Loving God, you continue to hold out your hands to a contrary and disobedient people, and you call us to yourself through your Son Jesus.  Continue to sustain us by the power of your Holy Spirit, that we might learn to live as your children, through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

    As we heard the reading from Genesis this morning, it may have seemed as though a few things were missing.  For example, we didn’t read the part about the creation of the woman, and then all of a sudden she was there.  The reason for this is that last year we focused on all of Genesis 2.  This year, there is just enough from chapter 2 to set the scene, and then the focus is more on Genesis 3, which is usually referred to as the Fall.

    However, it is worth taking note of all of the relationships that are put in place in Genesis 2.  The obvious one, of course, is the relationship between the man and the woman.  God declares that “it is not good that the man should be alone” (Gen. 2:18).  He needs somebody to be his helper and his partner.  And so after all of the animals prove to be insufficient helpers and partners, God takes one of Adam’s ribs and forms a woman.  While many over the years have taken this as proof that women are to be secondary and subservient, the same word that is translated as helper is also used to describe God (Ps. 70:5).

    At the same time, there are relationships implied with all living creatures and with the earth.  In fact, the same words are used to describe both humans and animals (nephesh hayah).  Both are living creatures, and both are created from the ground.  Remember that “you are dust, and to dust you shall return” (Gen. 3:19).  The man is also put in the garden as a caretaker of the earth.  He is to serve the ground, or work for the ground.

    Finally, there is the relationship with God.  The man and the woman walk with God, and it is God who has given them the breath of life.  God has also provided all that they need, with a garden that gives them all that they need to live.  They are innocent.  They have no reason to be ashamed, and they live in harmony with the earth and all its creatures.  They trust God, and they are aware of God’s one command to them - not to eat of that one tree.  These relationships are important, for they form the background for what is to happen next.

    So there’s this whole incident with the serpent, who is apparently downright crafty.  The serpent plants this little seed of doubt that maybe God hasn’t given them sufficient information.  “You won’t die,” says the serpent.  “You’ll be just like God, knowing good and evil” (cf. Gen. 3:4-5).  So the woman eats it, and the man eats it, and all of a sudden they realize that they are naked, and they are ashamed.  This is the description of the first sin.

    So whose fault was it?  Who are we to blame for this fall into sin?...  I ask this because for centuries, Eve has taken the blame.  In the actual story, as chapter 3 continues, God asks Adam what happened, and Adam says, “It was the woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit from the tree, and I ate [it]” (Gen. 3:12).  Then when God asks Eve, she says, “It was the serpent.  He tricked me!”  Now God never asks the serpent, but was it really the serpent’s fault?  All the serpent did (it seems) is tell the truth - at least for the short term.

    What it sounds like is about the same as when several children get in trouble for the same thing.  It’s always somebody else’s fault.  At least one commentator points out that we try not to let our children get away with “he made me do it,” or “she made me do it.”  So why have generations of scholars let Adam get away with the same thing? (RevGalBlogPals) I mention this because it’s important for us to recognize how this particular story has been misused over the years as an excuse for the oppression of women.

    However, the story isn’t really about who is the most guilty.  It’s not even about willful disobedience, although that is part of it.  Instead, it is about human beings wanting to be God.  It’s about human beings wanting to be in charge and to have the same knowledge as God.  It’s about human beings who are not content to be a living creature and who instead want to be equal with God.  And the result is the breakdown of all of the relationships that we mentioned earlier.

    The human beings are now afraid of God and ashamed and no longer have the kind of companionship with God that they had before.  The man and the woman are now blaming each other and are no longer partners in the same way as before.  Now there will be pain in childbirth and an unequal relationship.  The harmony with the other living creatures is gone, and especially with the serpent, where serpents will be pitted against humans.  The harmony with the ground is also gone, as now it will be hard work to get things to grow and thorns and thistles will come out of the ground.

    All of this is what happens when human beings decide that they know better than God, and there is really no need to follow God’s commands.  This is also a description of the human condition in which we find ourselves, where relationships are broken and healing is needed, and we continue to do ourselves and the earth more harm than good.  In spite of the fact that God’s intention for us was to live in love for God and for one another, we find that we cannot do this, even when we try our hardest.

    In terms of the big picture, biblically speaking, the first part of Genesis sets the scene and describes this reality of broken relationships.  The rest of the Bible tells us what God did about it, which culminates in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.  He is the one who brings healing to our broken relationships.  He is the one who makes forgiveness and reconciliation possible.  He is the one who makes a renewed relationship with God possible and who sends the Holy Spirit - for it is only through the Spirit of God at work within us that we ever come close to loving God with our whole hearts and souls and minds and loving our neighbours as ourselves.

    In spite of the ways in which we continue to put ourselves in charge rather than God, God has never given up on us.  Abundant life is possible through our Saviour Jesus Christ.  Thanks be to God!  Amen.

Pentecost 17 (NL 3)                    Genesis 2:4b-7, 15-17; 3:1-8
September 11, 2016
St. Luke’s Zion Lutheran Church
Pastor Lynne Hutchison

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