UNIFORM LESSON FOR September 16, 2018 Scripture passage and lesson focus: Genesis 1:26-31; 2:4-7 Made in God’s image and dust, this is the reality of being human. People are created in the very likeness of God, given dominion over the birds of the air and the creatures of the land, but also nothing more than dust without God’s life-giving breath. The contrast, if we truly consider it, is nothing short of stunning. We human beings walk a tightrope, balancing our godliness and our dustiness, haltingly exercising our responsibility for animals and the earth, sometimes leaning so far in one direction or another that we fall (as soon to be seen in Genesis).  There is a Hasidic teaching attributed to Simcha Bunem. The story goes that he carried a slip of paper in each of his pockets. On one he wrote: Bishvili nivra ha-olam – “For my sake the world was created.” On the other he wrote: V’anokhi afar v’efer – “I am but dust and ashes.” Depending on the day or hour or circumstance, he … [Read more...]

UNIFORM LESSON FOR September 9, 2018 Scripture passage and lesson focus: Genesis 1:14-25 With the assistance of the wind/Spirit, God moved over the waters and created order out of disorder — calling forth light where there was darkness, carving out a safe space under the “dome” and lifting up dry land and plants amidst the waters. All of this God pronounces “good,” which may not mean “perfect” (as God continues to add and create afresh), but must mean “sufficient” and “whole” and “good enough” for the project to continue. We have a sense of an artist at work, who strokes and splashes and blends the canvas with paints of every hue, solely for the sake of making something beautiful and extravagant and “good.” Now that the heavens and the earth are in place, God moves on to other acts of imagination and love. Genesis 1:14-15 — Light and lights Any middle school student who’s paying attention will ask how you can have “light” before you have “sun” (the light comes on day one, while … [Read more...]