God’s Great Story of Creation
Genesis 2:4-25; John 1:1-5
Rev. Dr. Bruce Roth
Beloved People of God….
How much do you know about your ancestors? How far back does your family tree go? In recent years, there’s been an enormous rise in interest in genealogy, especially through online resources like Ancestry.com. and shows like the PBS show Finding Your Roots in which renowned professor and television personality Dr. Henry Louis, Jr., helps influential people discover their roots. People want to know about their family of origin, perhaps because it teaches them something about themselves.
My parents were very much into genealogy and found a cousin who did extensive research. They discovered that our family is from the Alsace Lorrain region – former territory of the German Empire, between France and Switzerland. Good mountain stock. But what is fascinating to me are the connections made and the stories told. Think of your grandparents for a moment. (Share a little about mine.)
I love those stories because they tell me something about who I am and where I come from. Those stories are part of the larger story of my family, a story into which my own story is written. I think that’s why families gather at reunions and major holidays and share the stories of family history and look at old pictures. We all have a deep need to know who we are, and part of who we are is grounded in where we come from. And that is why Adam and Eve’s story is so important to each of us, and all of us. This is our story.
Some Christians believe that the story of Adam and Eve is literal history. If that’s the case, then this is as far back as our family tree goes. Not even Ancenstry.com can take you that far back! Other Christians believe that this story is not literal history, but the corporate story of all humanity. Adam and Eve represent each of us, and all of us together and describe our lived experience. No matter how you understand it, this is a remarkable story that teaches us some important things about God and about ourselves.
The story of Adam and Eve is set within the story of creation. God creates the heavens and the earth. Galaxies, quarks and quasars, canyons and mountains, oceans and rivers – they all come into existence as God speaks them into being. The magnificence of the night sky, the radiant beauty of a sunset, the brilliant colors in a field of wildflowers, the graceful flight of a bird, the power of a lion on the hunt, these things and so much more spring from God’s vivid and creative imagination.
But as glorious as these things are, none of them are the crown of God’s creation. It’s as if all of this is merely a warm-up for God. God has saved the very best for last: Adam and Eve.
While Christians love to argue about the “how” of creation, we rarely discuss the “why.” Why did God create the heavens and the earth and the animals and human beings? The answer, simply put, is love. God is love, and all of creation is intended to embody God’s love. God exists from the beginning as Father, Son and Holy Spirit, a community of love. The relationship between Adam and Eve, their relationship with God and their relationship to the beautiful garden in which they live is a reflection of God’s great love.
And not only are Adam and Eve created in love and for love, they were also given a gift: work. Adam and Eve are given the stewardship of the earth. They are to subdue it, which means to develop all things to their fullest potential. God gives Adam and Eve dominion over all things. Dominion is a royal word. It’s what kings have over their kingdoms. It implies protection and leadership more than “power over.” Adam and Eve are called to be caretakers of the earth and all that lives on the earth, which means that Adam and Eve are the very first environmentalists!
But something happens in the beautiful garden that God creates for Adam and Eve. God has given Adam and Eve free reign in the garden with one exception. God says, “You may freely eat of every tree of the garden; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall die.” Doesn’t seem like much, does it? But it is just the opening the serpent needs. The serpent plants seeds of doubt into the minds of Adam and Eve, and that doubt undermines Adam and Eve’s trust in God’s love and goodness.
And so, rather than trusting in God, Adam and Eve choose to trust in themselves. In essence, Adam and Eve choose to try and be their own god and, in that moment, everything changes. Relationship is broken. Adam and Eve realize that they are naked they are ashamed and cover themselves. Because of their guilt, Adam and Eve come to fear God. When God walks through the garden, Adam and Eve hide. And the beautiful garden which once produced so abundantly all that Adam and Eve need begins to produce weeds and thorns. Sin breaks every relationship.
And that’s our experience, too, isn’t it? It certainly is mine. When I doubt God’s love for me, when I think that I am somehow unlovable and, in my insecurity, I seek to live on my own terms, everything falls apart. I struggle to love my family well. I struggle to give myself away in selfless service. I make the worst possible assumptions about myself and others. Like Adam and Eve, I am, at the heart of it all, broken.
Not long ago I hit the snooze button a few times too many, and missed my devotional and prayer time. And as I drove to the office a voice whispered in my ear, “You’re not much of a Christian. Sleep is more important to you than God. You’re worthless. God couldn’t love you. God’s angry with you.” It’s as if that serpent somehow escaped from the garden and slithered into my brain. And while I know that that voice was lying, I bit into that lie anyway, and my day went downhill in a hurry. To put it mildly, I was crabby all day. I interpreted things that happened and things people said in the worst possible way. And, rather than using my words to build people up, I seemed to find all sorts of reasons to criticize and tear people down. Nothing they did or I did was good enough.
After dinner, at which I had grumbled and sniped at Kelly a couple of times, she finally asked me, “Are you okay? You seem kind of crabby.” The funny thing is, while I was well aware that I was seriously crabby, I could no longer remember why. It took quite a while of quiet reflection to trace it all back to the car ride that morning when I chose to believe that I was unlovable. Does that kind of thing ever happen to you?
Whether you believe that the story of Adam and Eve is literal history or not, this much is clear: their story is our story. What happens to them in the beautiful garden happens in our lived experience over and over again. We doubt God’s love and goodness. We seek to live on our own terms. Sin breaks us and our relationships. We are in bondage and cannot free ourselves. That’s Adam and Eve’s story. That’s our story. And, like Adam and Eve, our sin, our guilt and shame, cause us to hide ourselves, to hide from God, and to hide from one another.
I’m a hider. Sin has shaped me that way, and I’ve given into it. I think of all the things I haven’t done because I was afraid I’d fail. All the things I haven’t said because I thought I’d sound stupid. All the mistakes I’ve covered up because I was afraid people would think I was incompetent. All the relationships I’ve kept shallow because I was afraid I’d be rejected. How about you? Are you a hider? We all hide. We’re all participants in the cosmic game of hide and seek that sin started. Sin keeps us from the deepest need of our lives – intimate relationships with God and with one another.
I remember as a young child playing hide and seek with my brother and a babysitter. Being the youngest one in the game, I was frustrated because I was always found so quickly. But one day that all changed. I hid in the laundry hamper, and I pulled dirty clothes on top of myself. And I waited. I heard them searching the house. They even came into the closet I was in, but they didn’t find me, and I was filled with joy.
But after 20 minutes or so, I realized that it’s just not much fun to sit in a hamper full of dirty clothes. So I came out, only to discover that my brother and the babysitter had given up on me and had gone into the kitchen to eat ice cream. They were no longer searching for me.
Some of you have hidden yourselves pretty well. People can see you, but the real you is hidden away. Maybe you’re in the laundry hamper of life. Sin, shame, guilt, or insecurity has driven you there.
Deep inside, you feel isolated from God and from others. Here’s what I want you to know. People may stop searching for us, but God never will. Sin has broken us, but God has come to heal us. In Jesus Christ, God has come to seek and save all who are lost and hiding in sin, guilt and shame. God’s calling for you. God is calling you to get found. Right now, in this moment, God is searching for
you.
In a real game of hide and seek, when someone hides so well that no one can find them, the seekers cry out, “Olly, Olly, Oxen Free!” Do you know what those words mean? Me, neither. Just that the one who has hidden is supposed to come out of hiding and get found.
Friends, when Jesus Christ was lifted up on the cross, he was crying out for the whole of this hidden creation: “Olly, Olly Oxen Free. Come out. Get found. Let my love, my grace, my forgiveness, free you from your hiding places. Come out. Get found.” Adam and Eve hid themselves from God and one another, and so do we. That’s our story. God in Christ seeks us with love and forgiveness. That’s God’s story. Let it be your story, too.