From the Water

“From the Water”
Genesis 1:1-15; Matthew 3:13-17
Rev. David Hutchinson
Sunday, January 9, 2010
    Both creation and chaos are part of the Genesis story.
    Creation is connected to chaos.  They’re linked together.
    Verse one of Genesis describes God creating.
    And then verse TWO describes the chaos. The WORD for this chaos in Hebrew is “tohu wabhohu”. “Tohu wabhohu” can be translated as “wasteland”, or “formless void”, or “chaos”. “Tohu wabhohu” is NOT nothing. It is something. But it is something - - disordered and desolate.
    Where did it come from?
    And why is it connected to creation?
    I believe the answers to these questions are fundamental to understanding how God creates. God’s creation is good. Creation is alive. Creation has form. It is NOT void. It is something. AND it is something DIFFERENT from the chaos. 
    But chaos and creation are connected.
    There’s a joke that plays with this connection between chaos and creation. It rings a little differently after the events of the past few days and the shooting of an Arizona legislator. But it is instructive nevertheless. If you type “chaos joke” into Google search this is the top result:
It seems that three professionals were arguing about which profession was the oldest. Each was trying to make a case for her OWN profession as the oldest one.
The doctor argued , “Well, the Bible says that God took a rib out of Adam to make a woman. Since clearly that required SURGERY, the oldest profession is surely medicine.”
    The engineer shook her head and responded, “No… The Bible ALSO says that God created the world out of CHAOS. To bring order out of chaos God surely had to have been an engineer. So, engineering is the oldest profession.”
     But the politician - - leaning forward - - replied, “Ah, yes, BUT…who do you think - - created the chaos!?”
    Maybe we should give politicians a break. Maybe the third profession in the joke, the one that created the chaos, should be radio commentator…
    In any case, creation and chaos are connected…it seems.
    But how?      And why?
    Why connect creation and chaos?
    And what is created - - when the CHAOS is so palpable?
    Maybe that’s a more realistic idea than just creation out of nothing. Creation ex-nihilo is a little more sterile. Creation on a blank slate might be a compelling idea. We might be attracted to the blank canvass, or the blank page. But any writer who has ever faced a blank page will probably tell you it can be terrifying. And is blankness really where creation originates?
    Or does the Spirit create on other ways?
    The vision of the first verse of Genesis that in the beginning God just - - created - - that vision comes to life in verse two - - when the chaos is added. At least I think so.
    Consider another kind of creation: birth. The birth of a baby is the most amazing act of creation that any human might participate in. I have witnessed a birth. And the word chaos certainly seems appropriate. Birth is chaotic for the mother and for the baby. Birth has been painful since the beginning according to Genesis. And yet what could be more beautiful or profound than the beginning of life?
    Could it be that there is a connection not only between chaos and creation, but between these two KINDS of creation: birth…and the creation of the earth?
    Both the Psalms and the prophet Isaiah describe God as one who gives birth. One of the most vivid examples is in Isaiah 42. Isaiah says,
    “Thus says God, who created the heavens and stretched them out…who gives breath to the people…and Spirit to those who walk in it…I have given you as a covenant to the people, a light to the nations…new things I now declare, they spring forth…sing to the Lord a new song…let the sea roar and the desert and the cities lift their voice…let them give glory to God!”
    “Because…I have for a long time I have remained silent…I have restrained myself…but now I will cry out like a woman in travail…I will gasp and pant…I will lay waste to the mountains…AND I will lead the blind…and turn the darkness into light…and the rough places into level ground…and I will not forsake them.”
    Do you see that God is creating a people…
    And it is like giving birth…
    And it is chaotic…And it is glorious.
    So…there my be something similar between the way God creates…and how humans give birth. A connection:
between the creation of the earth,
and the creation that is birth.
    But there is yet another kind of creation, a third kind.
This kind of creation is also a kind of birth, which could be called “spiritual birth”. And it is linked with physical birth in a poem by Marjorie Burke:
Human birth,
Pain, messy, sticky, sweaty,
push - - breathe, push - - breathe,
No pain, no gain,
push  - - breathe, push - - breathe,
finally, new life.
Spiritual birth,
What does this mean?
Pain, struggle, water, sweat,
No pain no gain,
Trust in God.
I push against my own will.
God breathes new life into me,
push - - breathe, push - - breathe.
Wind and water.
No, I don’t want to go,
the wind blows,
God’s breath surrounds me.
I resist
push - - breathe, push - - breathe.
The water of baptism engulfs me.
    I am made new.
Human birth, spiritual birth.
I don’t remember the first.
I don’t remember the second either.
It happens gradually - - a long litany of
push breathe…
not willing to fully give myself over to God.
    The poem connects spiritual birth and physical birth. And in both cases there is chaos. And each is a new creation.  In both there is water.
    So far, we have looked at three kinds of creation:
1.    Creation of the earth
2.    The creation that is human birth
3.    The creation which could be called spiritual birth…another word for which is:
Baptism.
    In all cases, there is a connection between the creation which is happening, and the chaos which in a sense sets the stage for it.
I was thinking about this on New Year’s Eve when Nancy and I drove out to Multnomah Falls for lunch. We walked up to the bridge that spans the river that runs from this massive waterfall. It was below freezing Friday, so the spray from the waterfall had made the cliffs beautiful with ice. And it had also made the path to the bridge CHAOTIC and treacherous with ice. And then I realized - - a sort of creation was happening: community. People who would have otherwise have barely spoken were warning one another, and helping one another. We held mittened hands with strangers pulling them along slipping and sliding, and we clung to railings in the rock wall. Out of the chaos, a community, even if only fleeting and briefly, was created.
    But the same sort of thing happens in the Bible, as God creates a people.
    Exodus is the prime CHAOS event.
    And it is out of the Exodus from slavery, and all of that chaos that a people are formed.
    The prophet Jeremiah even uses that very same word that we found in Genesis to describe the chaos. And his use of the word is in the midst of a description of how the people of Israel are formed. In chapter 4 as God calls the people to be a community that follows God, Jeremiah describes God crying out:
    “My anguish! I writhe in pain! I looked on the earth and lo, it was, “tohu wabhohu”.
    “And YET, I will not make its full end”.
    Out of chaos God was creating a people.
    So consider yet a fourth kind of creation:  Liberation
    What acts of liberation are we led to participate in, because of our spiritual birth?
    And how could the chaos of slavery, be the beginning of a creative act?
    Consider the example of Emmett Till’s mother. Emmett Till was killed in Mississippi in 1955. He was Mamie Mobley’s only son. The men accused of the murder were never convicted. Mamie Mobley said this to Studs Terkel in an interview:
    “I didn’t know what happened to him until the following Sunday. I have lived all my life in the church. I feel that I’m a strong woman. When I lost my son, that’s when I found out that I really have two feet and I had to stand on my own feet. Everybody was so in tears. But I found out that I was capable of getting the job done, even though I couldn’t see for the tears. 
    “The spirit of God spoke to me and said, “Go to school and be a teacher. I have taken one, but I will give you thousands”. I was the only one hearing the voice.”
    “I had ordered Emmet’s body back to Chicago. It was in three boxes. A box within a box within a box. I said to the undertaker, “Give me a hammer. I’m gonna break the seal. I’m gonna go into that box. I’ve got to verify that it is my son in that box”.”
    “I saw Emmet and his scars. Lord, I saw the stigmata of Jesus. The spirit spoke to me as plainly as I’m speaking to you now. Jesus had come and died that we might have the right to eternal life or eternal hell or damnation. Emmet had died that men might have freedom here on Earth.” So said Mamie Mobley.
    From out of chaos…The creation that is liberation begins…
    That is how the Spirit spoke to Emmet Till’s mother on that chaotic day in her life. As we hear the story of Jesus’ baptism today, may we open our hearts and minds to how the Spirit might speak to us. 
    Jesus stood before John that Baptist, and John’s heart and mind were in chaos.
    John said, “No Jesus, this doesn’t make sense, you don’t need to be baptized, I do”.
    But Jesus insisted that he do something that didn’t make sense.
    Jesus went down under those baptismal waters that every Christian submits to.
    Jesus dove into those chaotic waters.
    And in those chaotic waters of creation, and of birth,
at the bottom of the pool we meet Jesus.
And as Jesus rose from the water…the Spirit of God spoke:  “This is my son.”
    Let us open ourselves to the Spirit’s voice.
    Who are we being called to become?            “Beloved”
    How is the chaos in our life giving birth?
    What is being created?
    Where do we go from here?
    In a moment we will sing a hymn describing Jesus’ baptism. As we sing, you are invited to come forward down the center aisle to the baptismal font. If you wish you may come forward and dip your finger in the font and touch the water to your forehead as a sign of your baptism.
As we remember or give thanks for our baptism everyone is invited to consider how we live into our lives of faith. Whether you are baptized or not, how is God’s Spirit leading you? Who are you becoming? If you feel that you are being led to be baptized in the future, you may talk to a pastor after the worship service or in the weeks ahead, about the next steps.  
Let us ALL give thanks for God’s amazing chaotic, life giving work in us.
    As we do I leave you with a final image:
    In the office of a Methodist bishop in Ohio, there is a fountain. The fountain was described years ago in an article in the Christian Century magazine. Water runs down the face of a smooth granite slab. Visitors are invited to place their hands on the slab and let the water stream over their fingers…
    So where do we go from here?    We begin with the chaos…and the water…