Preached at Urban Abbey on June 5, 2019
John 1:1-5
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.
Genesis 1:1-5
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.
God of the global church,
Whose love extends across oceans and through cultures,
to surround us in all times and places,
open our ears to hear your word for us here in this place,
open our hearts and minds to be attentive to your spirit,
Amen.
As I begin, I recognize that I live and work on the land of the Kaurna people, the first peoples, and custodians of the land of the Adelaide plains. I pay my respects to their elders, past, present and emerging, to the first people of this land and all indigenous persons who may be present.
The stories of creation from Scripture are familiar to us. 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.
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.
Genesis 1:1-5
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.
God of the global church,
Whose love extends across oceans and through cultures,
to surround us in all times and places,
open our ears to hear your word for us here in this place,
open our hearts and minds to be attentive to your spirit,
Amen.
As I begin, I recognize that I live and work on the land of the Kaurna people, the first peoples, and custodians of the land of the Adelaide plains. I pay my respects to their elders, past, present and emerging, to the first people of this land and all indigenous persons who may be present.
The stories of creation from Scripture are familiar to us. 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.
In 6 days God creates the universe and everything in it. God declares it good and on the seventh day God rests.
Or perhaps another creation story, where God creates humans from the dust of the earth and places them in a garden.
The indigenous people of Australia also have creation sorties. Debra particularly wanted me to share one of these with you. Not only because of the story itself but also what it means for us as people of faith also. There are over 500 indigenous countries or nations and each have their own particular stories that reflect their land. This story comes from the Adnyamathanha people who live in South Australia- about 4 hours north of my city of Adelaide.
Before I share this story with you, I want to recognize that this story is a gift to me. As one of the colonists, one of the white fellas, or to some Aboriginal groups a balanda, I hope to share it with you with respect and the same spirit of generosity that it was shared with me.
The stories are called Yurramudda, a time of the Spirit ancestors, when creation began.
A long time ago in the Flinders Rangers, the ranges were flat and featureless and the Adnyamathanha people lived on this country. Yulu, the kingfisher man, was the leader of all ceremonies. At Kalculpanna, Yulu could look south to all the lands of the Adnyamathanha country. Everyone was gathering at Ikara, the gathering place, or Wilpena Pound, waiting for Yulu to lead an initiation ceremony. They grew tired of waiting for Yulu and they sent a smoke signal that Wala the wild turkey would lead the ceremony of Yulu did not come. Yulu was worried that Wala would not perform the ceremony properly so he began to travel south. He arrived at a big forest with a fire stick. The smoke sent a signal to the people at Ikara, telling them he was coming to lead the ceremony. While the fire was burning he cooked a couple of ceremony dampers, a kind of bread, but it wasn’t only the people who read the smoke signals. Two murra serpents read them as well. They decided to follow Yulu down through the ceremony ground. The serpents rested and formed two mountains around them – the male serpent formed the small hill to the west and the female serpent formed the big hill to the east. When Yulu went past he knew they were following him so he went quickly. He carried on until he stopped at a sacred placed which was at that time a flat land. As he went through land, the Akurra followed him. As they went the snakes’ bellies slid through the country and pushed up the earth, creating two ridges. Yulu went quickly. When he arrived at Ikara, Yulu grabbed the fire stick that Wala was holding. That stick turned into the red star, known today as the morning star. Just then the people looked up and saw a bright star over the hills – that meant it was time to begin the initiation ceremony, but what they thought were stars were actually the Akurra, or the snakes eyes shining down on them. The serpents began to make a big whirley wind and dust was flying everywhere. The people began to run trying to escape. Yulu and Wala tried to help people but the serpents were too fast. They ate nearly everyone. Only Yulu and Wala and a few of the Adnyamathanha people escaped. The Akurra watched as Yulu and Wala ran to the East, but they were so sick after eating the people, they went into a deep sleep. Their bodies formed the walls of Ikara. Yulu and Wala flew away. Wala got tired so he formed himself into a rock. That rock is a significant color used for initiation ceremonies. Yulu continued further East and formed into a sacred rock near mount chambers. That rock represents blood and the second stage of initiation. There was a big change in the weather. A wind came and blew dust over the people’s tracks. The rain came and cut the mounds forming the hills and the valleys of the Flinders Ranges. The dust covered Yulu’s fire and that is where the coal can be found today at Leigh Creek.
What similarities did you notice to the creation stories of Scripture or other creation stories you may know?
After colonization, the farmers brought in sheep and goats because Ikara or Wilpena Pound formed a naturally protective boundary.
Yulu’s coal is now mined Leigh Creek, despite indigenous Australians not believing that the earth should be dug up.
Tourists climb to the top of the highest peak despite the Adnyamathanha people asking tourists not to because it is a sacred site.
The story of Christian faith and the church in Australia is very mixed and rather complicated. For today, I want for us to think about the fact that a Christianity arrived in Australia when the white fellas arrived by boat and placed a flag in the ground and claimed the land as their own. In many places it came with violence, and oppression. If we fast forward 200 years to today, there are many aboriginal and Torres Strait islanders with deep faith. In 1977, so just over 40 years ago, three denominations decided that what united them was greater than their differences, and formed the Uniting Church. The problem was the preamble to the constitution was silent on the history of Australia; any mention of Aboriginal and Torres Strait islanders was completely absent. There was no recognition of colonization, and the violence that came with it, or the deep spirituality of the first peoples. What was to be said about whether this is the same God present in the indigenous stories of creation and custom to Christian faith or different?
In 2012, a new preamble was a written for the Church’s constitution. There were many controversies, over what was added. One of them was the strong affirmation that the First Peoples had already encountered the Creator God before the arrival of colonizers on the Australian shores and that Spirit was already at work in the land, revealing God through the law, custom, and ceremony. This statement goes on to recognize that this is the same love and grace that is fully revealed in Jesus Christ. This is the same God being revealed.
You may be wondering what is so dramatic about such a claim. What this represents is that God and the spirit are absolutely and utterly free of any constraints we may wish to place on them. There is no longer a neat little box that God fits in, that comes through Scripture alone. Or just one way the Spirit is at work in the world. It entirely turns sharing faith on its head. The spirit does not go with me, in my pocket, ready to be shared with another, or brought with me into difficult situations. Rather now, it is our task to look at where God is already present and the spirit is already at work and get on board with what God is doing in the world. It opens up the possibility that creation and the environment reveal God’s presence and that in nature the spirit is at work and speaks to us. It opens up the possibility that another faith or science can reveal God’s presence and that in nature the spirit is at work and speaks to us. It means that God is not in our control but rather at work in the world and we are given the opportunity to share in the life giving story of God.
This whole idea makes some people very uncomfortable. Partly because of the loss of power and control over our own assertions about God, but the validation of another's experience of God doesn’t devalue our own. But also because it describes the love and grace as being finally and fully revealed in Jesus Christ, rather than the knowledge of Jesus being the starting point for faith, or the only way to know the sustaining love of God. Here we are assured by our own Scripture, through the poetry of the gospel of John:
"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it."
This is good news for us, it means that in challenging places of violence, God is already present and the Spirit is already at work. Where the environment is trampled and degraded, God is already present and the Spirit is at work. In our own lives, in the difficult times and places, God is present and the Spirit is at work.
For the ongoing revelation of God in the world – thanks be to God.
For the gift of the spirit who is at work and invites us to get on board and join in – thanks be to God.
And for the light that was in the beginning, the light that shines in the darkness, for the light that cannot be contained, and for the life that is the light for all people – thanks be to God.
Or perhaps another creation story, where God creates humans from the dust of the earth and places them in a garden.
The indigenous people of Australia also have creation sorties. Debra particularly wanted me to share one of these with you. Not only because of the story itself but also what it means for us as people of faith also. There are over 500 indigenous countries or nations and each have their own particular stories that reflect their land. This story comes from the Adnyamathanha people who live in South Australia- about 4 hours north of my city of Adelaide.
Before I share this story with you, I want to recognize that this story is a gift to me. As one of the colonists, one of the white fellas, or to some Aboriginal groups a balanda, I hope to share it with you with respect and the same spirit of generosity that it was shared with me.
The stories are called Yurramudda, a time of the Spirit ancestors, when creation began.
A long time ago in the Flinders Rangers, the ranges were flat and featureless and the Adnyamathanha people lived on this country. Yulu, the kingfisher man, was the leader of all ceremonies. At Kalculpanna, Yulu could look south to all the lands of the Adnyamathanha country. Everyone was gathering at Ikara, the gathering place, or Wilpena Pound, waiting for Yulu to lead an initiation ceremony. They grew tired of waiting for Yulu and they sent a smoke signal that Wala the wild turkey would lead the ceremony of Yulu did not come. Yulu was worried that Wala would not perform the ceremony properly so he began to travel south. He arrived at a big forest with a fire stick. The smoke sent a signal to the people at Ikara, telling them he was coming to lead the ceremony. While the fire was burning he cooked a couple of ceremony dampers, a kind of bread, but it wasn’t only the people who read the smoke signals. Two murra serpents read them as well. They decided to follow Yulu down through the ceremony ground. The serpents rested and formed two mountains around them – the male serpent formed the small hill to the west and the female serpent formed the big hill to the east. When Yulu went past he knew they were following him so he went quickly. He carried on until he stopped at a sacred placed which was at that time a flat land. As he went through land, the Akurra followed him. As they went the snakes’ bellies slid through the country and pushed up the earth, creating two ridges. Yulu went quickly. When he arrived at Ikara, Yulu grabbed the fire stick that Wala was holding. That stick turned into the red star, known today as the morning star. Just then the people looked up and saw a bright star over the hills – that meant it was time to begin the initiation ceremony, but what they thought were stars were actually the Akurra, or the snakes eyes shining down on them. The serpents began to make a big whirley wind and dust was flying everywhere. The people began to run trying to escape. Yulu and Wala tried to help people but the serpents were too fast. They ate nearly everyone. Only Yulu and Wala and a few of the Adnyamathanha people escaped. The Akurra watched as Yulu and Wala ran to the East, but they were so sick after eating the people, they went into a deep sleep. Their bodies formed the walls of Ikara. Yulu and Wala flew away. Wala got tired so he formed himself into a rock. That rock is a significant color used for initiation ceremonies. Yulu continued further East and formed into a sacred rock near mount chambers. That rock represents blood and the second stage of initiation. There was a big change in the weather. A wind came and blew dust over the people’s tracks. The rain came and cut the mounds forming the hills and the valleys of the Flinders Ranges. The dust covered Yulu’s fire and that is where the coal can be found today at Leigh Creek.
What similarities did you notice to the creation stories of Scripture or other creation stories you may know?
After colonization, the farmers brought in sheep and goats because Ikara or Wilpena Pound formed a naturally protective boundary.
Yulu’s coal is now mined Leigh Creek, despite indigenous Australians not believing that the earth should be dug up.
Tourists climb to the top of the highest peak despite the Adnyamathanha people asking tourists not to because it is a sacred site.
The story of Christian faith and the church in Australia is very mixed and rather complicated. For today, I want for us to think about the fact that a Christianity arrived in Australia when the white fellas arrived by boat and placed a flag in the ground and claimed the land as their own. In many places it came with violence, and oppression. If we fast forward 200 years to today, there are many aboriginal and Torres Strait islanders with deep faith. In 1977, so just over 40 years ago, three denominations decided that what united them was greater than their differences, and formed the Uniting Church. The problem was the preamble to the constitution was silent on the history of Australia; any mention of Aboriginal and Torres Strait islanders was completely absent. There was no recognition of colonization, and the violence that came with it, or the deep spirituality of the first peoples. What was to be said about whether this is the same God present in the indigenous stories of creation and custom to Christian faith or different?
In 2012, a new preamble was a written for the Church’s constitution. There were many controversies, over what was added. One of them was the strong affirmation that the First Peoples had already encountered the Creator God before the arrival of colonizers on the Australian shores and that Spirit was already at work in the land, revealing God through the law, custom, and ceremony. This statement goes on to recognize that this is the same love and grace that is fully revealed in Jesus Christ. This is the same God being revealed.
You may be wondering what is so dramatic about such a claim. What this represents is that God and the spirit are absolutely and utterly free of any constraints we may wish to place on them. There is no longer a neat little box that God fits in, that comes through Scripture alone. Or just one way the Spirit is at work in the world. It entirely turns sharing faith on its head. The spirit does not go with me, in my pocket, ready to be shared with another, or brought with me into difficult situations. Rather now, it is our task to look at where God is already present and the spirit is already at work and get on board with what God is doing in the world. It opens up the possibility that creation and the environment reveal God’s presence and that in nature the spirit is at work and speaks to us. It opens up the possibility that another faith or science can reveal God’s presence and that in nature the spirit is at work and speaks to us. It means that God is not in our control but rather at work in the world and we are given the opportunity to share in the life giving story of God.
This whole idea makes some people very uncomfortable. Partly because of the loss of power and control over our own assertions about God, but the validation of another's experience of God doesn’t devalue our own. But also because it describes the love and grace as being finally and fully revealed in Jesus Christ, rather than the knowledge of Jesus being the starting point for faith, or the only way to know the sustaining love of God. Here we are assured by our own Scripture, through the poetry of the gospel of John:
"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it."
This is good news for us, it means that in challenging places of violence, God is already present and the Spirit is already at work. Where the environment is trampled and degraded, God is already present and the Spirit is at work. In our own lives, in the difficult times and places, God is present and the Spirit is at work.
For the ongoing revelation of God in the world – thanks be to God.
For the gift of the spirit who is at work and invites us to get on board and join in – thanks be to God.
And for the light that was in the beginning, the light that shines in the darkness, for the light that cannot be contained, and for the life that is the light for all people – thanks be to God.
This is a powerful sermon and am grateful you shared it, and invited Jennifer to share her experiences and insight. I appreciate the perspective her reflection offers and artful connection to the two scriptures chosen. Thank you!
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