Rev. Zach

Genesis 1:1-2:4a ; Matthew 28:16-20 Let’s get nerdy; Biblically, historically, liturgically nerdy. Walter Brueggemann, is a celebrated author and theologian who is still going strong at the age of 90. His commentary on Genesis is found in the Interpretation series, and this is what he has to say about Genesis Chapter 1. “This text is a poetic narrative that likely was formed for liturgical usage [meaning that it was written to use in worship]. It is commonly assigned to the Priestly tradition [one of the three traditions that most scholars agree contributed to the Pentateuch, the first five books of the Old Testament], which means that it is addressed to a community of [Babylonian] exiles. Its large scope moves in dramatic fashion from God’s basic confrontation with chaos (1:2) to the serene and joyous rule of God over a universe able to be at rest (2:1–4a).” I’m going to give you a minute to take all that in, in case it gave you any spiritual whiplash. Most of us have never really t...