What a remarkable story this is, and so appropriate for Lent, the season of

Transcription

1 Genesis 3:1-9 Subtlety What a remarkable story this is, and so appropriate for Lent, the season of reflection and repentance. And appropriate, too, as a backdrop- along with last Sunday s sermon text in Genesis 2- for the conversations these days in churches and halls of government about relations between men and women. It is a familiar tale, we remember every element in the story. Or do we? Be honest, before this morning, when is the last time you read this passage? There are surprises here, which maybe you haven t thought about before, that may change our usual interpretation of what is often called the original sin or the Fall of Man. This scripture is often coupled with Matthew 4 and Luke 4, which describe the temptation of our Lord- where the starving Jesus overcomes his trials in the wilderness. We are told there that Satan- or the Tempter- or the Devil- appeared to him to test him, and it is important in the gospels that we understand Jesus is able to see through the subtle persuasions of the Evil One. But here in Genesis, something is missing. Something we probably expect to see, but isn t there, after all. The Devil isn t here. And that radically changes the nature of the story. We cannot say that the serpent is Satan in disguise just to make it agree with our preconceptions about good and evil. It means something different if it s a snake.

2 So let me ask you this. Did you ever hear a snake talk, or any other animal? Of course, I don t mean that dog barking to the tune of Jingle Bells (I know you ve heard it!); or a cat that meows a couple of syllables that may sound like mama. And yes, some birds can mimic our voices and repeat our words. But the correct answer to my question is, no, though you will have read about talking animals in Harry Potter or Aesop s Fables, Kipling s Jungle Stories, or in The Chronicles of Narnia. And there is the point: talking animals exist in fairy tales. We should be careful in trying to interpret this as a literal account of evil entering into the world. A close reading of this story of the woman and the serpent demands that we reconsider the meanings and the beginnings of sin and suffering. According to this story, the problem of evil and suffering does not come by the hand of a dark presence, some lesser divinity; because he isn t here. Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote this helpful sentence, It is not the purpose of the Bible to give information of the origin of evil, but to give witness to its character, as guilt and as the infinite burden of man. That s powerful, I think, that perhaps we can t truly know how and why evil exists- it just does: and so now, what do we do? Let s come back to that question a little later- it really seems to me to be a question of discipleship, so we can address it at the end of the sermon. But let s

3 think for a moment about the event itself, under the tree, in the Garden. You may wish to believe this interaction between Eve and the serpent, and then Adam, happened exactly as written. OK, many people do. But, even so, it is faulty hermeneutics to blame all the ills of the world on the naïve action of this single woman; and certainly improper to create out of the story a worldview of womanhood as frivolous and susceptible and helpless without a man. We should look more closely at the text: it s only after they both had eaten, that their eyes were opened, that is, they had become aware of their sin. It wasn t just her sin, it was a guilt they shared. Perhaps it is better to consider this not only her story but ours as well, as we ponder the way of the world and our place in it, as we try to make sense of our suffering, and that of others; that like the woman, it is I- or you- standing alone; look again how the story is told, Adam is somewhere else, God is somewhere else; but she is alone, feeling alone; she or I or any of us, alone- and confronted by what? Not the Devil! By the serpent- that cunning creature of myth and legend. Or, is he the personification of some subtle part of our inner selves, our psyche, our desire for knowing, our inquisitive nature that seeks explanation? Is it, after all is said and done, that the source of evil in the world is ourselves, comes out of the

4 same hearts and minds that are blessed and good and loving and joyful? That may be something we don t want to hear. But isn t that ambiguity within us the starting point of suffering? Look again at the story. Here are lying and temptation and disobedience coming into the world: through the serpent- a creature the Lord made, and the woman- formed by God s own hands, and the fruit of a tree- planted by God in the heart of God s Garden. All good things, and yet, somehow, twisted by the subtle question of the serpent, Did God really say? Or perhaps, the question the woman asks herself, to try to understand her fear or anxiety in this moment alone. Surely, we can understand that, we hurt, too, and see suffering and ask why; and, like her, we never have a complete answer to it; and thus we forget for a moment God s constant providence and the blessings of friendship and community; and in that moment alone we begin to justify our thoughts, our actions. Here, in verse 6, notice how the woman rationalizes, she sees that the fruit is beautiful and tasty and would make her wise. I don t think she set out to do wrong- rather, it made perfect sense to eat the fruit: surely God would want her to enjoy yet another gift of the Garden- that commandment she heard earlier, she must have misunderstood! That s what happens when we mix up the things God

5 wants to give and the things God denies; when we forget that God s denials are also meant as blessings. Still trying to work this all out, aren t we? After all this time. The unsatisfactory concept of original sin ; the idea that we can blame the problems of the world on one foolish act long ago, a theology that places blame on some evil personage- even a powerful and cunning one- is kind of silly. Shouldn t we just accept that temptation is always there; that always there is the possibility of confusion and doubt and loneliness and yes, pride. It is helpful to see how Eve responded to the temptation, because temptation is real to us, as well. And to see how Jesus met temptations, for his answers in the wilderness are words of faith and hope, and a reminder, even as temptations come, that God still loves. The scripture tells us that their eyes were opened. It means that they knew they had sinned; but it means more than that, too. That phrase may cause us to wonder whether God didn t all along want our eyes to be opened- think, don t we love God more truly when our eyes are opened; don t we love more truly when we choose to love than if we choose blindly or childishly, or if we had no choice at all? The

6 biblical witness is that God loves his creation, and so, scripture calls us to trust that God watches over us for our best, and would never wish us to remain in the dark. I think we can be assured that at the proper time God opens our eyes to the joys and beauty of the world, and as well, to its falsehood and pain. So, what do we do, to repeat the question from earlier in the sermon. Adam and Eve ate and covered themselves and hid. Imagine, open eyes now, really seeing everything, and they hide. So that God has to ask, Where are you? That is the result of sin, shame and fear and separation from God. Now we know, with our eyes open wide, now we understand separations and divisions as possibilities and as realities for all of us. But the biblical message- what Jesus knew and quoted during his temptations- is reunion, reconciliation, forgiveness, hope. So, our task is to face everything that comes- the painful and the good- out in the open and unafraid, truly aware of what the world is and what we are and what God is; and to give God thanks for the good things given to us and for the opportunity to change for the better the things that are not.