Thank You

Genesis 3:22-24 (NIV)

And the LORD God said, “The man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil. He must not be allowed to reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever.” So the LORD God banished him from the Garden of Eden to work the ground from which he had been taken. After he drove the man out, he placed on the east side of the Garden of Eden cherubim and a flaming sword flashing back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life.

1Corinthians 15:45-47 (NIV)

So it is written: “The first man Adam became a living being”; the last Adam, a life-giving spirit. The spiritual did not come first, but the natural, and after that the spiritual. The first man was of the dust of the earth; the second man is of heaven.

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Stiff all in the collar
Fluffy in the face
Chit chat chatter tryin'
Stuffy in the place
Thank you for the party
But I could never stay
Many thangs is on my mind
Words in the way

I want to thank you
falettinme
Be mice elf
agin

Thank you
falettinme
Be mice elf
agin

Dance to the music
All nite long
Everyday people
Sing a simple song
Mama's so happy
Mama start to cry
Papa still singin'
You can make it if you try

Sly & the Family Stone: "Thank You (Fallenttinme Be Mice Elf Agin)"

Ah, the fall. The moment after Adam and Eve were deceived into sharing the fruit of the vine and falling from grace. The horror and the pity, I like what George Burns said in the 1980's movie "Oh, God." Adam and Eve were just teenagers, they didn't have the savvy to take on the serpent. Oh well.

Then again, God knew all along that something would happen to gum up the works with creation. If it wasn't one thing it would be another and this is it, the biggy, eating the fruit of the tree of Good and Evil so they would know as much as God. Whoops, that does qualify as the biggy.

But since God knew all along that something would happen, something would have to change, he sent his Son. He sent his Son as the second Adam, the Divine Reset Switch so that all creation would be reconciled to the Creator.

In the beginning we were all living in accord with the Lord, but that changed. In Christ, it changes back. In this we are to say one thing, thank you.

Lord our God, Thank You Fallenttinme Be Mice Elf Agin.

Love Is

Genesis 3:6-9 (NRSV)

So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate; and she also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate. Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made loincloths for themselves.

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?"

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Ours is not to reason why
As we fall from way up high
Into the water (Into the water)
Like a lamb to the slaughter.

"God's Mistake" by Roland Olazabal, Tears for Fears, from Raoul and the Kings of Spain, 1995

The chorus of this song tells us that love is "God's Mistake." Is there a more harsh reading of God's love than this? God makes a mistake and that mistake is love? Not any specific love either, all love, the best love. That's just plain harsh. But there is, even if flawed a logic to this.

Imagine God creating us and placing us in the garden without love. Without love, God would have felt free to, would have been forced to control humanity from the first moment of creation. Without love, God could play with humanity the way a child plays with dolls. Without love we would have simply been playthings for God and we would not known any different. But instead, we were created in love, in the image of God.

We were created to tend to creation and enjoy God. But here's the twist, the only way we could have been guaranteed to be obedient is to be created either without either love or free will. Without the love of God and the freedom to love God that freely given, we would not have been able to sin.

Without God's love, we would just be playthings, puppets, we would be without value. But we would not be able to sin.

Because of God's love, we were able to fall from way on high. Because God created us to love freely in return, we are able to misuse this freely given gift. I suppose God knew this possibility from before the beginning, still God chose to love freely give us the opportunity to return that love just as freely.

Here's the twist, and it may feel like the twist of a dagger. Because we can choose to love, we can choose to sin. We were not given one without the other. To love without giving love's object the option to refuse love is abusive. It's stalking. It's far worse than that.

But if Love is God's Mistake, it is only because it is also God's greatest gift. Love is a risk worth taking.

Tempted by the Fruit

Genesis 3:1-6
Now the serpent was more crafty than any other wild animal that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God say, ‘You shall not eat from any tree in the garden’?” The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden; but God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the middle of the garden, nor shall you touch it, or you shall die.’” But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not die; for God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate; and she also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate.

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Tempted by the fruit of another,
Tempted but the truth is discovered

"Tempted" written by Glenn Tilbrook, Chris Difford; recorded by Squeeze

But before we get started, let's get this straight, it's not Eve's fault! The serpent is the trickster. Adam and Eve are dupes. It's not like Eve had to go to the back 40 to get Adam. Look at the passage, he's right there with her. He's just standing there not saying anything. That either makes Adam the strong silent type or big and dumb. You pick, it doesn't matter in the end.

Here's the key point, Eve saw what the serpent was saying, the fruit was a delight to her eyes, to everybody's eyes. They ate the fruit and they discovered the truth, truth they never were intended to know.

It's kind of a layup for this song isn't it. The forbidden fruit of the Garden of Eden, the ultimate temptation. Tempted by the fruit of another, tempted but the truth is discovered.

This is the song about someone who is leaving town after a love affair ends badly. Packing up and leaving town, it's telling that one of the places that gets the attention of the singer on the way to the airport is a church.

But the memory of the place, in the place the garden, don't leave the singer alone. The memory of the Garden still are a part of the human experience. We long for paradise, we long to live side by side with God as beloved children, not as rebellious imps. But to this day we are still tempted by the fruit of another, tempted but the truth is discovered.

Like the singer we try to make amends. The singer spends a fortune. We call it "salvation by works." Neither have the desired effect. We are saved by grace through faith. We are saved by the work of God in Christ. We are saved not by what we do, because what we do is forever tainted. We aren't tainted by what happened in the garden, we're tainted because what happened in the garden is what humans do with perfect freedom. Tempted by the fruit of another, tempted but the truth is discovered.

But the one who gives that freedom never turns from us. The one who gives that freedom stays alongside us to welcome us with open arms. It may be too late for the singer and that mythical other, but our lives and our Lord are not mythical.

Saint Patrick and the Dreadful Snakes

A Pre-St. Pat's History Lesson


Genesis 3:14-15

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.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Snakes Alive" instrumental by The Dreadful Snakes [Bela Fleck (banjo), Jerry Douglas (dobro), Pat Enright (guitar), Roland White (mandolin), Blaine Sprouse (violin), and Mark Membree (bass)] from "Snakes Alive"

The legend of St. Patrick begins with his kidnapping from England and being taken to Ireland at a young age. He eventually escaped his captors and returned to England where he became a priest. I say legend because there are so many stories about the man with so little corroboration that legend is a better word than fact. Then again, there is often as much truth in legend as there is in fact.

Years later, Patrick returned to Ireland, there he began to spread the gospel. One of the things which evangelists today should take from Patrick is that he knew the lay of the land, he knew Ireland and its people long before it became "the mission field." I wonder if he ever thought of it in the way many people think of "the mission field." He wasn't a stranger to the land or its people. He knew what they valued and he knew how to share what he valued.

He was a captive and when he returned he returned with the Good News of Jesus Christ. Knowing the land, knowing the people, he took the three leaved shamrock and explained the Trinity. He explained that God was in three persons like three leaves on the clover. He explained that God was still one as the flower was one plant. He shared three in one in a way they would understand.

Patrick is beloved in Ireland. He is the Patron Saint of Ireland. By him, Ireland became a nation that worships the Lord. For this, I say "Happy St. Patrick's Day." But there is a more popular part of the legend of Patrick, and if I didn't go there there would be no reason for this scripture and this song.

According to the legend, Patrick banished all snakes from Ireland using his staff when snakes confronted him during a forty day fast. Fighting the dreadful snakes off with his staff, he was like Aaron before Pharaoh. Then again, since the glaciers receded and Ireland became a land mass, there has never been evidence of snakes on the island. Britain has snakes, but none have made it to Ireland. There have never been any snakes for Patrick to banish so the legend is just that, a legend.

Or... this part of the legend could have referred to the serpent symbolism used by the druids, and when Patrick brought the Good News, the Gospel shared by Patrick banished those snakes. See what I mean, not literal snakes, but the snake symbols and the druids who worshiped them. They were banished and the Lord was worshiped. Not factual snakes, but legendary snakes. Like I said, this is one time when the legend has even more truth than the facts. Then again, Patrick wouldn't have known any of this if he hadn't known the people he came to serve in the name of the Lord.

Naked

Genesis 3:8-11a

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?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

And everybody knows that the Plague is coming
Everybody knows that it's moving fast
Everybody knows that the naked man and woman
Are just a shining artifact of the past
Everybody knows the scene is dead
But there's gonna be a meter on your bed
That will disclose
What everybody knows

"Everybody Knows" written by Leonard Cohen and Sharon Robinson, recorded by Leonard Cohen and a host of others, originally released on "I'm Your Man"

Adam and Eve had the knowledge, knowledge they did not need to have. But they had it now and there was no turning back. That was when our melodrama changed to stage right with the entrance of the Lord God walking into the garden. This new knowledge give Adam and Eve all sorts of insight. They knew they had lost their perfect connection with the Lord God. They knew they had done wrong. They knew they disobeyed. They knew they disappointed the Lord God. They knew they were in trouble.

Everybody (both of them, but still it was everybody) know that the plague is coming and that it's moving fast. They knew they were naked and they knew they were more than nude, they were naked. They were laid bare before the Lord God. Death was coming. Their sin was naked before the Lord God. All they had was shame and fear. They had no idea what was coming next. So they hid.

It's our first reflex too when we are caught. Shame, fear, denial, "fight or flight," the reactions are numerous but they are just that, reactions. It is up to us to act, not react. Yes the plague is coming and moving fast. It is truly an artifact of the past, sin. We are creatures bathed in sin, individual and corporate. Our selves and our communities are covered in a sinful nature that is impossible to escape, those who don't know are foolish or ignorant.

Only in Christ, through the Lord God, in community with the Holy Spirit can we live in and through that plague. Only in this can we live in and not of the world, the plague. It's coming, it's coming fast, it's here. Everybody knows. This is not a chicken little moment. God is asking where we are. It's time to stop hiding.

Ashes to Ashes

Ash Wednesday


Genesis 3:19
Remember that you are dust and to dust you will return.

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Ashes to ashes, funk to funky

"Ashes to Ashes" by David Bowie from "Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps)" (1980)

Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent, the season of introspection, reflection, and repentence. Who says the season doesn't need better Public Relations?

Of course, we're more familiar with Ash Wednesday's naughty cousin, Mardi Gras. Given the choice between reveling like tomorrow won't come and wearing ashes hearing someone in a black robe say, "From dust you came and to dust you will return," who wouldn't take beer and beads any day of the week?

Of course, there's more to the choices than that, which is why I've been the guy in the black robe holding the ashes.

"From dust" is the curse laid upon humanity after the fall, after the first (the original) sin. Upon eating of the tree Adam and Eve learned of death, and they learned what it would mean to them, they would return from whence they came. When the only rule you had to follow was "Don't eat that," it's a mighty fall from grace to death.

Ashes to ashes, funk to funky.

Still, there is more to Lent than just ashes and fasting. Today, many of us will be reminded of this curse, this curse Jesus accepted as his own, the truth that the body will be put to the ground. We do this with the mark of the ash. Jesus did this by the agony of the cross. But in this agony there is mercy and there is grace.

A few years ago, when imposing the ashes, I was encouraged to say "You are a child of God. From ashes you came and to ashes you will return." This first sentence is the addition. It should be understood of course, and it should be repeated as often as possible. It's easy to remember pain and suffering. It's easy to remember work. It's easy even to remember the glory of what comes after the end. But without the joy of what comes with life in God in Christ, we are truly lost. And we are all children of God, that must never be forgotten.

As Adam and Eve were God's children we are God's children. As they were disciplined for disobeying we too are disciplined for disobeying, but the joy of life in God; that is something they could not forget and something we must always remember.

By the mercy of God, let us be marked as his. Marked by the ash, and by his blood. Marked that in life and in death we belong to God.