In the beginning...

"In principio creavit Deus caelum et terram..."

"In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth..."

Our second plenary lecture at DYA today is on creation. The speaker is Prof. Ellen Davis, who is a biblical scholar here at Duke Divinity School. My own doctoral work has not included biblical studies per se, but I have heard from colleagues and friends how popular Prof. Davis is both as a teacher and a scholar. I could see that right away as she engaged the students on the creation story in Genesis 1:1-2:4a.

Prof. Davis spoke to our students about the solidification of Torah within the experience of exile in Babylon in the 6th century B.C. Faced with military defeat, deportation to a foreign land, and forced labor, the message given to the Jews was that the god of Babylon - Marduk - had overcome their petty god of Zion. And yet, through fidelity to the law, the practice of Sabbath, and the divinely-inspired organization of the holy scriptures, the Jews' faith in YHWH as Lord of creation was preserved and even strengthened.

And that faith was the faith we proclaim still: that the 'god' of Zion is God Almighty, the creator of the heavens and the earth, who has made the universe and everything in it and who has called his creation good:

"Dixitque Deus fiat lux et facta est lux, et vidit Deus lucem quod esset bona..."

"And God said, 'Let there be light,' and there was light, and God saw that the light was good..."

Realizing the profound depth of the mystery of God's revelation to us is only increased when we read those first few verses of Genesis again. And in them, the gracious and merciful character of our God is displayed.

By the way, our themes each day follow what Fred Edie calls the "theological alliterative C's." I'll highlight those each day, but here's a sneak preview:

- Creation
- Covenant
- Christ
- Church
- Calling
- Coming Reign of God

"Remember your baptism"

This morning we had our first plenary lecture at the Duke Youth Academy. The topic was baptism, and it was presented by Fred Edie (who is also the faculty director of DYA).

Dr. Edie invited our students to consider creation by thinking about images of water - that life-giving substance that all plants and animals depend upon. And from the water of creation, he went on to talk about the water of redemption. Christians cannot think about who we are without thinking about how God has adopted us and named us as his own. That happens in the waters of baptism, where our creation becomes a re-creation.

Dr. Edie lectures in a very invitational style - he asks students to respond to biblical themes that he throws out, and at various points in a lecture he will ask his audience to turn to one another to engage in active reflection. This works great for a high school audience, and they seem to really connect with the interactive style.

In his lecture this morning, Dr. Edie remarked, "You need to stop thinking about baptism as only a moment in time. Baptism is a way of life."

He explained: Through anamnesis (re-membering and re-presenting) and prolepsis (anticipating and expecting) the entirety of God's salvation is offered to you in your baptism - past, present, and future. And because of that, baptism is where we begin in the Christian life. It is from there that we begin to discern our vocation, our calling in life & ministry. And in baptism, we also receive our identity.

Baptism tell us who we are. We are God's chosen children, and the stories wrapped up in baptism - Creation, Noah & the Flood, Moses and the Israelites passage through the Red Sea, and finally the life, death, & resurrection of Jesus Christ - these become our own stories, and they point us toward our future destiny with God.

"Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his" (Romans 6:3-5, ESV).

All of this makes me think of those wonderful words I am blessed to speak to each person who comes forward to the font during a baptismal renewal service:

"Remember your baptism, and be thankful."

Thankful, indeed.