Sermon for the Second Sunday before Lent

Lectionary Readings for the Second Sunday before Lent

Genesis 1:1-2:3

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 face of the waters. Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light. And God saw that the light was good; and God separated the light from the darkness. God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day. And God said, “Let there be a dome in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters.” So God made the dome and separated the waters that were under the dome from the waters that were above the dome. And it was so. God called the dome Sky. And there was evening and there was morning, the second day. And God said, “Let the waters under the sky be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear.” And it was so. God called the dry land Earth, and the waters that were gathered together he called Seas. And God saw that it was good. Then God said, “Let the earth put forth vegetation: plants yielding seed, and fruit trees of every kind on earth that bear fruit with the seed in it.” And it was so. The earth brought forth vegetation: plants yielding seed of every kind, and trees of every kind bearing fruit with the seed in it. And God saw that it was good. And there was evening and there was morning, the third day. And God said, “Let there be lights in the dome of the sky to separate the day from the night; and let them be for signs and for seasons and for days and years, and let them be lights in the dome of the sky to give light upon the earth.” And it was so. God made the two great lights—the greater light to rule the day and the lesser light to rule the night—and the stars. God set them in the dome of the sky to give light upon the earth, to rule over the day and over the night, and to separate the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good. And there was evening and there was morning, the fourth day. And God said, “Let the waters bring forth swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the dome of the sky.” So God created the great sea monsters and every living creature that moves, of every kind, with which the waters swarm, and every winged bird of every kind. And God saw that it was good. God blessed them, saying, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth.” And there was evening and there was morning, the fifth day. And God said, “Let the earth bring forth living creatures of every kind: cattle and creeping things and wild animals of the earth of every kind.” And it was so. God made the wild animals of the earth of every kind, and the cattle of every kind, and everything that creeps upon the ground of every kind. And God saw that it was good. Then God said, “Let us make humankind in our image, according to our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the wild animals of the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth.” So God created humankind in his image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air and over every living thing that moves upon the earth.” God said, “See, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit; you shall have them for food. And to every beast of the earth, and to every bird of the air, and to everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life, I have given every green plant for food.” And it was so. God saw everything that he had made, and indeed, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day. Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all their multitude. And on the seventh day God finished the work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all the work that he had done. So God blessed the seventh day and hallowed it, because on it God rested from all the work that he had done in creation.

Psalm 136

O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever.

O give thanks to the God of gods, for his steadfast love endures forever.

O give thanks to the Lord of lords, for his steadfast love endures forever;

who alone does great wonders, for his steadfast love endures forever;

who by understanding made the heavens, for his steadfast love endures forever;

who spread out the earth on the waters, for his steadfast love endures forever;

who made the great lights, for his steadfast love endures forever;

the sun to rule over the day, for his steadfast love endures forever;

the moon and stars to rule over the night, for his steadfast love endures forever;

who struck Egypt through their firstborn, for his steadfast love endures forever;

and brought Israel out from among them, for his steadfast love endures forever;

with a strong hand and an outstretched arm, for his steadfast love endures forever;

who divided the Red Sea in two, for his steadfast love endures forever;

and made Israel pass through the midst of it, for his steadfast love endures forever;

but overthrew Pharaoh and his army in the Red Sea, for his steadfast love endures forever;

who led his people through the wilderness, for his steadfast love endures forever;

who struck down great kings, for his steadfast love endures forever;

and killed famous kings, for his steadfast love endures forever;

Sihon, king of the Amorites, for his steadfast love endures forever;

and Og, king of Bashan, for his steadfast love endures forever;

and gave their land as a heritage, for his steadfast love endures forever;

a heritage to his servant Israel, for his steadfast love endures forever.

It is he who remembered us in our low estate, for his steadfast love endures forever;

and rescued us from our foes, for his steadfast love endures forever;

who gives food to all flesh, for his steadfast love endures forever.

O give thanks to the God of heaven, for his steadfast love endures forever.

Romans 8: 18-25

I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory about to be revealed to us. For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the children of God; for the creation was subjected to futility, not of its own will but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to decay and will obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. We know that the whole creation has been groaning in labour pains until now; and not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly while we wait for adoption, the redemption of our bodies. For in hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what is seen? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.

Matthew 6: 25-end

Jesus said: Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your span of life? And why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you —you of little faith? Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear?’ For it is the Gentiles who strive for all these things; and indeed your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. So do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring worries of its own. Today’s trouble is enough for today.

Sermon for the Second Sunday before Lent

There are two Creation accounts in Genesis; we are given only the first to read today. The ancient, unnamed author of this origin story—-this author/editor did not think it necessary to choose which account was “better.” He saw that both expressed something marvellous, something true, about who we are and why we are. Because we come from the hand of God.

This passage, Genesis chapter 1 verse 1 through chapter 2 verse 4a, this passage is a passage of pure poetry, a fitting beginning, or genesis, to the Bible it introduces. And though it is long, I hope that all through the reading of it one phrase kept sounding in your ear:

And God saw that it was good.

And God saw that it was good.

And God saw that it was good.

The distinguishing characteristic of God’s creation of the world is that it was good, is good. God completed his work, was satisfied with it, rested from it, hallowed it—-that day that marked the end of his work. And there it was, beautiful, good, and sufficient—-for us to enjoy.

This first account is the creation account that most people remember. Seven is the number of perfection in the Bible: this story sets forth a created world of harmony, and symmetry, and order. But this good creation that God made for us, we have been damaging and destroying, heedless of God’s good intention for us—-that we be the caretakers of this precious Creation, this world that was created for our delight. So, today, this re-reading of our story could be for us an occasion to rededicate ourselves to the renewal of the physical world all around us.

Joseph Haydn wrote a great oratorio, entitled The Creation, in 1798; it premiered in London, at Covent Garden, two years later. Haydn, a devout Catholic, often recited the rosary when he had trouble composing, a practice that he usually found effective. It was also his habit to begin the manuscript of a composition with the words "in nomine Domini" ("in the name of the Lord") and to end it with "Laus Deo" ("praise be to God”). The first performance of the eagerly awaited Creation was a private one, by invitation only, so hundreds of the common people who were also impatient to hear it had to crowd into the streets around the old Schwarzenberg Palace. Thirty special police were called in to keep order.

The Creation was performed nearly forty more times in Vienna during Haydn's lifetime. During his remaining eleven years he frequently conducted performances of it for the support of the widows and orphans of musicians. A final triumph occurred, in March of 1808, when a performance of The Creation was organised in his honour. Haydn was brought into the concert hall on an armchair to the sound of trumpets and drums; he was greeted by Beethoven, Salieri (who led the performance), other musicians, and members of the aristocracy. He was moved and exhausted by the experience and had to leave at the intermission. Haydn lived on for fourteen more months. His final days were full of anxiety, however, as in May 1809 the French army under Napoleon launched an attack on Vienna and bombarded his neighbourhood. Vienna fell to the French on the 13th of May. Haydn, was, however, deeply moved when four days later a French cavalry officer came to pay his respects. He sang, beautifully, an aria from The Creation.

I thought it would be a lovely insertion here to have some of the familiar words of Haydn’s great work sung by the choir:

the heavens are telling the glory of God…

the wonder of his work displays the firmament

But the Creation story in Genesis ends with the parable of disobedience: humankind wants to usurp God’s place in creation—-they want to be God. They are driven out of paradise: to till the soil, to endure the agony of childbirth, to commit acts of violence upon one another.

Beethoven, the pupil of Haydn, also wrote an oratorio. Its title is Christ on the Mount of Olives. I had the chance to hear this seldom-performed work, not on Good Friday, but, oddly, last Thursday, at the Barbican, with Simon Rattle conducting the London Symphony Orchestra. Beethoven wrote this work in 1802; its premiere was in 1803, five years after that of Haydn’s Creation. We come, in it, to a very different theme from the joy and exultation of God, delighting in his creation of the world and in his beloved creatures who are to be its inhabitants. The Christ of Beethoven’s oratorio is deeply human, anguished by the decision he is given to make. Humankind cannot redeem itself from its weary cycle of selfishness, violence, and suffering. Only the Christ, through sacrificial love, can set them free.

But before he makes this choice, he cries out in this different garden, not Eden, but Gethsemane: How can this feeble race, from dust created, ever know the feeling that I, Thy only Son, must now endure? Ah, see the pangs that throb my heart! My soul is faint, my Father! See how my heart does throb. O pity me!

Creation from dust is completed by return to dust: it is what it means to be human. The powerful, poetic words of the funeral service in the Book of Common Prayer are those of Thomas Cranmer: We therefore commit this body to the ground; earth to earth, ashes to ashes, dust to dust; in sure and certain hope of the Resurrection to eternal life, through our Lord Jesus Christ….

Though he lived before either Haydn or Beethoven, Cranmer knew both Creation accounts very well. In these familiar words of the committal service, he chose to echo them, and to remind us both of our mortality and of our redemption.

Jesus told us not to worry. About what we eat, or drink, or wear, or any other aspect of our created life. He said, Strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. If we fix our minds on the God who created us, and the good he intended for us, we will be able to live without fear of anything in life or in death. The Christ who came to redeem us freed us, indeed, from the need to worry.

We can reclaim our damaged earth; it is within our power to go forward, in faith and hope and love, to address ourselves to the task at hand.

God grant us courage and perseverance!

Amen.

The Rev’d Dana English

The Church of St. John the Baptist, Holland Road February 16, 2020