We begin a new worship series this Sunday called World Cup. We will focus each week on the writing and teaching of a prophetic theologian/pastor from one of the countries competing in this year’s World Cup. We will begin with Ivone Gebara of Brazil. Ivone Gebara is one of Latin America’s leading Roman Catholic theologians. Gebara writes about our relationship with earth and the entire cosmos from the perspective of her work with poor women in Brazil. We will reflect this Sunday upon the first story of creation in Genesis through the lens of Ivone Gebara and the beginning of the World Cup.
Outline for World Cup
- June 15: Genesis 1.1-2.4a (Brazil – Ivone Gebara)
- June 22: Genesis 22.1-14 (Ghana – Mercy Amba Oduyoye)
- June 29: Genesis 21.8-21 (Croatia – Miroslav Volf)
- July 6: Romans 7.15-25a (USA – George Tinker)
- July 13: Genesis 25.19-34 (Germany – Marion Grau)
Consider a time in which you learned from someone from another country. How did this person (or international experience) help you to see your own vantage and perspective differently?
Now read the first creation account from Genesis 1.1-2.4a.
Brazil is hosting this year’s World Cup. Much has been reported about the preparations for the World Cup. The Pew Research Center reports, “Brazilians are also concerned about the impact that hosting the World Cup, which begins June 12, will have on their country. About six-in-ten (61%) think hosting the event is a bad thing for Brazil because it takes money away from schools, health care and other public services — a common theme in the protests that have swept the country since June 2013. Just 34% think the World Cup, which Brazil will host for the first time since 1950 and which could attract more than 3.5 million people to the nation’s twelve host cities, will create more jobs and help the economy.” As we turn our attention to Brazil and the World Cup, we will listen to a Roman Catholic nun reflect on her experiences with poor people in the favelas of Brazil. In order to understand the depths of their experience, we must also see how their plight is intrinsically linked to the plight of the earth.
As you read the first story of creation from Genesis, what do you find most striking? What does this story tell you about God and about creation and about humanity?