but
name them. Even better don't just list their names, but list a specific way in which they bless
you, that way you can be aware of the many different ways in which your loved ones are
blessings to your life. And after you've done the obvious easy ones, get down to the nitty gritty
little things like a warm cup of tea, the smell of the earth after the rain, a rainbow that
reminded you of God's promise of eternal love, a particular kind of flower, a smile that came
from a stranger at just the moment you needed to believe life was good, something one of your
family members or friends did that blessed you in a particular way. And don't forget to include
those things we sometimes don't think of as blessings, like garden snakes that eat mice or the
opportunity to help a friend or give a gift that blesses someone else, the chance to express your
gratitude to someone who has blessed you or even the difficult person who allows you to
deepen your faith or think through your values. How might our lives and this community of faith
be different if each and every one of us made it a practice once every day to write down just
three blessings we have received? Let's try it and see what happens!
Every breath we take is the beginning of a new moment of creation and in the beginning
there is always blessing! May we dare to savor, cherish and enjoy each and every blessing, so
that when we enter the holy of holies and Love asks us 'Which one of the good gifts of my
creation, the blessings I have poured into your life, have you failed to savor, cherish and
enjoy?" WE can joyfully reply "I have cherished and enjoyed them all!" Amen.
Genesis 1:1-31
October 15, 2006
In the beginning... In the beginning, in the time before time...
In the beginning, before there was anything, when everything that was to be was still part
of one gigantic emptiness, a sphere of pregnant possibility....
In the beginning there was Love, pulsing, beating, yearning; LOVE longing, for a way to
love.
In the beginning there was Love and the creative energy of Love would not, could not be
contained.
In the beginning there was Love and the Creative Energy of Love moved across the sphere
of pregnant possibility calling forth from its very heart the shimmering radiance we call LIGHT.
And Love saw that LIGHT was good, which is to say a blessing. But Love also recognized the
need for darkness, a time to rest and grow, a time to ponder and pause and so the Creative
Energy of Love separated the Holy LIGHT from the Sacred DARK and those blessings of creation
we call day and night first took shape. And Love saw that LIGHT and DARK were good, which is
to say a blessing.
But Love needed more ways to pour forth the blessings of Love's Heart and so in the
beginningness of all things the Creative Energy of Love moved again and a blanket of Holy
Breath enveloped the sphere of pregnant possibility, protected and nurtured it like a mother
enfolds her newborn babe and the sky above became distinct from the waters below. Not yet
satisfied the Creative Energy of Love moved again and the waters began to separate and the
dry land began to emerge and the sparking orb we call Earth began to take shape. And Love
saw that all that was, was good, which is to say a blessing.
Even so Love had still more blessings to pour forth and so the Creative Energy of Love
moved again and the earth began to sprout all manner of green and growing things, and moon
and stars took shape, fish began to play in the water and birds began to soar through the air
and all manner of life began to dance on the sacred earth. And Love saw that it was all good,
which is to say a blessing.
But still there was more love that needed to be expressed, more blessings that Love longed
to share and so Love pondered the possibilities and danced with the Creative Energy of Love
until a deep desire was fulfilled and two earth creatures took shape, two creatures we call
female and male, two souls teeming with all the Creative Energy of Love, two selves filled with
the deep desire to continue Love's work, the very image of Love, capable of Loving Love with
Love's own passion. And Love saw that all of Love's work was good, so very, very good, which
is to say a blessing, a gift, a treasure to be savored and enjoyed and cherished. May Love -
which is to say God- bless our hearing and our understanding of this story of the begingingness
of all things.
In the beginning, at the moment of creation, there is blessing -immeasurable blessing;
unimaginable blessing. In fact in his book Original Blessing, Matthew Fox asserts that blessing is
the very purpose of creation. And he points to the fact that the word for blessing -Berakah and
the word for create -Bara come from the same root and carry the same energy. The Whole of
Creation -and that includes each of us- is a blessing, an original blessing, a gift from the heart
of Love, which is to say God.
E:\Church Web\Sermons\10-15-06 Gen 1-1-31.docLast printed 10/31/2006 9:11:00 AM - 2 -
Think about it for a minute.... When we love others -especially our children- what is it we
want to do? We want to provide for them and give them every opportunity for a full and joyous
life, don't we? We want to spend time with them. We want to share with them the things that
will bless their lives. We want to give them the blessings we call gifts. And we hope, don't we,
that they will enjoy, cherish and savor the gifts we give, the opportunities we provide and the
blessings we share.
Once upon a time there was a Jewish Rabbi who dreamed that he had a heart attack and
died. In the way of dreams he then saw himself outside the throne room of God, waiting to be
called before the Holy One. The Archangel Uriel appeared and said "In just a moment you will
be called before the Holy One -Blessed be He/ Blessed be She- where your life will be judged
based on how you answer one question and one question only. So, while you wait, you should
prepare yourself by reviewing your life."
Alarmed at this possibility the Rabbi began pacing back and forth thinking, thinking,
reviewing his life, trying to remember which of the 612 commandments he might have failed to
follow. Was their some wrong he had failed to right? If so it would be his luck that it would be
the basis of the question rather than all the good things he did and all the times when he did
follow the Torah. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, the doors opened and he was
escorted into the Holy of Holies, where he immediately fell to the ground, lest he look upon the
face of God.
"Stand up, my child," the voice of Love said. "Stand up and behold my beauty and my
radiance." Slowly and cautiously the Rabbi got to his feet and was dazzled by the shimmering
radiance before him. And the voice of Love spoke saying, "My beloved child, your life will be
judged on the basis of how you answer this question: 'Which one of the good gifts of my
creation, the blessings I have poured into your life, have you failed to savor, cherish and
enjoy?"
Then suddenly in the way of dreams the Rabbi saw the doctors apply the defibrillator
paddles to the chest of his corpse and he was shocked back to life. Awakening with a start he
began to see with new eyes and love with a new heart as he began to celebrate the goodness
and cherish the blessing of all that is.
In another one of his books, Creation Spirituality: Liberating Gifts for the Peoples of the
Earth, Matthew Fox offers what he calls the Four Commandments of the way of blessing named
Creation Centered Spirituality, the first of those commandments is "Thou shalt fall in love at
least three times a day." In elaborating what he means by this he enumerates things that
might be objects of our love saying:
...we could fall in love with a galaxy every day ...there are one trillion of them,... or
we could fall in love with a star, of which there are 200 billion in our galaxy alone.
Or a species of wildflower, of which there are at least 10,000 on this planet. Or a
species of bird, of fish, of tree, of plant.... We could fall in love with music, poetry,
painting, dance. If we fell in love with one of Mozart's works each week we would
have seven years of joy. How could we ever be bored?
In Paul's letter to the Philippians, we read:
Finally, beloved, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just,
whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any
excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.
[Philippians 4:8]
It seems to me that all too often we focus on our lack, rather than on the abundance of
God's blessings. We focus on our failures rather than the times we have lived up to the vision
E:\Church Web\Sermons\10-15-06 Gen 1-1-31.docLast printed 10/31/2006 9:11:00 AM - 3 -
God had for us in the beginning, at the moment of our creation. How many of the good gifts of
God's creation, the blessings God has poured into your life, have you failed to savor, cherish
and enjoy? As a congregation, how many of the good gifts of God's creation, the blessings God
has poured into our life, have we failed to savor, cherish and enjoy because we have been so
concerned about meeting the budget and paying the bills? God has given enough and more
than enough. We are blessed beyond reason. How might our lives and this community of faith
be different if we "fell in love" at least three times every day?
I don't have the answer to that question, but I have a deep sense that life might just be a
whole lot more joyful if we did. So I want to challenge all of us to a spiritual practice for the
next 30 days. I want you to get a small notebook or a journal and at least one time everyday sit
quietly, breathe in God's loving presence for a minute or two and then write down three
blessings in your life that come to mind. Sounds easy, doesn't it? But here's the challenge, once
you've written something down you can't repeat it -ever. So don't just say family -name the
individuals God has given into your closest circle of relationships. Don't just say friends, but
name them. Even better don't just list their names, but list a specific way in which they bless
you, that way you can be aware of the many different ways in which your loved ones are
blessings to your life. And after you've done the obvious easy ones, get down to the nitty gritty
little things like a warm cup of tea, the smell of the earth after the rain, a rainbow that
reminded you of God's promise of eternal love, a particular kind of flower, a smile that came
from a stranger at just the moment you needed to believe life was good, something one of your
family members or friends did that blessed you in a particular way. And don't forget to include
those things we sometimes don't think of as blessings, like garden snakes that eat mice or the
opportunity to help a friend or give a gift that blesses someone else, the chance to express your
gratitude to someone who has blessed you or even the difficult person who allows you to
deepen your faith or think through your values. How might our lives and this community of faith
be different if each and every one of us made it a practice once every day to write down just
three blessings we have received? Let's try it and see what happens!
Every breath we take is the beginning of a new moment of creation and in the beginning
there is always blessing! May we dare to savor, cherish and enjoy each and every blessing, so
that when we enter the holy of holies and Love asks us 'Which one of the good gifts of my
creation, the blessings I have poured into your life, have you failed to savor, cherish and
enjoy?" WE can joyfully reply "I have cherished and enjoyed them all!" Amen.
