Hello everyone, my name is Karen and I'm the youth worker here at St Hugh's. We've just started our series right at the beginning of the bible, in the book of Genesis. This morning I will be talking about what it means for us as God's people to be part of a community and how we are called to be a part of God's plan. Before I delve into this, would you join me in praying?
PRAY
When I began to look at this passage, I thought, “why have we got two accounts of creation?” We have the 6 days spelled out before it and a day of rest, and then the picture begins to be filled in a bit more with some more details. It's almost as if the writer of Genesis realises that we need a little bit extra to really get to grips on how God created the earth.
Today we are going to focus on one verse, verse 18 Then the Lord God said “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him”. I believe this verse speaks of a God who recognises the importance of humans being in some sort of community. If we look back at Chapter 1 v27 we find that God has made male and female in his image. Here we see more detail and a hint of the reasons behind God creating male and female, not just one, but two, designed to work as one in partnership.
Lets have a quick look at the rest of creation, and what we have created this morning.
So here we have a magnificent tree. And now comes you doing some work again. Can you think of some of the things trees offer us or other animals?
Fruit/food
Shelter
Shade
pretty colours in autumn
conversion of co2 to o2
resin
place for animals to nest
wood for fire/carpentry
entertainment, something to hang your swing from
Self-sustaining community in itself
Fantastic! It in itself is a community too, the different parts of a tree benefit the entire tree. Can you feel your science lessons flooding back in?! The roots go down into the ground to stabilise the tree and get water, which is sucked up the trunk, to the leaves who spread out to catch the sunlight, to bring the nutrients from the sun, to the branches and roots so they can grow bigger, to find more water.
Earlier on we had the animals who came to be named by Adam. We could have a pride of Lions, or a herd of elephants or a colony of ants or a host of sparrow, or a flock of sheep and a pack of wolves. Each of the animals that God created works in a community to get food, find water, to protect themselves and the young of their own kind.
I think as humans we are also designed to be in a community. Focussing on the phrase God uses “It is not good for the man to be alone” God recognises the importance of giving man a helper. He created us to be His friends, as well as friends with each other. A man who is alone cannot achieve much, but a man who is in community and has the support of that community can do much more. I've noticed over the last three years as I've studied and continued to grow in a community that I certainly cannot live alone, outside of a community. I have come to realise the value of the church community and how individuals often do better when they are part of a community and doing what God wants them to do.
I believe that we are taking up this calling less and less, it's sadly getting more common that we do not know our neighbours. I've lived in my house for three years and I know my neighbours well enough that we can talk for hours over the fence and if I see them in town I'll offer them a lift home. I only know the ones either side of me well, and the people further down the road will wave hi to me. But it's better than being isolated totally. The neighbours cut my grass and will offer to fix broken things me and my house mate can't fix, we'll ask their advice and they'll ask us to look out for their houses when they go away. I am still getting to know them, but they are really good, and it's good to be known too.
One person who was called from a life of possible loneliness back into community was Zacchaeus. His story can be found in the New Testament in Luke 19. Zach was a tax collector, and in Jesus' time they weren't very popular, thought of as swindlers and liars, they were typically quite rich and not many people befriended them. In this story, every one grumbles about him being a “sinner”. Zach is called down from a tree, which he has climbed in order to see Jesus better, and Jesus invites himself for dinner! How cheeky of Jesus?! But by his invite, he brings Zach back in to the community and Zach promises to give away half his possessions and return all the money he's taken four times over. Jesus invites us into community too. Wherever we are there is a church community we can be part of, so I wanted us to think for a bit what is God calling us to do in that community, whether it is church or not.
So what are the consequences of living in community and responding to God's calling for that community? I think we develop better as people, individuals, but as we do that we also have a stronger sense of community identity. Your response might be like Zach's, to give away what you own, or it might be more like Adam's, to work at the earth and look after creation, or it could really be anywhere in between. Maybe you need to hear from God what you are called to be doing, or you need some one else to identify your strengths and abilities. The community performs better when every one is playing to their strengths and not focussing on their weaknesses.
We leave this story in a good place, there is a lot to be done in the Garden of Eden, lots to be worked on, and plenty of getting to know each other from God, Adam and Eve. For a while Adam and Eve lived in the Garden of Eden doing God's work. The man was not alone and he was pretty happy, creation was happy. Everyone was doing exactly as God had asked them to do.
In conclusion I believe that creation can teach us that God wants us to be in community and we can do better! This might mean living and working in a community and rather than seeing it as a burden, we should be seeing it as a way of helping others to grow and develop, to identify strengths and work towards being a stronger community. So get thinking and doing, how can we become more like the community God calls us to be?
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