Nothing but Clay Pots

So I'm stoked about our worship coming up this Sunday; we're doing a Blessing of the Seed, Soil, Water--and Tractors! service. Pr. Mark wasn't so sure about doing this, because he's done it in the past and only ever gotten one measly tractor to show up. I took that as a challenge, and issued my own challenge to the farmers of the congregations: when I pull up to church this Sunday, I want to see who better represents--green and yellow or red.


For those of you who know farming culture, you're laughing already. For those of you who don't, there is a huge huge HUGE rivalry (did I mention it's a large one?) between those farmers who use farm equipment from the John Deere brand--green and yellow--and those who drive Case IH--red. You don't cross over; you don't have a couple of green and a few of red. Oh no. Sacriligeous, that is. You choose one and you stick with it for the rest of your life--excuse me, that's not quite correct. Your grandfather chose one, and you will stick with that brand for the rest of your life. No excuses. No joke.


So I'm excited to see who shows up more this Sunday. I'm betting we get more than one tractor at our churches. But that's not the reason I'm writing today. The reason I'm writing is because as I was working on my sermon for this Sunday--based in the Creation story--I realized that there's something that's been bothering me about it lately. Well, not the story itself, but what we've done to it.


You see, I think we've lost the meaning of the Creation story.  It seems like there's two extremes we typically jump at when we read it. The first ditch to dive in is the Disney "Circle of Life" ditch. That's the one where we’re all connected and it’s through living in harmony that we will save the world. There is some truth in that, and some good ideas, but I don’t think it’s the main message of the Creation story. 


At the same time, though, I'm wary of the other ditch we're chugging these tractors along. I also don’t think that the main message of the Creation story is that human beings are the ultimate and pinnacle of all Creation. Now that is an idea we like a lot. It’s true that we were created either last or first in the accounts of Creation (Genesis 1 and 2; did you know they have different timelines?), which puts the creation of humans at a focal point in the story.  It's also true that we were given dominion over the rest of Creation (bring on the "hoorah's" and the "go humanity's"). But sometimes when we focus on that idea so strongly, it’s like we forget that, oh yeah, we were created ourselves. We are as much creatures of the Creator’s fashioning as the birds, the mountains, and the dung beetles (humbling, no? Read on...). Paul calls us “clay pots” in 2 Corinthians 4:7, and I’ve always liked the deflating effect that can have on us. Yes, we have dominion over all creation—but that’s just one type of clay pot lording it over another type. Sounds a little less grandiose when you think about it like that.


So what do we do with all of that? What's the main message of the Creation story for us? Well, the first account tells us what God's opinion of us is; God created Creation and thought, "Oh man, that is really good--in fact, I love that!"  That's a pretty awesome message to hear. The second account then tells us what we're supposed to do with all that dominion we have over the other clay pots. Hear the Word of the Lord:


"And the Lord God planted a garden in Eden, in the east; and there he put the man whom he had formed.  Out of the ground the Lord God made to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food...The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to till it and keep it." (Gen. 2:8-9a, 15)


Till it and keep it. The Lord God created us, loved us, and gave us a job to do. Have you ever been in a position in life where you don't have meaningful work to do, whether that's a job or taking care of your family or a good hobby?  Tim had about 2 weeks of that when he joined me in New Hampshire, and it was as if something was itching at him all the time and he just couldn't get a good scratch at it. Meaningful work--of any kind--is what draws us out of our own clay pots and forces us to look at the ones around us. I'm sure there are many more great messages in the Creation story than just these two, but that's where I find good hope and enouragement.


God loves me. I'm a clay pot. Till the ground and keep it. Guess I better start looking for a tractor.