Description
Genesis 2: 4b – 22 tells the second of the age old creation myths which are known in many varied forms from ancient cultures across our tiny blue planet. At the core of this story is the attempt of the Jewish religious leaders to help their communities find and own their origin stories that are grounded in the creative power of this unnamed God whom they follow.
One of the observations that modern eyes and minds often make is that this story was formed in a culture that often placed those identified as male as the first or more important creations as the woman is formed ‘after and from the man.’ This is one of the cases where wise and careful reading of the texts is necessary so that the readers and hearers in today’s culture receive it as a gift from the ancient culture. We also need to hold up the New Testament lens which lifts up, celebrates and often places in first place the role of women and children.
Psalm 139: 13-16 is another response from our ancestors in the faith in affirming that the wonder and miracle of life finds its source and beginnings in the love and creativity of God.
Contemporary minds [even from younger ages] are often quite aware of the processes that bring about life, whether naturally or with some scientific support, as Ovum and Sperm are brought together to bring about the miracle of life. Humans are only one part of the creation that experiences the gift of being brought to life in this way.
Acts 17: 22-28 tells of the way St Paul attempts to share with his Greek audience the understanding he has come to as a Citizen of Rome and a Jew who has experienced ‘being born from above’ in the encounter with the risen Christ on the road to Damascus.
As a zealous Jewish leader, he was known and trusted by the Jewish leadership to be one of those who were instructed to rid the world of those who did not follow to the letter the rules of the Jewish faith, particularly those who were following ‘the way’ of Yeshuah of Nazareth. The proof of his mind, eyes, heart and very being experiencing this wonder of ‘being born from above’ is demonstrated in the way he affirms the Greek people who have been searching for this ‘life transforming faith.’
His words affirm that embracing they are ‘not far’ from God and that some of their own wisdom writers have glimpsed this truth themselves when they wrote ‘For we, too, are his offspring.’ [Acts 17:28]
 John 3:1-16 is perhaps one of the most loved and yet misunderstood and poorly exegeted parts of the New Testament. This Gospel is written in a vastly different style to Mark, Matthew and Luke/Acts which scholars agree operate from a common source document. So it is necessary to use a more appropriate lens when reading, hearing and teaching about the material contained in the writings from the community of John. Their gift to us is a document which seeks to respond to the challenges that were confronting them and their community as they endeavored to remain faithful to the teachings of the one we know as Jesus. The cultural practices of peoples around the world when seeking to pass on deep truths about the mysteries and secrets to living well is to share stories. As one of my wonderful Quaker minister friends says:
‘All stories are true …. and some of them actually happened.’
It seems to me that the community of John had discerned together that many who were attempting to discredit and cause trouble for them had actually misunderstood the deep wisdom that Jesus had taught.
This is evidenced by Nicodemus, himself a wise teacher of the law, who totally misunderstanding the teaching of Jesus, which was NOT about a physical rebirth. The teaching of Jesus was about providing a brand new lens through which to look at the world and all people and creation in it.
The community of John invite all who read and heard their message about living ‘the way’ taught by Jesus to upend the current way of looking at life and faith and replace their current world view with the lens of Jesus. The Jesus who continued to bring the ancient message that the dream of God is for no one to be left out of the feast, all are welcomed in, all are given a fair share of what it necessary for life. The community cite the well known story from Jewish history of how the Israelites were transformed by looking at what they feared, i.e. snakes.
In the same way, people who were fearful of embracing this new way of being, living and serving can be transformed by looking at the life and teachings of Jesus, who transformed their community by enabling them to see life through the lens of the love which brought creation into being.
