Genesis 3: Sacred Stories in the Present Tense
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God said to Moses, “I am who I am. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I am has sent me to you.’”
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When God set his people free, it was not in the past tense. Yahweh did not say, “Hey, y’all remember how we used to do it? Those were the good old days weren’t they? I’m the God of the way things used to be!”
Look through the sacred book all you want. You’ll never find the great "I Was." Yahweh is the great I AM.
When we tell sacred stories we invoke the presence of God. We are not telling stories of how things used to be. We are not describing how God used to work. We are opening ourselves to the power of the Holy Spirit.
The Creator is not the One who created our world and then quit. God the Father is eternally the Creator. God the Son is eternally redeeming. God the Spirit is eternally empowering.
For Native people, this is so important. Sacred stories are not about a time 400 years ago when Indigenous folks used to be somebody. They empower Native people today.
At this time of year Christians tell the passion story to celebrate what Jesus IS doing for us. Right now. Today.
If you do not expect anything powerful to happen, then do not read scripture. If you DO tell a sacred story, get ready for something new to happen TODAY.
Every morning we start a new sacred story. This is a brand new creation. Today, look at the red sun rising and thank the Creator for what God is making new.
Today.
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Creator, you are the God of is, not was.
Today, create in me a clean heart
and renew a right spirit within me.