Adam & Eve - Part 2

As noted in my previous post, whether one accepts a literal Adam & Eve in the creation account in Genesis, the story evokes something of a universal experience of humanity.  For me the story of Genesis lays the foundation for the rest of scripture and prepares us for an understanding of God’s intentions and work in the world.  

Because in Chapter 2 we see that Adam was created first many have made much of the fact that Adam was first.  I do not read too much into the fact that “the man” was created first.  It seems more significant that the relationship of God to humanity and humanity to the created order are established here.  It In Genesis 1:27 we read that God’s intent was to create male and female.  It was God’s intent to create male and female from the beginning and each was created in the image of God.  Eve was not an after-thought (although we might argue that she perfected creation).  The people were to be caretakers of the created world and were to live in perfect relationship with God and with each other.  It seems significant to me that at 2:25 says they were naked, but felt no shame.  God’s intent was that people live in perfect communion with God and with each other.  They were not ashamed and they were not afraid.  

While I have heard Jewish reflections on Chapter 3 of Genesis that do not include “a fall” and I can appreciate the thoughtfulness of such reflections, I am not convinced that the actions of Adam and Eve did not fundamentally change the nature of their relationship with God and with each other for the worse.  While many through the years have focused on Adam and Eve’s disobedience as the “sin” they committed, that observation, while fundamentally accurate, seems overly simplistic.  I think it is worthwhile to reflect on the fact that God created Adam and Eve with the capacity for rational reflection and the desire for knowledge.  It is this desire for knowledge that leads to the changes in their relationship with God and each other.  The reflection on freewill vs. determinism lies in this reality.  I will simply say that for me, people were created with the capacity to choose and this is fundamentally what makes true relationship and love possible.  I would argue that exercising freewill is not in and of itself sinful and that while God has the capacity to comprehend all possibilities at once and interact with possibilities as they unfold, God does not know our actual choice until we choose.

I find it interesting and humorous (in a sad way) to read how the choice in the garden regarding the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil.  While many have read this passage and put the blame of the fall on Eve (and subsequently have blamed women for a sins through the ages), Eve is actually the one who demonstrates the greatest thought in the interaction.  The woman has an extended interaction with the serpent regarding the fruit.  She evaluated the fruit on its usefulness as food and she desired the “wisdom” that could be gained by eating the fruit (3:6).  Adam, on the other hand, gets handed a piece of fruit by Eve and just eats it without any thought about what he is eating or what there is to gain or lose.  Eve desires wisdom, while Adam just starts consuming.  In this way, there is a “sin” in which they both ate the fruit that God said don’t eat, but they each have an individual sin that is bigger than that.  Eve desires wisdom, but does not consult with God in her reflections.  She ignores God’s words and seeks wisdom apart from God.  Adam seems to sin in his lack of thought at all.  He lacks any reflection on his actions and consumes without regard for the consequences.  The bottom line consequence is the same for each.

Once Adam and Eve had eaten the fruit, “Their eyes were opened” (3:7) and they realized they were naked.  Before this, they were naked and were not ashamed.  They did not fear one another, they were not embarrassed, and they were open and vulnerable.  Once they sin, they are no more vulnerable than they were before, but they are now aware of their vulnerability and the potential to be hurt.  They begin to blame one another and blame others for their decisions.  They immediately feel the need to cover themselves and they feel the feel the need to hide from God.  It seems that the relationship with others affects our relationship with God.  We also see that while we have knowledge of good and evil and it can lead to wisdom, it comes at a cost to us in our relationships with ourselves, others, and God.

When God puts Adam and Eve out of the garden and gives them consequences, God acknowledges that the knowledge of good and evil makes us like God, but notes that humans do not know how to exercise this knowledge with control.  The banishment from the garden and the subsequent struggles are provided by God to help Adam and Eve develop their knowledge into wisdom.  God demonstrates grace by providing covering for the two of them.  God cannot undo what they have done, but can provide for them and help shape them.  Our lifelong journey is one of seeking to connect with God, ourselves, and with each other.  We are to grow in wisdom and learn to use the knowledge we have as God would use it. 

There's Why We're Here and Then There's Something Else

At First Baptist Church, Nashville, our Pastor’s family has been dealing with some personal issues; issues he has shared with thechurch.  These issues have led to “Pastor Frank” taking several weeks off from the church.  This morning another “Pastor Frank” filled in for our pastor.  With the National Assembly of the Christian Church, Disciples of Christ in Nashville this week, Rev. Dr. Frank Thomas of the Mississippi Boulevard Christian Church in Memphis filled our pulpit.  As he began his sermon, he said, “I realized I may have been called here for one purpose, but maybe I am here for another.”  After that, he led the congregation in a beautiful time of prayer for our pastor and his family.  Dr. Thomas indicated that his family had also struggled and he felt led to support the pastor and our congregation in this way.  After the time of prayer, Dr. Thomas brought us a most thought-provoking and moving message around the servanthood of Jesus that centered around the “Basin, the water pitcher, and the towel” that Jesus used to wash the disciples feet.

The beauty of the servanthood message was that it was presented with an act of servanthood.  There were at least two thoughts that immediately came to mind.  First of all, the word preached is never as meaningful (or meaningful at all) without the act of service that communicates the authenticity of the message.  However, an act of service that is designed to solely “earn” the right to speak is hardly authentic.  A person who demonstrates genuine humility in service that comes from a place of transformation may have the right to speak of love, transformation, and servanthood as no other.  It seems rather trite to simply say that “faith without works is dead” when what we mean is that if our faith does not make a transformative difference in how we live our lives on a daily basis, it is completely lacking in any authentic significance.  Demonstrating care and compassion with humility surely must come before any explanation of WHY we might live such a life…if any such explanation is necessary.

The other thought that stays with me from the experience in worship today is that what we think we are supposed to be doing and what God thinks we are supposed to be doing may not be the same things.  However, instead of this becoming a source of stress as we try to figure out “the real truth” of things, we simply have to be open to seeing the opportunities before us and the willingness to act on them.  The prayer for the Pastor’s family was not in the program today, but it certainly did not feel like a waste of time by the time it was done.   I wonder how many times in my life, I have been frustrated by what I thought was an interruption or a distraction that, if I had been open to it, could have been an opportunity for blessing.   However, one of the things that I think about the ministry of Pastoral Care and counseling is that Pastoral Care givers often provide a time for reflection and care that is not on the agenda.  When someone has received bad news of some kind or is dealing with difficulty, so often there is an established way of “treating” the difficulty or “dealing with” the difficulty.  The Pastoral Caregiver, however, allows for a time-out from what is “supposed” to be happening to find out what is really happening.  The person who may be used by God does not get so bogged down in their role, duty, for function that they can’t shift gears when needed.  This morning, the “preacher” shifted gears.  He named the hurt out loud and took time to address it.  We need to be open to being used by God in just such ways.  Learning the patience of letting things be what they are, rather than trying to make them be what we think they should be is a challenge, but a path to great blessing.