"God, the Soil, and 'Claymation'" - Sunday, June 15, 2014

I couldn't help thinking of "Claymation" as I pondered the story in Genesis 2 of God's creating the first human being from the dust of the earth, the soil.  Claymation - you know, the filming process that combines clay figures and the artistry of animation that gave us such notable Christmas television specials as Santa Claus is Coming to Town and Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.

I also came across a reference to a stunning poem by Scott Cairns in Making Peace with the Land: God's Call to Reconcile with Creation*, which blends in beautifully imaginative ways the account of the creation of humanity in Genesis 1:26-27 with that in Genesis 2.  That poem, in conjunction with the poetry of the Genesis 1, will ground us (couldn't resist the pun!) in worship on Sunday as we consider what it means to be made in the image and likeness of God, especially as caretakers of the soil - the stuff out of which life springs and upon which our lives depend.  One of the things I hope to convey is that these Genesis accounts aren't so much about a way of knowing (what happened at the time of creation) as they are about a way of seeing [Ellen Davis, p. 46*] - seeing the fragile beauty of the interrelated systems of life and mineral in the created order as God does and...being moved to care for it in ways that reflect that insight.

In celebration of Father's Day, I also want to lift up God's "off the charts creativity" born of God's inexhaustible love and suggest that fatherhood lived out most faithfully reflects that creative love.  I think it goes without saying that you don't have to have begotten children to live creatively as a father in the world - guiding, encouraging, and bringing hope to lives all around you.

Come join us on Sunday - and, as usual, feel free to reply to this with comments, if you'd like.  I reserve the right to refer in the sermon, anonymously of course, to anything sent to me in reply to this blog post.

May God's creative love fill you this moment,

Steve
><>
[*Note that Making Peace with the Land is a book by Fred Bahnson and Norman Wirzba calling us to reflect seriously on what it means to live with and from the Earth as opposed to exploiting it for our own benefits.  It and another by Ellen F. Davis, Scripture, Culture, and Agriculture, are furnishing the outline for our summer worship series here at Ft. Collins First UMC.]