God Saw that It Was Good—Lectionary Reading for Trinity Sunday (A) (Genesis 1)

Genesis 1:1-2:4 New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition

1 When God began to create the heavens and the earth, ² the earth was complete chaos, and darkness covered the face of the deep, while a wind from God swept over the face of the waters. ³ Then God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. ⁴ And God saw that the light was good, and God separated the light from the darkness. ⁵ God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day.

⁶ And God said, “Let there be a dome in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters.” ⁷ So God made the dome and separated the waters that were under the dome from the waters that were above the dome. And it was so. ⁸ God called the dome Sky. And there was evening and there was morning, the second day.

⁹ And God said, “Let the waters under the sky be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear.” And it was so. ¹⁰ God called the dry land Earth, and the waters that were gathered together he called Seas. And God saw that it was good. ¹¹ Then God said, “Let the earth put forth vegetation: plants yielding seed and fruit trees of every kind on earth that bear fruit with the seed in it.” And it was so. ¹² The earth brought forth vegetation: plants yielding seed of every kind and trees of every kind bearing fruit with the seed in it. And God saw that it was good. ¹³ And there was evening and there was morning, the third day.

¹⁴ And God said, “Let there be lights in the dome of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them be for signs and for seasons and for days and years, ¹⁵ and let them be lights in the dome of the sky to give light upon the earth.” And it was so. ¹⁶ God made the two great lights—the greater light to rule the day and the lesser light to rule the night—and the stars. ¹⁷ God set them in the dome of the sky to give light upon the earth, ¹⁸ to rule over the day and over the night, and to separate the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good. ¹⁹ And there was evening and there was morning, the fourth day.

²⁰ And God said, “Let the waters bring forth swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the dome of the sky.” ²¹ So God created the great sea monsters and every living creature that moves, of every kind, with which the waters swarm and every winged bird of every kind. And God saw that it was good. ²² God blessed them, saying, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth.” ²³ And there was evening and there was morning, the fifth day.

²⁴ And God said, “Let the earth bring forth living creatures of every kind: cattle and creeping things and wild animals of the earth of every kind.” And it was so. ²⁵ God made the wild animals of the earth of every kind and the cattle of every kind and everything that creeps upon the ground of every kind. And God saw that it was good.

²⁶ Then God said, “Let us make humans in our image, according to our likeness, and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air and over the cattle and over all the wild animals of the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth.”

²⁷ So God created humans in his image,

    in the image of God he created them;

    male and female he created them.

²⁸ God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air and over every living thing that moves upon the earth.” ²⁹ God said, “See, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is upon the face of all the earth and every tree with seed in its fruit; you shall have them for food. ³⁰ And to every beast of the earth and to every bird of the air and to everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life, I have given every green plant for food.” And it was so. ³¹ God saw everything that he had made, and indeed, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.

2 Thus the heavens and the earth were finished and all their multitude. ² On the sixth day God finished the work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all the work that he had done. ³ So God blessed the seventh day and hallowed it, because on it God rested from all the work that he had done in creation.

⁴ These are the generations of the heavens and the earth when they were created.

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                There is something wondrous about God’s creation. It declares God’s glory and majesty. It is a reflection of God’s goodness, for as the first creation story in Genesis reminds us, God’s creation is good. As St. Augustine wrote in his Enchiridion, “For a Christian it is enough to believe that the cause of created things, whether in heaven or on earth, visible or invisible, is nothing other than the goodness of the creator who is the one true God, and that there is nothing that is not either himself or from him, and that he is a Trinity, that is, a Father, the Son begotten from the Father, and a Holy Spirit who proceeds from the same Father and is one and the same Spirit of Father and Son.” [Enchiridion 3.9 in On Christian Belief, p. 278]. On Trinity Sunday, we read this glorious hymn of creation through a trinitarian lens, recognizing that it’s not the only possible reading (my Jewish friends would view it through a different lens), nevertheless, on this day we can envision God engaged in the work of creation as Trinity, revealing God’s goodness in the created order. Thus, we as God’s people are invited to reflect that goodness in our own lives.

         It is important that we view this passage in terms of its genre. It’s not intended to be a straightforward description of God’s act of creation. It is as noted above a hymn, a Psalm. It celebrates God’s act of creation, an act that if we pay attention to the hymn suggests that God’s work of creation is ongoing. It’s not a deistic picture in which God creates the universe, starts it spinning, and then goes off on vacation. There continues to be discussion about the nature of creation, that involves science and theology. I wrote a book that explores dimensions of this relationship titled Worshiping with Charles Darwin, wherein I share my belief that one can embrace both the theological and the scientific dimensions of the story. As for the theological dimension, there are a variety of options centered around whether God creates ex nihilo (out of nothing) or God forms existing matter. That’s a conversation that is much larger than I can address here. Let me just say that at least at this point I’m not convinced that I should let go of creatio ex nihilo.

                The hymn begins with the declaration that “in the beginning” God began creating the heavens and the earth. As God began creating things, we are told that the universe was a formless void, complete chaos. As the creative process began the “wind from God swept over the face of the waters.” The word translated as wind is ruach, which is also translated elsewhere as Spirit and Breath. Thus, from the very beginning, we see that the Spirit is active in creation. Then, we’re told that God began to speak. As the word (Gk. Logos) came forth, things began to happen. First, light appeared, and God saw that the light was good. From there, we move forward, so that before long the waters parted and earth (land) emerged. It too was good. The process continues, all in poetic motion. As God speaks each element of creation into existence, God pauses and declares: “It is good.” Yes, here is the message of the moment: the created order, that is the material world, is good. It is a gift of God. It is an expression of God’s generosity.  As Jose Morales Torres reminds us, “Creation is not simply a gift, but a truly excessive gift. This excess is the very fiber of created existence: creation is the quintessence of true generosity.” [Wonder as a New Starting Point for Theological Anthropology, p. 124]. This, act of generosity on God’s part leads to wonder, and therefore the proper response on our part would be to offer up words of praise.

           The hymn moves from one act of creation to the next, with each step involving speech (Word) and separation. Thus, light from the darkness; night from day; making up the first day. Then on the second day, the waters and sky (dome) are separated. Day three it’s the dry land separates from the waters (Seas). With this, we have available habitat for all that lives on the earth, whether in the skies, the seas, or on dry land. So as the day progresses, plants and trees appear. While we have a separation of light and darkness, day and night, and a dome in the sky, we still lack the lights. That is the sun and the moon. They appear on day four. You can begin to see why some attempts to link science and the Bible quickly become problematic—how can you have light and darkness but no sun or moon? Well, they do appear on day four. So, we’re good (unless we’re biblical literalists). At this point, we have seas, the sky, and land, along with the sun and moon. Now it’s time to begin populating creation. So, on day five, God invites the earth to bring forth all living creatures, even the creeping things! There is now just one thing lacking. The culmination of creation, the ones who will bear the image of God. That comes on day six.

           On Day Six God says: “‘Let us make humans in our image, according to our likeness, and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air and over the cattle and over all the wild animals of the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth.’ So God created humans in his image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them” (Gen. 1:26-27). When God gives dominion to God’s human creation, that dominion doesn’t involve doing whatever we please with this gift. Rather, we are entrusted with the responsibility of caring for God’s creation. We are God’s representatives on earth providing stewardship of this gift. We may benefit from it, but not ravage it. Andrew Foster Connors envisions our creation in the image of God, reflecting “God’s creative potential and action. We too speak, create, name, and bless. We have the capacity to speak new worlds into being through the speech that organizes the chaos of activity inside of our brains. It is this human capacity for generating new creation— from art to technology to knowledge itself— that sets us apart from all other creatures.” [Connections: A Lectionary Commentary for Preaching and Worship (p. 41). Kindle Edition]. This also is good, for it is an expression of God’s goodness.

           Finally, after God creates humanity, entrusting us with stewardship over creation, blessing us so that as a species we are invited to be fruitful and multiply, gifted with everything we need to exist, God rests. That decision on God’s part permits God’s creation to also take a sabbath and rest. It’s not a command here, it’s just a reminder that we needn’t always be on the go. If God needs to take a break, shouldn’t that be true of us?

          The first creation story is powerful. It serves as a reminder that the material world is a gift of God, and thus, as God proclaims, it is very good. While some theologies and philosophies argue otherwise, suggesting that the material world is somehow worth less than the spiritual/mental, the author of this hymn counters that view. Thus, we can sing “This is my Father’s world, and to my listening ears all nature sings, and around me rings the music of the spheres. This is my Father’s world; I rest me in the thought of rocks and trees, of skies and seas, his hand the wonders wrought” [Maltbie D. Babcock, 1901].

          Genesis 1-2 celebrates God’s role as creator. As this is a reading designated for Trinity Sunday, the reading highlights one of God’s roles but invites us to consider more broadly who it is that not only creates this world but who invites us into a relationship. As such, we are invited to participate in a relationship that exists within God’s own self. Whether it is appropriate to read into the use of the plural concerning God’s identity in creating humanity in “our image,” that is God’s image, speaks of the Trinity, it has proven fruitful for just such a conversation. So, when looking at this passage through a Christian lens, we might follow Karl Barth’s lead, who writes in the Dogmatics:

The saga undoubtedly speaks of a genuine plurality in the divine being, but it does not actually say that it is a Trinity. On the other hand, it may be stated that an approximation to the Christian doctrine of the Trinity—the picture of a God who is the one and only God, yet who is not for that reason solitary, but includes in Himself the differentiation and relationship of I and Thou—is both nearer to the text and does it more justice than the alternative suggested by modern exegesis in its arrogant rejection of the exegesis of the Early Church (cf. for instance, Gunkel).  [Karl Barth: Preaching through the Christian Year, p. 71].

So, reading this passage in light of our context of Trinity Sunday, we are invited to celebrate God’s role as Creator, recognizing that when God engages in creating, God acts as Trinity. It’s not as if there are three different gods doing three different tasks, as can be intimated by some formulas. So, we might be well served here to read Genesis 1 in light of John’s prologue, especially John 1:3, which declares of the Word that “All things came into being through him and without him not one thing came into being.” What came into existence through the work of God the Trinity, is by God’s own estimation, very good. So, we sing with Ruth Duck:

                Womb of life and source of being, home of every restless heart,

                In your arms the worlds awakened; you have loved us from the start.

                We your children, gather ‘round you, at the table you prepare.

                Sharing stories, tears, and laughter, we are nurtured by your care.

                                                                [Ruth Duck, 1986, 1990 c. 1992 GIA Publications]

 

 Image Attribution -Drum, Seth. God's Authority - In the Beginning, from Art in the Christian Tradition, a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN. https://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/act-imagelink.pl?RC=56360 [retrieved May 27, 2023]. Original source: https://www.flickr.com/photos/seth_drum/34308713902.