ORDER OUT OF CHAOS

This awesome story of creation is one of the foundational stories of biblical faith.  But often it becomes an issue of contention.  The world-wide Christian church is not of one mind, and never will be, when it comes to the interpretation of this story, or for that matter the bigger issue of the nature of biblical interpretation. 

There is a spectrum of understanding and interpretation.  At one end are those who interpret this story quite literally, seeing it as an actual scientific and historical account of creation.  At the other end are those who see this story not as a scientific or historical record of creation, but a story that functions more like a parable or metaphor affirming key theological truths.  There are others who take various positions somewhere along the spectrum between the two ends.

Should we be surprised by that?   We often act is if we are! We sometimes are scandalized by other Christians who do not come to the same conclusions about certain faith matters as we do.  Sometimes we advance our views so far as to harshly judge others who have seriously and prayerfully considered the same issues and arrived at different conclusions.  Christians are often very poor witnesses when it comes to respectful disagreement within the diverse body of Christ.

 I believe all the debate about the scientific and historical authenticity of this story misses the point completely and can distract us to the point that we overlook the real power and real truth of this story.

To understand this story we need to begin by seeing it from the perspective of the ancient Hebrew world view.  After all, it is originally their story.  We need to see how it affected them; how it empowered them; how it shaped their faith life.  The power of this story does not lie in whether it is literally true, but lies in the power it had for those people to transform their lives. The ancient Hebrews who first read this story in their worship settings believed that the world originated from a watery abyss, "the deep."   “In the beginning when God created the heavens and the earth, the earth was a formless void and darkness covered the face of the deep, while a wind from God swept over the waters.”  (Genesis 1:1-2)

That is not so much a literal statement as a metaphorical statement.  To the ancients the oceans and great waters were the domain of sea monsters, sometimes known as chaos monsters. The great waters were the dark and fearful abode of chaos.  Knowing this we can begin to understand the profound influence this story had upon them, for here is a picture of their God, at the beginning of the universe, busy at work subduing the very abode they feared the most.  For them a foundation stone of faith was that God was about the business of transforming chaos and ordering it in such a way that life and goodness was the result.  This is the nature of the creative power of God, and a key truth of this story. For them to worship God the Creator meant to affirm that God had transforming power over all chaos. Beginning with nothing but the raw material of chaos, little by little, God pushed back the chaos until God’s great good work was completed. It was truly a labor of love that sprung from the awesome imagination and creative energy of God.

Think what power this story must have had for those people, particularly at those times when their lives and nation seemed to be sinking in chaos; at the hand of oppressors and invaders that periodically overran them: the Egyptians; the Assyrians; the Babylonians; the Greeks; the Romans.  A major aspect of the history of God’s people in the Old Testament is a history of the intrusion of chaos and God’s power to subdue it, reorder it and restore goodness.

I believe we see evidence of God’s ongoing creative activity all around us.  In spite of the ways we violate and wreak havoc on the environment and even our own bodies, God has built in incredible mechanisms for life to renew itself time and again.  Every one of us has experienced various forms of illnesses and injuries and the ensuing chaos that comes with it.  But, order, goodness and health returned through the healing of the body and with the help of medical science.

A similar analogy can be drawn with the environment.  If we exercise good stewardship of the earth and apply sound environmental practices, the earth does have the ability to renew itself because behind it stands the ongoing creative energy of an awesome Creator God.  But if we choose sinful self-indulgence and short-sighted exploitation, we also have the power to decimate the planet. 

If we read on in Genesis we see it didn’t take long and chaos was making inroads back into the picture. In Genesis 3 we read about Adam and Eve, which for me is the repeating human story of every age and every life.  Through their sin and disobedience chaos re-entered the scene, casting all relationships into chaos: relationship with God; with each other; and with the earth.  When they yielded to the Creator, a measure of order and goodness returned.  When we see these stories as our story, therein lies their power, authority and truth:  the repeating story about God's continued and ongoing creative efforts to push back and subdue the chaos that creeps into life.

A few years ago our church office computer was invaded by a virus; a devious and destructive thing, making its way through the files and folders of the hard drive.  For two days I waged a heroic battle against the chaos, time and again purging the virus from the system only to have it come back in another place.  I finally succumbed and waved a white flag of surrender and yielded to a higher power, a member of the church who was a computer guru, who took it home and was able to restore order and goodness from the chaos.

That’s a pretty good analogy of the power and truth of this scripture. If there's one thing we all know and have experienced, it is that chaos is never very far away. It's always just lurking around the corner, prowling and sneaking around looking for an opportunity to intrude and cast life into disarray and confusion. It never stops. It never tires. It's insidious and incessant!  Metaphorically we could say that there are all forms of chaos viruses around us and in us whose purpose it is to invoke chaos: spiritual, emotional, physical, social, and economic chaos.

In the Metropolitan Museum of Art there is a sculpture entitled "The Hand of God" by the French sculptor Rodin (1840-1917). It is the sculpture of a hand, strong and sensitive, working with a lump of clay, fashioning a man and woman out of the inordinate, chaotic mass; an artistic testimony to our Creator God who brings incredible expression of life and order and goodness out of chaos.

The Philadelphia Museum of Art houses another of Rodin's works entitled "The Hand of the Devil." The hand is essentially the same as in the other, but where the hand of God is creating order and goodness, the hand of the devil is working to distort and destroy the human shape in its grasp.

You are I are caught in this same tension expressing itself in work issues; interpersonal conflicts; school issues; family issues; consequences of choices made, health issues; loss and grief. The power of chaos never stops, never sleeps, never rests.

It’s exactly at those times, when we are feeling at the mercy of chaotic powers bigger than us, that we need to recall the power and truth of our faith that emerges from this story that God is mysteriously working to restore goodness and purpose using the raw material of chaos.

As Christians we proclaim that the greatest defeat of chaos stands at the very center of our faith. The cross of Jesus Christ hangs high above us in this sacred place.  It reminds us that even when chaos unleashed its unbridled power and hideous might - love prevailed – life prevailed – goodness prevailed.

In the face of whatever inroad chaos has made into your life right now, know this: all of your problems will likely not be magically solved. You may have to continue to live with a good deal of the wreckage left in chaos' wake. But know that your awesome creator God, through Jesus Christ, can even use the raw material of chaos to create hope; new purpose; new insights and wisdom; a rekindled love; a second chance; the promise of a future.

It's God's tireless labor of love.  In the beginning, the Creator shaped chaos into goodness. Later, in Jesus Christ, God transformed the chaos of a hideous cross to an instrument of grace and salvation.

In your life and mine, right now, God promises no less.  Amen.