In the likeness of God

"So God created humankind in his image, in the image of God he created them, male and female he created them." (NRSV)

Worships begins on this Trinity Sunday celebration of the Eucharist with the first account of creation from Genesis. In this account humankind was created in one act. Not man out of the clay of the earth, nor woman from the man's rib, but from the breath of God; the same breath that made lights appear in the heavens and all manner of things on the earth.

But this isn't the version we think of when we think of God's creation of humankind. For that we borrow from the creation story which is in the second chapter of Genesis; the version we all learned in Sunday School as children. In that childhood version the two account are meshed together - so we have the creation of all things from Gen. 1 and the creation of humankind from Gen. 2. But we aren't in Sunday School anymore. And in the grownup version we pull apart the two accounts of our coming into being and take each on its own terms; one at a time.

Today we have before us the first account: created from the breath of God, man and woman created on completely equal grounds - not one before the other - one not subservient to the other - but as partners, created for the purpose of caring for the earth and all that is in it and on it, and for all manner of creatures who share it with us.

It is this account that begins the entire book we now know as the Bible. Genesis, as a whole, is foundational for Jews, Christians and Muslims. Its characters play central roles in all three of the holy texts of these major world religions: The Torah, The Bible and the Koran. We differ dramatically on many things theological, but that Almighty God created the earth and the heavens all that is in them, we share as foundational to everything that comes next. And a lot of what comes next divides us radically, forming a seemingly fathomless chaism between "us" and "them", effectively sustaining the positions of "we" in a defensive posture to "the other." But it hasn't always been this way: ".... God created humankind in his image, in the image of God he created them, male and female he created them." (NRSV) In one breath, in a single moment in time, male and female, together we were created. And are wise to acknowledge that Genesis 1 isn't a scientific or historical accounting - its a theological account - it's how we, the people of God, base our understanding of how we relate to God and perhaps even more importantly, how God relates to us. We are God's created beings to whom all of creation was given for the sustaining of all life now and to come. It is the starting place for how proceed to speak of God and for how we reference one another. In this accounting of human creation, God created two beings in a single act - the importance being on the pair; the interdependence of one on the other - as intentional, not accidental. And if Genesis 1 is taken as prologue to the rest of the Genesis if not the entire biblical text - then the theme of human interdependence is of profound importance. All the relationships that follow in Genesis, even the ones that reveal deep and painful tears in the fabric of family - brother against brother, in particular, the need one has for the other is undeniable. Perhaps there is no place on earth that needs to be reminded of this than in the Middle East. In that part of the world, not even Israel, who claims the land as given to them by God for all time, is untouched by the world at their borders. In a very real way, Israel and the Palestinians need one another for their mutual survival; revealed so clearly, ironically in the hostility that exists between them. There is a poem by the Israeli poet Shin Shalom, written in 1952, in which Isaac speaks to his brother Ishmael, with who he is estranged, whose respective tribes, the Israelites and Palestinians, remain at violent odds to this day. The following excerpt from the poem points to a future that includes them both.

"Ismael my brother, How long shall we fight each other? My brother from times bygone, My brother, Hagar's son, My brother, the wandering one. One angel was sent to us both, One angel to watch over our growth - There in the wilderness, death threatening through thirst, I a sacrifice on the altar, Sarah's first. Ishmael, my brother, hear my plea: It was the angel who tied thee to me. Time is running out, put hatred to sleep. Shoulder to shoulder, let's water our sheep."

These thoughts on our common creation and how we were intended to co-exist begs the question, What does it mean to be human, to be made in the likeness of God, to be then icons of God?" Were we to begin all our days, all our thoughts, all our conversations, and all of our arguments on this statement of faith, how differently might be the outcomes of our interactions with one anther. Recently, I have been haunted by the following vision from Elias Chacour, a Greek Catholic Palestinian priest from Galilee in 2001:

"The true icon is your neighbor, the human being who has been crated int he image and with the likeness of God. How beautiful it is when our eyes are transfigured and we see that our neighbour is the icon of God, and you, and you, and I - we are all the icons of God. How serious it is when we hate th image of God, whoever that may be, whether a Jew or a Palestinian. How serious it is when we cannot go and say, 'I am sorry about he icon of God who was hurt by my behaviour.' We all need to be transfigured so we can recognized the glory of God in one another."

Life after high school

Homiletic summary of John 17:1-11

This is a week that for many of us passes unnoticed. But for others this week marks a significant milestone in their child's life; high school graduation. It signifies the end of one phase of life and the beginning of a new life. High school is fraught with ups and downs - it serves a training ground not simply for academic achievement but for for living in community. As someone said to me recently, "community is hard." Of all the trials I watch my own daughter wade through in her high school years, the navigation of community is by far the most difficult. But the experience of high school has life-long effects; somewhere deep in our psyches are the scars of finding our way, our voice, our place within the social strata of high school. And though we adults, recall and appreciate the struggles experienced in that place and time, in hindsight what we know for certain is that it is a mere primer for what lies ahead.

It may seem at first a hard thing to reconcile high school graduation within the context of the life of the church, but scratch around just a little in the Gospels and a connection will soon become apparent. Take this Gospel lesson from John for instance: Jesus' words to his disciples in preparing them for a new life; ultimately a much harder life without him. Jesus has come to the end of a long speech directed to his disciples. He breaks off and looks up to heaven and begins to pray. It is a dense prayer to say the least; hard for us to fully understand. The words are not clearly set forth, leaving us to say to ourselves: What did he just say? or What does that mean? In the most simple and general terms, Jesus is commending the disciples into the care of God. But he begins by asking God to give to them 'eternal life.' We use this phrase in our liturgical life quite a bit. Because we take things in the most literal sense, we might think that we are praying for immortality. Not to disappoint, but that is not exactly what Jesus has in mind for us.

So what does he mean by 'eternal life'? Thankful we need not guess, he explains it clearly for our understanding. He is asking God to give to his disciples is a life shaped by the knowledge of God as revealed in his person. Said another way, eternal life is to have the fullness of a good and rich life assured of the presence, fidelity and covenential love of God made known to us through the birth, ministry, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. To know Jesus is to know God; to allow one's life to be shaped by God is eternal life. The conforming of our lives to God's will for us, that is to put our relationship to with God before all things and our love of neighbor as the underlying guide for all we do, creating a relationship between us and God that death cannot conclude. It is a relationship that we believe will survive and grow beyond the confines and boundaries of what is possible in this life.

Given that this was Jesus' deepest desire for the disciples whom he loved, then it is as fitting that we ask this also for those we love and admire; those in whom the future of the world has been entrusted. Let this then be our prayer for graduating seniors: that they may have eternal life; that their lives be so shaped by God in Christ, that the bond between the two will be so strongly forged as to withstand any defeat, any hardship, any burden.

On this day, June 5, we celebrate the graduation of Eric England. At his baptism and again at his confirmation this believing community of which he has been a part since birth vowed to assist in the shaping of his life as a Christian. It is now time for us to entrust him, once again, to God as he moves from the bounds and safety of life in high school into the wider world in which he will need to find his way, his place. But he will not be alone, for the conditions of our vows to him do not end here. His faith community will be here to support him and his parents and family as he continues to find his way in the world. To Eric and all those graduating from high school this week, let us pray that their lives be commended into the care of God and shaped by love and mercy in the goodness of eternal life.