Sunday, June 10, 2012

Remembering Eden

Scripture:  They heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden at the time of the evening breeze, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden. But the LORD God called to the man, and said to him, "Where are you?" He said, "I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself." He said, "Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you not to eat? The man said, "The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit from the tree, and I ate." Then the LORD God said to the woman, "What is this that you have done?" The woman said, "The serpent tricked me, and I ate." The LORD God said to the serpent, "Because you have done this, cursed are you among all animals and among all wild creatures; upon your belly you shall go, and dust you shall eat all the days of your life. I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will strike your head, and you will strike his heel – Genesis 3:8-15

I remember Eden. I really can. I don’t think I’m the only one. I believe that it is a memory lodged into all of our souls, we can recall a time when God walked amongst us in the cool of the evening. We can recollect when we were naked and were not ashamed. We can remember because we were there in Adam and Eve, we were all there. We must have been there because we certainly have all felt the sting of the curses that resulted in the infamous act of disobedience:

I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked- Gen. 3:10

We know well the shame Adam speaks of and we know well the compulsive need to hide our true selves from others and from God. We are afraid of ourselves.

The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit from the tree, and I ate. –Gen. 3:12

We know the alienation in our relationships with others; we know hatred, blame, and abandonment, we experience it in the way we relate with those whom we love most. We accuse one another.

I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers. - Gen. 3:15

We know the disconnect we have with animals in particular and creation in general. We hate and destroy the very creation that God gave us to care for. We destroy our world.

We live this every day. And yet deep down, we know this isn’t right, we know this isn’t the way the world is supposed to be. Why? Because we can remember Eden. 

Prayer:  Creator, my prayer for my life and the lives of my brothers and sisters in Christ is to not just remember Eden but to live Eden as well. Jesus has reconciled us back to you, back to ourselves, back to one another, and back to creation. He has empowered us to make the world the way it is supposed to be. A place where love abounds, a place like Eden.  Thank you for your transforming Spirit.  Amen.  

The Reverend Tiffany Thomas