Whiteboard: In the Beginning

This Sunday we begin the longest stretch in the Christian Liturgical Calendar.

From the Third Sunday in June clear until the Fourth Sunday in November we'll be in "Ordinary Time" (also known as "The Sundays After Pentecost"). That means that for the next five months we are in that long stretch in the worship life of the church between any major, high holy days.

So the colors in the church have changed to green, and they are going to be that way for a while. We "go green" in the church during The Sundays After Pentecost because this is the time that we are to grow in the faith. And just like the green leafy trees that are reaching up to the heavens and growing in the light of the summer sun, we too are called to grow in this season in the life of the church.

In that regard, we'll be exploring some of the major stories in our Biblical tradition. We'll celebrate the mission, ministry, and teachings of Jesus. We'll hear once more the epistles of Paul to the early church. We'll listen to the words of Psalms and hear the wisdom and teachings of the Old Testament.

As we enter into this long stretch in the worship life of the church, what better place could there be to begin then right at the beginning! 

This Sunday we build our worship service around the first creation story in Genesis. It has the strange designation of Genesis 1:1-2:4a. You would have thought that the editors and arrangers of the Bible (the good folks who put in all of the chapter and verse numbers, many many years after the stories themselves had been written) would have just made the first creation story the entire first chapter. But no, they had to arrange it in such away that the seventh day bleeds over into the second chapter, and the last line bleeds into the first half of a new verse.

Anyway, it is the beginning. And beginnings are important. Beginnings set us on a journey, orient us in a direction, and predict where we are heading. All of those things happen in the Genesis 1 (I'm going shorthand here) and some of the deepest truths that we need to know as a people of faith are revealed right there at the very beginning of our scriptural tradition. We learn right away that God is present, powerful, creative, and blessing bestowing and that we are created in God's own image -- what an amazing way to start the story of faith!

Come join us this Sunday as we begin at the beginning and celebrate the Lord God our Creator!