Sermons for the Month

It All Began with the Rejection of Grace
DATE: February 10th, 2008
SERVICE: First Sunday in Lent
TEXT: Genesis 2:15-17, 3:1-7

“To all of you Saints here this morning, grace and peace to you from God our Father, from His Son, Jesus Christ and His Holy Spirit. AMEN

This week Dear Abby was helping us sort out society's greatest problem. Perhaps you read, as I did, some of the answers she received upon asking the question, "What is the main problem in society today?" Readers showered her with answers. Some said it is lack of personal responsibility, another proclaimed greed as the issue and intolerance was at the top of the list. One person gave four answers - no respect, no discipline, no courtesy and no consideration of others. And, Malcolm in Miami proclaimed, "It's apathy…but, who cares?" (1)

That's all very interesting and it certainly has a ring of truth. Yet, Jewish and Christian tradition has turned to the story from Genesis that we read today to answer that question, and would say that all of the problems listed by Abby's readers stem from that which is described in the story of Adam and Eve.

And what do we see in that story? Scholars have defined it in many ways, but I think what is being described is an unwillingness to receive the grace of God. Is that a surprising statement? Perhaps you have never heard this familiar story summarized in that way. In fact, at first glance today's text may appear to be a story about judgment, which is interesting since that's exactly how Eve was tempted to see God, as one who judges, when exactly the opposite is true. Let's take a closer look.

First, let me remind you that today we read from one of two accounts of creation that are recorded in Genesis, one follows the other. Today's text, scholars say, probably was written first although it comes second in the Biblical sequence. In this story, which begins with verse 4 of Genesis 2, God creates man from the dust of the ground and then plants a garden in Eden.

God made to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food. Then, man is placed in the garden to till it and keep it; then all living creates and then woman are created. Humanity is to use the earthly resources for their sustenance. The gift is lavish; humanity is told to FREELY eat of EVERY tree; God has provided substance and variety and nothing is lacking.

There is only one limitation; the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil is not for human consumption. In other words, God provides freedom, but also boundaries, because freedom must include genuine choice, choice that matters. (2)

So, we are painted a picture of abundance and grace, free of guilt and shame. Then along comes the representative of evil whose opening words emphasize judgment rather than grace. (By the way, the serpent is described as "crafty", a word that has the same root as the word for naked, which in this story indicates shame. So, the serpent is the conveyor of shame.) Did you notice the question the serpent asks Eve? "Did God say, 'You shall not eat from any tree in the garden?'"

No, as a matter of fact, that's not what God said. It's a deliberate misrepresentation. God said, "You may eat FREELY of EVERY tree in the garden," and then placed one limit on that freedom. The permission far exceeds the restriction, but the serpent represents God as having permitted nothing and restricted everything.

This plants a seed of doubt in Eve's mind. When Eve responds her words do not express the abundance God has provided; she also fails to name the tree that is not available to them. Remember, the name - the tree of the knowledge of good and evil - is significant. By leaving it out she ignores the fact that God had a reason for creating that restriction.

The serpent takes advantage of her wavering and tells her that she won't die if she eats that fruit. Remember that earlier the serpent emphasized the restriction rather than the generosity of God. Now, God's motive is placed in question; the serpent suggests that God issued the restriction not for their welfare but to prevent them from become knowledgeable and powerful, potential competitors of God. (3)

The focus is on judgment, not grace. So, thinking that God is against them rather than for them, they eat the fruit. They make a choice - in the freedom God granted them - and decide that they would rather be gods of their own lives than to allow God to be God. For the first time they feel shame and it's downhill from there.

This oh-so-familiar-story is about the very human tendency to listen to voices - our own or that of others - that question the wisdom and grace of God. The result is that we focus on divine judgment rather than divine love. That then leads to choices that create the behaviors that Abby labels as society's greatest problems. And, at the bottom of it all, is a longing for the grace, which is ironic since grace has been ours' since time began.

This is how Lewis Smedes describes it in his book Shame and Grace. "What I felt most was a glob of unworthiness that I could not tie down to any concrete sins I was guilty of. What I needed more than pardon was a sense that God accepted me, owned me, held, me affirmed me, and would never let go of me even if he was not too much impressed with what he had on his hands." (4)

In our world we breathe in the atmosphere of un-grace, we listen to the voices that tell us we are unacceptable, we feel ashamed and act shamefully, which stirs up guilt and shame and then the whole scenario starts again. Yet, the message from the beginning is that God would bless our lives with grace. The creation stories DO describe a grace-filled God whose grace is not received.

That's what underlies the sending of Jesus, the teaching of Jesus, the healing of Jesus, the suffering of Jesus; he is our opportunity, another chance, to receive God's grace. This will be our focus during the season of Lent.

Before I finish, though, let me bring something up that you may be wondering why I have not addressed, and that always is asked when we read this story from Genesis. "What we really want to know, Pastor, is this: Is this a true story?" Well, what it describes happens over and over again, doesn't it? So, it's true.

"No, the cry goes up, that's not what we want to know. Did the events described in Genesis really happen?" Let me answer that question with a question, "Does it matter?" Whether these events occurred, or did not, the message is the same. To debate about it is a useless argument. In fact, when we do so, it is as if the serpent is at work again, tempting us away from the true message. As the "yes it really happened" or "no it didn't" debate rages on, we forget the point… that God's grace is the foundation of creation and of our lives. It is the lavish gift that the voices of un-grace attempt to discount.

So, during Lent we will focus on that grace and on letting go of judgment so that in our hands and in our hearts we may receive and hold the grace of God.

AMEN

(1) "The Akron Beacon Journal", February 5, 2008, Section D, pg. 4
(2) Sermonwriter, The First Sunday in Lent, Genesis 2:15-17, 3:1-7, pg. 2.
(3) Same as above, pgs. 4-5
(4) What's So Amazing About Grace by Philip Yancey, Zondervan, Grand Rapids, MI., 1997, pg. 36

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