| Beginning and End |
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by Rabbi Russ Resnik The end is where we start from. "In my end is my beginning" [T.S. Eliot]. Endings take precedence over beginnings. We begin a journey by first deciding on a destination." (From Christ Plays in Ten Thousand Places: A Conversation in Spiritual Theology, by Eugene H. Peterson, 2005.) As we begin a new year and a new cycle of Torah reading, it is good to remember the destination of the year, of our lives, and of the Torah itself. We should not be surprised to read of this destination at the beginning, in Parashat b'Reisheet. There we learn that creation is not an end in itself, but moves toward a goal-the completion of God's order and shalom, which were inaugurated in the creation week. The destination is a fulfilled creation in which the glorious presence of God the Creator is evident throughout. This theme of Creation Fulfilled, introduced at the beginning, will underlie the entire Torah. Accordingly, when God creates humankind, he gives them a vital role in the fulfillment of creation:
This verse reveals two mandates for Creation Fulfilled that are still in effect today. First, God says to the humans he has just created, "Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth..." Rav Shaul summarizes the Torah's teaching on the nature of humankind in 1 Cor. 11:7: "Man is the image and glory of God." Human beings are created as image-bearers and representatives of God himself. Therefore, the more of us the better. Of course, there must be limits to population growth, because of the limits in natural resources on planet earth, but the principle remains, "In a multitude of people is a king's glory and splendor..." (Pr. 14:28). God blesses Adam and Eve with fruitfulness because such fruitfulness will enhance his glory. Second, God instructs the humans concerning the natural order, "Subdue it and have dominion..." Heaven and earth are not created as perfect and finished, but as "very good" (Gen. 1:31), and ready to be fulfilled through a divine-human partnership. This partnership requires the human to subdue, to take authority, and to rule the creation under God's authority. His first assignment is the Garden: "Then the LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to tend and keep it" (Gen. 2:15). I was once given a poster by a well-known New Mexico artist. She had done a painting of Adam and Eve standing together in their state of innocence in the lush surroundings of Eden. The poster announces, "God's original plan was to hang out in a garden with some naked vegetarians." A great thought, but not quite faithful to the biblical text. God has more in mind than just hanging out; he gives the humans genuine responsibility through tending and keeping the Garden. They have a share in his plan to bring about the fulfilled creation where the presence of God will be evident throughout all the earth. Before the humans fulfill their role, however, disorder re-enters creation in the form of a serpent. It entices Eve and Adam to disobey the divine command. As a result they are cast out of the Garden, and cut off from Tree of Life. This expulsion is the first of many exiles in Scripture, as one of the earliest of the Midrashim notes:
The Midrash makes a profound point. Just as God created Adam to represent him, so God will call Israel to represent him among the nations of the earth. But Israel, like Adam, will disobey and be sent into exile. Finally, of course, the representative Israelite arises, Yeshua the Messiah, as God tells the serpent in the Garden (Gen. 3:15): "I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel." Yeshua comes to fulfill the essential human role of representing the glory of God upon the earth. The story doesn't end there, however, for Yeshua charges us to represent him. Immediately after his resurrection, he appears to the band of disciples and says to them, "Shalom Aleichem--Peace to you! As the Father has sent me, I also send you." (John 20:21). Rav Shaul describes the same assignment: "Therefore, we are ambassadors of the Messiah; in effect, God is making his appeal through us. What we do is appeal on behalf of the Messiah, ‘Be reconciled to God.'" (2 Cor. 5:20, CJB) As we begin a new year it is good to remember our destination--to represent, display, and embody the glory of God in Messiah. As a Messianic Jewish community, we are to fulfill this assignment within the house of Israel, by "Welcoming Messiah Home," as we say in the UMJC. This welcome is not passive, but an active partnership with Yeshua as we "wait for the day of God and work to hasten its coming" (2 Pet. 3:12). This is our assignment--to represent the glory of God in the midst of an inglorious world, and to be fruitful in doing so. Protestant minister William Willimon speaks of God's summons to serve him "in a world where all too many people live as if they were answerable to nothing more than their own desires." He says,
Yeshua says, "As the Father has sent me, I also send you." As we have renewed the cycle of the year, and our reading of God's word, may we renew the adventure of representing God fruitfully in the power of Messiah! Shabbat Shalom! Adapted from a commentary originally posted on www.umjc.org in 2005.
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