NRSV Readings for The Baptism of Christ: The 1^st Sunday of Epiphany 2012

Genesis 1.1-5 (i)

Six Days of Creation and the Sabbath

¹In the beginning when God created the heavens and the earth, ²the earth was a formless void and darkness covered the face of the deep, while a wind from God swept over the face of the waters. ³Then God said, ‘Let there be light’; and there was light. ⁴And God saw that the light was good; and God separated the light from the darkness.⁵God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day.

Brother,

A few thoughts on the Old Testament reading for the 1^st Sunday of Epiphany – The Baptism of Jesus.

For the past three years that we have done daily reflections, time never permitted us to do anything more than focus on the Gospel and the Epistle readings. I would like to try to add the Old Testament lesson, if time permits.

It is such a pity that there is so much misrepresentation of the Genesis accounts of Creation. I am saddened by the perpetuation of the misunderstanding that results when they are taken literally, because it is common knowledge, and has been since the time that they were written, that this never was the authors’ original intention; they wrote myths, because they needed this medium to explore truths that are beyond human understanding. Perhaps people would find it helpful if we rather used the word parable for indeed they are as true as those told by Jesus himself. Alan Richardson explains that a parable ‘... conveys a meaning beyond itself.’ The symbolism that parables allow is much more powerful and meaningful than the use of standard cognitive language.

In the beginning ... The writers are keen to show that God is Lord of time; but this phrase can also just refer to ‘once upon a time’, but only if we make sure that people are not given the impression that what follows is a mere ‘fairy-tale’. There does not seem to be much debate in Judaism about what happened before time; as they were too interested in what can  be known and did not seem to be too concerned with questions that can never be answered.

God ... the Hebrew word used here is Elohim – the ‘ordinary word for God; in its plural form. This does not imply any form of polytheism, as Richardson explains: ‘... it represents a deep biblical insight: God is not, and never was, a lonely God. There is personality in God, and a person could not exist alone.’ God is personal, not disinterested, and is surrounded by his heavenly court: angels, spirits – the ‘sons of God’. Richardson continues: ‘... We have here a poetical conception, which is spoilt if taken in a woodenly literalistic way. ... God is the supreme and ‘only God’. But he is not alone. Hence the use of the plural in several passages ...’

Created ... seems to imply something that is beyond human imitation as well as comprehension, because the work of God in creation is miraculous.

... the heaven and the earth ...  the whole universe

I have no time for more now, perhaps before the weekend,

Blessings,

David

Reference: Richardson, A, Genesis 1-11 (SCM, London, 1971)