Genesis 1:1-5, the First Reading appointed for the Festival of the Baptism of our Lord in the year of Mark, is as familiar as any text in scriptures. As such we are likely to miss its richness, assuming that its familiarity ensures understanding. Could it be that these opening words of the Bible are both Law and Gospel proclaimed, even as we have begun to understand them embodied in Christ? It will be the preacher's task to answer this question.
(The following questions have been developed to help answer fundamental questions surrounding the function of the Word in the text. These questions are a central concern of Law and Gospel preachers, for as the text functions, so must the sermon. For more on this method and on Law and Gospel preaching in general, see my brief guide, Afflicting the Comfortable, Comforting the Afflicted, available from wipfandstock.com or amazon.)
1. How does the Word function in the text? This amazing opening statement functions as both Law and Gospel. It functions as Law in the sense that it announces that apart from God's work, the world is formless and void. It functions as Gospel in that God initiates light, calls it good, and separates it from the darkness.
2. With whom are you identifying in the text? It's a bit difficult to identify with any person in this unique text, but one tack might be to identify with the one to whom this is addressed - one needing faith. There is no one whose life does not, at least at times, feel formless and void, chaotic, in need of divine intervention. The proclamation that God comes amidst our chaotic lives is good news.
3. What, if any, call to obedience is there in this text? There is clearly no call to obedience here. That will come later in this text, when God says, "Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it."
4. What Law/Gospel couplet is suggested by this text? As stated above, this text is a condensed version of the cosmic story of grace. Couplet language should reflect that: darkness/light; chaos/order; unnamed/named; formless/formed by God.
5. Exegetical work: Nahum Sarna, in his excellent commentary, makes the case for translating the opening verse "When God began to create heaven and earth." He then follows that up with the suggestion that verse 2 is parenthetical, "describing the state of things at the time when God first spoke." The completion of the sentence Sarna understands to be in verse 3. So what we have is, "When God began to create heaven and earth - the earth being unformed and void, with darkness over the surface of the deep and a wind from God sweeping over the water - God said, 'Let there be light'; and there was light." (The JPS Torah Commentary, Genesis, pp. 4-6). This translation, I believe, captures well the Law/Gospel core of this text, as it highlights the work of God as bringing light into an unformed and void world. Sarna is also attentive to the artistic ordering of the text, noting that "the opening proclamation contains seven words; the description of primal chaos is set forth in twice seven words;"etc. (Ibid., p. 4). In Sarna's view, "the quintessential point of the narrative is the idea of ordering that is a result of divine intent."(Ibid, p. 6). Walter Brueggemann, another esteemed scholar, agrees with Sarna that this text is primarily proclamation. In speaking about the entire opening narrative of Genesis, Brueggemann says, "Our exposition will insist that these texts be taken neither as history nor as myth. Rather, we insist that the text is a proclamation of God's decisive dealing with his creation." (Interpretation series, Genesis, p. 16). "[This text] makes a theological claim that a word has been spoken which transforms reality. The word of God which shapes creation is an action which alters reality." "It is important to hear this text as a declaration of the gospel." (Ibid., p. 26). Brueggemann goes further: "The good news found here is that there are beginnings. There are not simply repetitions, moving pieces around, or copying. There are beginnings, and they are wrought by the speech of God which evokes among us a new world. The church has discerned this good news in Jesus of Nazareth. Through him, God's powerful speech is still being spoken. God's powerful wind is still blowing." (Ibid., p. 38).
6. Consider the insights of the pioneers of the New Homiletic? Moving listeners from disequilibrium to equilibrium was the advice Eugene Lowry often gave to preachers. With the evident chaos-to-order movement in this text, the preacher might find Lowry's advice most helpful.
Blessings on your proclamation!
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