Again this is from the chapter, "You Cannot Fool Your Nephesh" in his book "Mandate to Difference."
The creator God....is a God of blessing, capable of assigning life and well-being to every aspect of creation. When the Creator had arrived on the scene, the already extant chaotic matter of "Tohu-wa-Bohu" was distinctively unblessed and incapable of life. by word and by act, the creator God transposed that seething chaotic matter into an ordered, coherent life-support system. The blessing-giving God transposes reality by three times blessing the creation:
- The first blessing is toward sea monsters and winged creatures
- The second blessing is toward the human couple
- The third blessing is of the seventh day now made holy
The blessing, the infusion of the life force of God, is in turn to (a) non-human creatures, especially sea monsters - thus, a witness that God has ordered even chaotic waters; (b) humans as God's regents in the maintenance of an order of abundance; and (c) a day of rest intrinsic to the structure of the created order of fruitfulness.
I was caught up in the blessing of the sea monsters. If God can bless the sea monsters - those beasts from the deep that we cannot see but are always a threat to where we can go in life - and in that show God's dominion over such disorder and chaos, certainly God can handle and bless this day in which I can so easily be overcome by the beast who I envision are biting at my life. Then again, what a place of responsibility we are bless to take on. We are to maintain this order of abundance. The abundance is a reality - we must make sure that it is managed so as to provide for life that is ordered and well - for all. It is our responsibility to make sure that the produce gets to those whose need is at hand. We do not have a good history of doing this. In fact, too often we follow the lead of Pharaoh who makes sure there is surplus without making sure that all are well-fed and sustained.
Connection: How do we - as individuals and as church and as community - make sure that the abundance is spread around? How to we break the mighty cycle of self-indulgence and enter into the miracle of enough for all?
When you bless us, O God, we are handed the opportunity to shape our lives into the stewards you call us to be through this blessing. Within this day continue to bless us and move our hearts. Amen.
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