Genesis 2:18-24 (NRSV)
Read Genesis 2:18-24 on biblegateway.com
Verse 18Then the Lord God said, "It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper as his partner." Verse 19So out of the ground the Lord God formed every animal of the field and every bird of the air, and brought them to the man to see what he would call them; and whatever the man called every living creature, that was its name. Verse 20The man gave names to all cattle, and to the birds of the air, and to every animal of the field; but for the man there was not found a helper as his partner.
Verse 21So the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and he slept; then he took one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh. Verse 22And the rib that the Lord God had taken from the man he made into a woman and brought her to the man. Verse 23Then the man said, "This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; this one shall be called Woman, for out of Man this one was taken." Verse 24Therefore a man leaves his father and his mother and clings to his wife, and they become one flesh.
Devotion
No simple text this one. One that speaks of a God who would bend down and breathe God's Spirit into us, yet a text often misused when the power and place of women and men are discussed. A text that reminds us of our partnership with the creatures of this earth, yet how often we forget we are made of the same dust. And here is the deepest part of this text—not that we are created male or female or animal, or given rank above or beneath each other, but that God breathed life into us all. Creation is not past tense. It is not a concrete moment in a distant past that forever sets who we are. It is rather a promise that God creates us still, breathes God's life into us still. Married, single, gay, straight, pelican or baby skunk—we are made new this day by the breath of God's Spirit.
Prayer
Creating God, fill me today with the breath of your Holy Spirit. Create in me a new heart and a renewed spirit. Show me what you would make of me in each new day. Amen.