Robert Jenson, in his Large Catechism, points out two predominant themes from the Genesis creation narrative.
The first is that God creates by speaking. Which seems obvious, but the implications are profound:
"’And God said…, and it was so.’ God, according to all the Scriptures, is above all the great Speaker; he is his own Word, and never relates to others by mere force, but always by personal address. That he creates something new, means that he expands the field of his conversation: he refers, e.g., to an earth, and just so there is an earth for him to refer to. For how could God lie? Indeed, God as the triune God is in himself a great Coversation. That he creates, means that Father, Son and Sprit among themselves mention others than themselves: they speak together of, e.g., the great sea beasts, and so there are great sea beasts for them to discuss. God converses the world into being." (19)
My favorite sentence:
God never relates to others by mere force, but always by personal address.
One could profitably meditate on that thought for some time, it seems to me. In my relationships, how do I resort to the use of "mere force" to get things done? Are there ways I attempt to bypass the mess and vulnerability of addressing others, of asking instead of demanding? In my speaking with other people, do I really take the time to address them and listen to them, or do I look for the fastest way to get what I want out of people?
Leave a Reply