Creation

This week marks the second week of “Ordinary Time”!

Having walked through the story of Jesus—his incarnation, birth, life and ministry, death, resurrection, ascension, and descent of his Spirit, we move into the time of year where we gather up that story and walk the path of faith. 

Ordinary time begins with “Trinity Sunday,” when we celebrate the full revelation of God as tri-une: He’s three; he’s one. On the one hand, this is a simple thing to say. And, in a way, simple to understand. On the other hand this makes no sense. And the kids are sure to have questions!

One of the basic, but revolutionary, commitments of Trinitarian Christian theology is that God is the creator of all things. This means, like, all things. There’s no-thing that is a thing that God did not make. If this is the case (and it is the case), this means that God cannot be said to be “a thing.” God is just, well, God. This is why, in my opinion, when he names himself to Moses his name is simply “I am.” That which is, in and through which every thing finds the ground of its being and its continued existence. 

This is what the creation story—creation out of nothing, or ex nihilo, as the theologians say—is about. It’s not about arguments over how long the “days” were or whether they were days in any meaningful sense at all, whether the creation story is poetry or not, etc. etc. These are fine questions to investigate, but if they distract from contemplation of God as creator of everything out of nothing, they distract from the point of it all. God, as creator of all things out of no things, is no kind of thing, and is, therefore, that within which all of us “live and move and have our being” (Acts 17).

Scripture to consider:

• Genesis 1

• Acts 17:16-34

  
  

Question for your kids

• I wonder: Do you think God likes the things he made? Are they good in his eyes?

  I wonder: If God likes the things he’s made, how does he want us to treat them?

Peace,

Danny+