Behind the Curtain

Dorothy sat with the Wizard in a huge cavern. They were reacquainted  with one another the same way their paths were parted. The Wizard floated away and back again, in a hot air balloon. Now they were trapped underground. They could see the sun in the distance, but they had no way to reach it. Once again, the Wizard had survived by tricking the different people into believing he could do real magic. No one in this party believed he was a real Wizard. The curtain had been pulled back, and the trick had been learned. Dorothy knew what he really was. The Wizard was a humbug.  The Wizard spoke those words in an injured tone. Dorothy spoke those words in love. Despite what he really was, Dorothy still loved him.
- Summary from Dorothy and the Wizard of Oz- pages 177-8 

So many phrases stick out in my mind from my young adult life, but one has really come to mind today, "Once we learn the truth, it cannot be undone. We simply must move on to understand what that truth means." We are allowed to accept that truth can hurt us, like the Wizard. Yet like Dorothy, we are called to find the real magic and wonder once that truth is learned.

Dr. Rev. Fred Craddock was a Wizard of sorts. He was able to speak bold truths about the bible without pulling the curtain back. It made his sermons both relatable and educational. It's serious business preaching, because once you learn the truth, it cannot be undone. It's not like everyone is in the same place in their faith journey.We are not all walking into the great hall to get our heart, brain and courage at the same time. It's also not like there is some mystic age where these truths can be learned. We all have our own pace to accept these truths. A sixteen year old might be where a forty year old is when it comes to faith development. Eventually, there comes the time where the curtain has to be pulled back for the story to continue. For our faith to grow.

This is why I'm not going to give you a sermon on the Creation narrative. I'm going to show you my work.  I'm going to pull back the curtain, and explain what I'm doing. Let's begin.

The bible begins with two Creation Narratives. The first is Genesis 1-2:1-3.  The second is Genesis 2:4-25.  (These audio captures are from  Reddit Reads the Bible. It's a project of /r/Christianity.) We believe these are two different accounts of creation because certain things are happening again.  Let's use those tools I mentioned last week to figure this out:

• ​Repetition- This is the most obvious way we can see the separation of two stories.
  Now take a breath.
  I think there can be some discomfort when we hear some biblical accounts are told more than once, and in different ways.  It's a strange phenomenon for me, because it's always been right there in front of us in the New Testament. In Luke, Jesus gives a Social Beatitudes to the masses, in a valley. In Matthew, Jesus gives a Spiritual Beatitudes to the Disciples on a mountain.  We don't fret over which Gospel writer is "more right." As Christians we embrace both the Spiritual and Social Beatitudes. It doesn't cause us to lose much sleep. Yet, when the same things happen in the Hebrew Bible, we can look caught like a deer in the headlights. (Yeah, I've seen it. I'd wager to guess many a seminary professor has seen it as well.)
  
  Why do you think we accept the New Testament differences so easily? Here's the answer: We know they are all true. Maybe each of us define truth differently, but it is still truth. The same is goes for the Hebrew Bible. Two very different versions of Creation but both are true.
  
  The next question I'm sure many are wanting to ask: Isn't it just a continuation of the first creation narrative? Repetition. Plant life is created twice. Animals are created twice. Humanity is created twice. Also, Genesis 1:31b reads "Thus the heavens and the earth were completed in all their vast array." (NIV) Genesis 2:4 begins a new Creation Narrative with "This is the account of the Heavens and the earth when they were created." For something being complete, why does it still need creation? Because it's something separate, yet the same.
  
  I did promise to explain how to safely use this knowledge. If you are caught in a bible study where multiple versions of the same biblical narrative come up, this is what you say: "When a big event happens, it's important to get multiple perspectives on the same story. It's also important to get those perspectives from different kinds of people. Like the police will be collecting a different story than, let's say, the media. The media will be collecting a different story than a Pastor or a friend of the family. Each of those stories would have a different focus, and would consequently be told differently. Does that make only one of those stories correct? By no means! All the stories are correct. When understood in their context (who told them), we understand them even better."
  
  
• Names- Perhaps the overlap was not enough to sway you from this being two different stories. I can understand people believing this. After all, when we watch our favorite television show there is overlap of the facts from week to week so we don't forget. What if I were to tell you the name of God changes from one story to the next? The first calls God, Elohim. The second calls God, YHWH. This should really make you consider the two Creation Narratives being from two different groups of authors. 
  
  Let me give you an example I gave last week. My aunt (and sometimes my cousin) and a few of my really old friends calls me "Missy." They have permission to call me that, and they are the only ones. It hearkens back to a younger me, when I wanted to be cute and have a cute name. As I grew older, I grew out of that name. When I'm at camp I like to be called Mel, and there are those who still call me that. In my professional life I'm Melissa or Pastor, or Rev, or Pastor Melissa. Often times, I can tell whose talking to me based on what they call me. (I knew I guy who called me "kid" until I earned his respect, then he called me "rev.") The point is, we lose something when the Hebrew is translated into English. God has multiple names, and those names give us an idea of date, author, and perspective.
  
  This is, by and large, one of the big reasons why many Theologians don't believe Moses wrote the first five books of the bible. (His death scene is another big one.) Names give purpose and context. We use them, in part, to show relationship.  
  
  
• Genre- There is something else going one in these two primeval histories. The first story sounds like religion.There are illusions to other religions, namely Tiamat. Tiamat was the goddess of the chaotic waters. In the Babylonian myth, her slain body is used to create the heavens and the earth. This relates to God taking the chaos (found in the water) and bringing order. We also learn the origin of our Sabbath, or our rest. This is how we know this isn't the "E" source, but the "P" or Priestly source. The Priestly source would never, ever, call God, YHWH, as it is a holy name not to be spoken. This is another reason many theologians believe the second creation narrative is another set of writers who are older than the Priests.
  
  Take another breath.  
  
  I know I cannot undo what I have just shared. Going back to the Wizard of Oz, many only have the context of the MGM movie. They assume the story ends in the Emerald City, with Glinda coming in to give the real way home.  I've come to appreciate the book more. When the Wizard floats away in the balloon, they must then seek out the real magic. They must travel North and go to Glinda.
  
  The first half of the book is filled with childlike hope. Once the truth of the Wizard is discovered, they must travel with a new purpose.  The book turns slightly dark. We learn the outcome of taking the Wizard's help. The clock rattles around in the Tin Man's chest, and he must watch the sharp metal from where the hole was cut. The Scarecrow must be careful when hugging Dorothy or the sharp pins will poke her. (Pins were put in his head to make the Scarecrow "sharp.") Dorothy must realize the Wizard had nothing for her, because her problem couldn't be solved by pretending the Wizard's magic still existed.  To continue they must realize something is real. Glinda is real. To move forward they must let go of what could have been, to accept what will be.

When I'm doing sermon prep, I'm not just doing the above work. I'm also trying to figure out what you can do with it.  Like a surgeon doesn't cut upon a patient and just point out what he or she sees. They see a problem, and they find a solution to that problem. We must, as a people of God, find a way to close this up so we don't bleed out.

I am not an Atheist. I am not an Agnostic. I believe there is something beyond this realm of existence. It is something that cannot be easily quantified. I believe there is a God in that existence, and that God is a God of love. I believe Christ is the Son of that God, and the Spirit of Christ dwells in all of us.

We get to the Emerald City of our faith, and we give up when the curtain is pulled back. In actuality, the curtain is just the beginning. We can choose to get stuck with our green colored glasses, and not accept there's more. Many have made that choice, and many a faith have grown stagnant because of it. I'm moving forward. I'm taking a new path, knowing where I'm headed. I'm headed towards the Truth: the Word made flesh. Yes, when I first began my Christian journey I thought it would look different. That's the trick about Truth. We don't know until we get there. Do what Dorothy did. Love what was, and let it go. Our old faith will not help us as we begin this journey. Also, it will eventually come back to us, when we can reacquire it in a new way. Understand it in a new light, and to walk in that light.

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