By Elaine Knudtson
Genesis is the first book of the Pentateuch, traditionally ascribed to Moses. The first three chapters of Genesis and the last three chapters of Revelation form a parenthesis around the story of God’s relationship with humanity. Created in perfection, sin and death entered the world through disobedience. From the beginning, God seeks to return us to the garden, even though it leads through the valley of the shadow of death to the cross. We are imprinted with the image of God and a longing for the divine that haunts humanity from Adam and Eve through Noah and the patriarchs all the way to the final apocalypse.
“The Choice”
The choice has been made.
Like gods, we know good and evil.
Banished from paradise, darkness hides his face.
We labor in brokenness, calling to Death, “Who’s to blame?”
The Seed confronts evil with love.
Choose to dance in the symphony of creation.
Paint a rainbow after the monsoons of destruction.
Weave a tapestry of redemption with Sarah, Rebecca and Rachel.
Retell the stories of promise in Egypt’s exile.
Ferment hope into the fine wine of joy.
Dare to rise from the dead.
Transform our fallenness in the chrysalis of redemption, as we await the bloom of the new creation.
Where Eve failed, Christ has triumphed.
Contemplative Pilgrims 