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| Dear CGS Level III Parent, | 
Level III children on Jan. 11/12/13 begin a series of two presentations on Creation. Did you know that the Bible has preserved for us two accounts of Creation? We will read and discuss the first account this coming week (Jan 11/12/13) and the second account at the following session (Jan 25/26/27). Also in our first session (Jan 11/12/13) we discuss the purpose of studying these Creation accounts. We study the Bible to answer our questions about who God is, who we are, and what our relationship is. To understand the evolution of the planet and life on it, we use a science text and science resources. Having this discussion first is very important to opening ourselves to the messages of the Creation accounts. Please make every effort toward good attendance in this series. The richness of the second week is much compromised if the child is absent the first week. If attending on an alternate day in a week is a possibility, please do so. If missing a Bible study is unavoidable, please e-mail Lina Hilko for other possible solutions (LHilko@aol.com). Thanks for your efforts. Peace, Lina Hilko, Editor |
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| Eyewitness News? | From History's Golden Thread: The History of Salvation (page 25) by Sofia Cavalletti, founder of Catechesis of the Good Shepherd:
What is contained in the first and second chapters of Genesis is obviously not a chronicle of the events of creation as recorded by eyewitnesses. In these chapters we find the response Israel has given to the basic questions, "Where did the world come from? Where did humankind come from?" But Israel has answered this question as ... a people who find themselves in a special relationship with God. Therefore, the creation accounts in Genesis are the product of God's work within a human author, a process called inspiration. This means that the text has been written with particular guidance from God, such that God is in some way its author.
In our Creation Bible studies, we will primarily ask ourselves, "Who is the God we meet in these pages of Genesis?" At some point - maybe right now, maybe years from now - each of us hopefully extends the questioning further to ask, "Who is God? Who are we? What is our relationship?"
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| Creation - The First Account | The first account of Creation is recorded in Genesis 1:1 - 2:3. In this account, God creates the earth from nothingness. The account employs the terms "day" and "week" as basic divisions of time which are not to be taken literally.
God's creative process is planned, structured, ordered, rhythmic. The repetition of certain phrases (e.g., "and there was evening and there was morning") underscores this rhythm and lends a poetic beauty to the intentional unfolding of God's work.
God's creative acts are accomplished by His word, and the creative word produces results immediately, without delay ("And it was so"). This is a very powerful God. The children will learn the word "transcendent" for this quality of God. In Isaiah 55:1-11, we can hear stated of God, "As high as the heavens are above the earth so high are my ways above your ways and my thoughts above your thoughts."
After each creative act, we hear, "God saw that it was good." These words underscore the positive nature of creation. So, with God, goodness accompanies power. And the goodness is an important piece of the overall work. Perhaps it reminds us of Jesus' words in the parable of the True Vine: "I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and your joy may be complete." (John 15:11)
We will consider the order of creation, particularly when human beings are created relative to all else. What does the order tell us about God? About us? About our relationship? We will consider what it means for humankind to be made in the image and likeness of God.
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Creation - The Second Account
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In our second study, we will continue to ask ourselves, "Who is the God we meet in these pages of Genesis?" And we ask, "Who are we? What is our relationship?" The second account of Creation is recorded in Genesis 2:4-25. In this account, God begins His work by creating man. Everything else is created for man's sake. We'll read, "the LORD God formed man out of the clay of the ground and blew into his nostrils the breath of life." These words remind me of a song we sometimes (not often) sing at mass that says, "Abba, abba Father, you are the potter; we are the clay, the work of your hands." This God appears as an artist, and He is very intimate with us. He holds us quite close and breaths life into us. In the first account of Creation, we meet a very powerful God, "transcendent." In the second account, we meet a God that is very near, inextricably related to us. In theology, this quality is termed "immanent." It means "existing or remaining within, indwelling." Perhaps a good scriptural reference is found in 1st Corinthians 6:13c-15a, 17-20 (which also forms the basis for one of the Maxims in our Atrium's Maxim cabinet), which states, "Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? ... Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own?" This account in Hebrew uses some word play to convey the connection of humanity to earth and of man and woman. The Hebrew word for the created man is "adam," and he is created from the earth or ground, "adamah." What does this word play tell us about the thoughts of the people who wrote this account? Perhaps we are reminded of the words we sometimes hear on Ash Wednesday, "Remember you are dust, and to dust you shall return." The Hebrew word for woman is "isha," and the woman is created from the man, "ish." Here we can see an example whereby a religious institution, in this case marriage, is reflected in the Creation account. In the study of the first account, we saw a reflection of the institution of a holy day of rest devoted to God, the Sabbath for the Jewish people. We will compare and contrast the two Creation accounts, which are really so very different one from the other. How can God be both transcendent and immanent? Why were these two accounts preserved in the Bible? If they are so different, one from the other, can we be learning about the same God? The same humanity?
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Please feel free to contact Kate Lynch, St. Teresa's Director of Religious Education ( kolynchdre@gmail.com), or Lina Hilko, newsletter editor ( LHilko@aol.com), if you have questions or comments about this information.
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