Narrative Lectionary Key Verse for Today
“Then God said, ‘Let us make humankind in our image, according to our likeness.”
NL Daily Devotion for Sunday, September 12, 2021
by Dr. Kimberly Leetch, Clergy Stuff
Main Idea: The creation story models a healthy perspective for ourselves and for our relationships.
This is easily one of the most beautiful stories with the richest images ever written! I cannot help but get more and more excited as I read. Creation begins with just one thing: God. (A triune God, perhaps? God’s spirit [wind] sweeps over the face of the waters, and God creates humans in “our” image.) The story then forms and shapes with the creation of light and the separation of light from darkness; a separation of waters from waters, and then waters from dry land; vegetation; the sun, the moon, and the stars; sea creatures and flying things; creepy, crawly things and animals. Can you feel the movement from cold, hard, and dark to warm, bright, and filled with life?!
For all the wondrous, amazing things God created, God was not finished until God created people. Like a chef creating a mouth-watering masterpiece with flavors, aromas, and delicious sides, the feast is not complete until the main dish is plated. With creation set in motion and teeming with life, God rests. God makes the day of rest holy so that people will forever remember that rest is a necessary component to the everlasting movement of the planet.
This fantastic story tells us many things. It reminds us just who is responsible for all of this magnificent creation. God is the primary artist, with God’s brushstrokes on every corner of this canvas. People are the creation, not the Creator, with responsibilities for stewardship over all that God has made.
This story also models a healthy rhythm for living: working from big to small, attending to every detail, giving the work a life of its own, and then letting it breathe as the worker rests.
Additionally, the story helps us to recognize that all created things are precious. Every rock, plant, sea creature, bird, and animal is special to God. More importantly, every single human is of utmost importance to God. None is greater than another. At the core of creation, no color, gender, size, religion, or ability is greater than another.
When can we remember our place in the big picture? Perhaps then we can learn to put God’s creation ahead of ourselves, so that we might care for the planet, its inhabitants, and all of God’s children.