Readings:
Psalm 8
Genesis 1:1–2:4
Matthew 28:16-20
2 Corinthians 13:11-13
Devotional:
Theology is fussy work. After all, how can you really try to contain the Infinite to words and ideas, much less time or place? We can’t, but we really enjoy trying. That’s where the fussy bit comes in, because if you choose a definite article (like the God of the Universe) versus an indefinite article (like a god of the universe), it starts to mean different things, at least in some languages. There is a big difference between “the” Lord and “a” lord. Of course, we have to consider other languages too. And the fussiness grows. What if our word choices were then translated again? What if our audience reading our “the’s” and “a’s” thought the opposite of what we intended? Maybe we should just stop here, while we’re ahead.
Yet, we can’t. It’s a puzzle piece within us that wants to fit, a pattern that wants to complete. We innately crave the connection to our Creator and what it means to our lives. We want fully completed structures (even if complicated and layered) that outline the if/thens of our faith. We want the codes that make God's behaviors predictable and systematic. We want the formulas that create life and produce the appropriate responses from humanity. We outline the lineages, tabulate the years between generations, cross-reference star positions and scientifically rationalize every Biblical datum in the name of certainty and assurance. We favor definition and boundaries, rules and tidy, causal statements. It’s like we imagine knowledge to be life.
And then we have David, who also considers stars and how they were appointed to their positions in the sky, but lands on wonder instead of dissection. “How majestic is Your name in all the earth!” opens and closes the Psalm. Rather than reverse engineering the mysteries of God, David simply responds to Who he sees.
The Genesis story is reflected in his words: the heavens, the moon and stars, the fish, the birds, the animals. All the same components, and then right in the middle (the most important placement in this style of poetry), an awe-struck question: how is it that God cares for us, considers us and entrusts us?
Go back to the creation narrative and see it with David. Sun, moon, and stars, birds, fish, animals. Then man, made and entrusted to care for God’s works, commissioned from the outset to rule over it all, given the authority to cultivate what God began.
This isn’t a perfect man though, and David knows it. This is man that is mortal. He sees the contrast: what is man—frail like an infant—to capture God’s attention from the universe? What is it about this weak being that is best suited to carry the likeness of God, to co-labor in ruling with glory and majesty? David doesn’t have to explain why, but he describes the picture he has - God’s strength, the same that silences those who would contest it, is demonstrated in our infant weakness. And man, that same weak creation, will be lifted up to share in the effort of caring for creation. With all the heavens and glory of creation available, God is choosing man to show his strength.
So what, David read/heard the Genesis story, you might think. But here’s where it gets fun. Fast forward to Matthew. Jesus has taken on the commission of the garden of Eden, going about the work of His Father, going as He was Sent, saying what His Father would say. He’s assumed the weakness of incarnation, demonstrated the frailty and mortality of mankind. And conquered it—all authority in heaven and earth given to Him, crowned with glory and majesty. David’s picture of the Father, of His face toward us in creation, is fully realized in Jesus.
And now, Jesus re-offers the charge of the garden back to us: therefore, with the authority given to Him, go and make disciples. Where man was commissioned in Eden’s original creation, now we are recommissioned in the (re)new(ed) creation. Jesus invites us to follow the pattern of His life, the one where weakness is a strength, the one where frailty outshines the glory of creation in reflecting the Father. Perhaps even, we could say, the one where we embrace the joy and contentment of simply being alive, just like a baby would. As we noted on Sunday, today, He charges us, teach and show what we have beheld and heard.
Or as Paul says to the Corinthians, having spent several chapters arguing that it's really, truly not about your credentials or position (if it were, he would have won that competition), we should be made complete. It’s not a question of how close to the angels we rank or how brilliantly we articulate God’s complexity. Recognize that in our weakness, His strength is revealed. Be comforted. Be of the same mind. Live in peace. Embrace each other. All of these are positions of weakness: who can be comforted but someone who is hurting? How can you be of the same mind without yielding your opinion or your method? Where will you find peace without also finding the choice to be unoffended or to refuse retaliation? How can you maintain your guard when you open your arms to hug someone?
Our weaknesses become strength as He fills them, resourcing us with all we need. Just like David, we can behold the wonder of the Father who looks on us and marvel at His majesty working through us.
So we take heart then. As we were created, weak yet strengthened by Him, is enough to capture His attention, to walk with Him, to join in His labors, to carry His mission, to tend to His creation, and to truly know Him.
A Prayer for Each Moment
God Who Strengthens,
You entrust us with the shared mission of Your kingdom, considering us and caring for us. May we marvel as we behold You, contented by your favor on us and moved to peace and unity with one another. May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the community of the Holy Spirit, be with us.
Amen
A Prayer for Each Other
Our Father,
You accompany us with love and peace. In our families and communities, we recognize You strengthening us so that we can embrace each other, live in harmony and take every opportunity to bring comfort and encouragement.
Amen
Blessing
May we find wonder in Who we behold and live joyfully, knowing that we are being made complete by our Father.
Photo by Jeremy Thomas on Unsplash
Psalm 8
Genesis 1:1–2:4
Matthew 28:16-20
2 Corinthians 13:11-13
Devotional:
Theology is fussy work. After all, how can you really try to contain the Infinite to words and ideas, much less time or place? We can’t, but we really enjoy trying. That’s where the fussy bit comes in, because if you choose a definite article (like the God of the Universe) versus an indefinite article (like a god of the universe), it starts to mean different things, at least in some languages. There is a big difference between “the” Lord and “a” lord. Of course, we have to consider other languages too. And the fussiness grows. What if our word choices were then translated again? What if our audience reading our “the’s” and “a’s” thought the opposite of what we intended? Maybe we should just stop here, while we’re ahead.
Yet, we can’t. It’s a puzzle piece within us that wants to fit, a pattern that wants to complete. We innately crave the connection to our Creator and what it means to our lives. We want fully completed structures (even if complicated and layered) that outline the if/thens of our faith. We want the codes that make God's behaviors predictable and systematic. We want the formulas that create life and produce the appropriate responses from humanity. We outline the lineages, tabulate the years between generations, cross-reference star positions and scientifically rationalize every Biblical datum in the name of certainty and assurance. We favor definition and boundaries, rules and tidy, causal statements. It’s like we imagine knowledge to be life.
And then we have David, who also considers stars and how they were appointed to their positions in the sky, but lands on wonder instead of dissection. “How majestic is Your name in all the earth!” opens and closes the Psalm. Rather than reverse engineering the mysteries of God, David simply responds to Who he sees.
The Genesis story is reflected in his words: the heavens, the moon and stars, the fish, the birds, the animals. All the same components, and then right in the middle (the most important placement in this style of poetry), an awe-struck question: how is it that God cares for us, considers us and entrusts us?
Go back to the creation narrative and see it with David. Sun, moon, and stars, birds, fish, animals. Then man, made and entrusted to care for God’s works, commissioned from the outset to rule over it all, given the authority to cultivate what God began.
This isn’t a perfect man though, and David knows it. This is man that is mortal. He sees the contrast: what is man—frail like an infant—to capture God’s attention from the universe? What is it about this weak being that is best suited to carry the likeness of God, to co-labor in ruling with glory and majesty? David doesn’t have to explain why, but he describes the picture he has - God’s strength, the same that silences those who would contest it, is demonstrated in our infant weakness. And man, that same weak creation, will be lifted up to share in the effort of caring for creation. With all the heavens and glory of creation available, God is choosing man to show his strength.
So what, David read/heard the Genesis story, you might think. But here’s where it gets fun. Fast forward to Matthew. Jesus has taken on the commission of the garden of Eden, going about the work of His Father, going as He was Sent, saying what His Father would say. He’s assumed the weakness of incarnation, demonstrated the frailty and mortality of mankind. And conquered it—all authority in heaven and earth given to Him, crowned with glory and majesty. David’s picture of the Father, of His face toward us in creation, is fully realized in Jesus.
And now, Jesus re-offers the charge of the garden back to us: therefore, with the authority given to Him, go and make disciples. Where man was commissioned in Eden’s original creation, now we are recommissioned in the (re)new(ed) creation. Jesus invites us to follow the pattern of His life, the one where weakness is a strength, the one where frailty outshines the glory of creation in reflecting the Father. Perhaps even, we could say, the one where we embrace the joy and contentment of simply being alive, just like a baby would. As we noted on Sunday, today, He charges us, teach and show what we have beheld and heard.
Or as Paul says to the Corinthians, having spent several chapters arguing that it's really, truly not about your credentials or position (if it were, he would have won that competition), we should be made complete. It’s not a question of how close to the angels we rank or how brilliantly we articulate God’s complexity. Recognize that in our weakness, His strength is revealed. Be comforted. Be of the same mind. Live in peace. Embrace each other. All of these are positions of weakness: who can be comforted but someone who is hurting? How can you be of the same mind without yielding your opinion or your method? Where will you find peace without also finding the choice to be unoffended or to refuse retaliation? How can you maintain your guard when you open your arms to hug someone?
Our weaknesses become strength as He fills them, resourcing us with all we need. Just like David, we can behold the wonder of the Father who looks on us and marvel at His majesty working through us.
So we take heart then. As we were created, weak yet strengthened by Him, is enough to capture His attention, to walk with Him, to join in His labors, to carry His mission, to tend to His creation, and to truly know Him.
A Prayer for Each Moment
God Who Strengthens,
You entrust us with the shared mission of Your kingdom, considering us and caring for us. May we marvel as we behold You, contented by your favor on us and moved to peace and unity with one another. May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the community of the Holy Spirit, be with us.
Amen
A Prayer for Each Other
Our Father,
You accompany us with love and peace. In our families and communities, we recognize You strengthening us so that we can embrace each other, live in harmony and take every opportunity to bring comfort and encouragement.
Amen
Blessing
May we find wonder in Who we behold and live joyfully, knowing that we are being made complete by our Father.
Photo by Jeremy Thomas on Unsplash