Sinking In

What the cast of Genesis reveals about ourselves and the God who chooses us.

Making our way through the book of Genesis is to come across a cast of characters that are a collection of courageous and cowardly, faithful and flawed, greedy and generous. Everybody in the line of patriarchs and matriarchs is incredibly imperfect.

After entering into covenant with Abram and Sarai, they travel, evade danger, entertain angels, and eventually have two children. One is banished, then blessed; One is blessed, then almost sacrificed. Also, Abraham offered up Sarah twice to save his own skin (what a guy).

Isaac and Rebecca get together, have two children - Esau and Jacob. It plays out as something of a rivalry with Jacob nipping at the heels of Esau - always wanting what Esau has and wanting to be Esau - as he was favored by Isaac. Their story even involves Jacob conspiring with their Rebecca to steal the blessing of Isaac from Esau…

Jacob runs away, hides out, and marries two women - Leah and Rachel. Between them and two handmaids, this throuple+ has 13 kids among them. Jacob wrestles with God, reconciles with Esau, and when all of that sibling rivalry is settled, it begins to fester among the 12 brothers.

Joseph is Jacob’s favorite, but everyone else hates Joseph. Joseph tells all of his siblings about a dream he had where the sun, the moon, and the stars all bowed down to him… He doesn’t have the best social skills; he comes across as arrogant and entitled. So the brothers conspire to get rid of him, and just stop short of killing him. They throw him in a pit, sell him into slavery, and he’s taken down to Egypt.

If you have ever thought that your family was dysfunctional… you’re in good company.

If you have ever thought that you needed to be perfect to be a person of faith or belong to a faith community… let me tell you a story… or two or three.

What does all of this suggest about humanity? About the God that would choose such a cast? About the relationship between it all?

Our tradition has inspired a host of beautiful works of art often conveying a majesty and some image of “perfection” both in God and humanity. While this can perceive a divine nature that is wondrous and some idea of complete, it can contribute to molding an image of God in our minds that is not only whole, but deserving or demanding of wholeness. Such an image creates distance between us and God. And such an image seems to be distant from our scripture.

In the beginnings of the tradition, the wisdom seems to speak and name the nature of humanity as complex and complicated, beautiful and mysterious and holding potential for all things. We “contain multitudes” to put it plainly. And this is not a problem for God. Not at all.

God not only abides with the complex and complicated, but chooses us and loves us.

Perhaps a work of art that could better shape our image and relation with God is something different than two images of perfection reaching towards each other. Perhaps a simple “hand of God” reaching out to the world would be more true.

Two fingers held together. This is a symbol of humanity and divinity paired together - spirit and matter bound as one - reaching out with holy invitation to meet us and claim us - as we are and not for what we may become.

God truly loves humankind in all of our humanity.

In a moment when all the world is talking about artificial intelligence as superior to humanity or as “god-like.” When the titans of industry question the worth of humankind itself because technology is more efficient, productive, and could replace 100% of what we “do.” And when cultural Christianity presents God and a “saved” human being as the image of perfection…

There is something beautiful and glorious in the devoted love of God to humanity in its fullness- quirks and flaws and inefficiencies included.

There is something sacred about humankind already, as complex and complicated and quirky and flawed as we are and forever may be.

Let’s see what can emerge when we begin with such a story.

Peace,

Rev. Chris McCreight

Manuscript and Video of the sermon, “Even-Steven”