Creation & Fall
NL 2024-2025 • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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Creation & Fall
Creation & Fall
Today, we begin another journey through the big story that the Bible tells… each year, here at SWCC we begin back at the beginning in Genesis. And from the Creation story, we tell of how God has been at work in the world throughout the millenia… retracing the stories of the
Creation & Fall
The Family of Faith
Israel’s Exodus & Call
Tribes & Judges
Kings & Prophets
Judah’s Fall & Exile
The Nation of Hope
The Jesus Story:
Anticipation, Birth, Life, Death, Resurrection & Ascension
Birth of the Church
Today, we begin… and we’re going to read from chapters 2 and 3 of the first book of the bible.
We’re going to start at the beginning. Well, almost.
In the book of Genesis, there are TWO separate accounts of creation.
The first, which is in Genesis chapter 1, tells of the six days of creation, outlining the sequence of God the Creator making preparation for the animals and then the humans that will be the final act of creation.
The first account, reflects the ancient way in which kings would place their image throughout their kingdoms, to represent the kingdom even when that king wasn’t physically present in a particular place. There is an echo of this in Gen 1 as God makes male & female in the divine image and they are placed in creation to reflect the glory of their Maker.
The second account, which we’ll read from today “gives a more detailed description of the creation of the first man, and again the process of his creation shows the intimate relationship that humankind enjoys with God.”
This second account seems to speak to rival creation accounts such as the Enuma Elish in which “humans are created from from dust and the blood of a rebellious demon god”… contrast this with God breathing life into the human. Made from dust, yes. But intimately crafted and sharing breath with God.
The second account also highlights the way in which male and female are both commissioned as what Tremper Longman calls “God’s agents in creation” … “carry[ing] on a conversation with [God] and charged to tend and keep the Garden.
Neither account is particularly interested in HOW God creates. They are far more concerned with the foundational idea that God creates and sustains the universe. But they give very different versions of the creation narrative. Humans are called to created to bear the image of their creator FOR THE SAKE OF the whole of creation. Humans, whether the crowning act of creation (as in Gen 1) or God’s agents to tend and keep creation (as in Gen 2) are called to live in the presence of God and in relationship with one another and with the whole of creation.
As we looked at last week in our (re)connection gathering, this is reflected in our mission & vision as a church:
We are a community of people who desire to live & love like Jesus, and we long for a deeper connection with God, with people, and with causes that engage us in justice & mercy.
And this year, as we trace the Biblical story, we will also continually discover that God is reaching out to us, always inviting us in, and that God also longs for us to be connected to ourselves and to one another in authentic ways. And, God is making all things new, the whole creation. People, yes, but also animals and plants and ecosystems … and so we get to join God in the renewal of all things. Our “causes” matter because they help us not only proclaim the gospel in WORD, but in DEED as well.
As we look at our origin story, we see that Humans are called to live in the presence of God and in relationship with one another and with the whole of creation.
With these relational realities in mind, let’s listen now to the reading from Gen 2 and then also what happens next in Genesis 3. Spoiler: The good creation will not remain untainted for long. But you probably knew that was coming.
As Kathleen & Brian come, would you prepare your ears and your body and your hearts to hear the reading? And if you are able, please stand for the reading of God’s Word.
Genesis 2:4–9 (CEB)
On the day the Lord God made earth and sky—5 before any wild plants appeared on the earth, and before any field crops grew, because the Lord God hadn’t yet sent rain on the earth and there was still no human being to farm the fertile land, 6 though a stream rose from the earth and watered all of the fertile land—7 the Lord God formed the human from the topsoil of the fertile land and blew life’s breath into his nostrils. The human came to life. 8 The Lord God planted a garden in Eden in the east and put there the human he had formed. 9 In the fertile land, the Lord God grew every beautiful tree with edible fruit, and also he grew the tree of life in the middle of the garden and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
15 The Lord God took the human and settled him in the garden of Eden to farm it and to take care of it. 16 The Lord God commanded the human, “Eat your fill from all of the garden’s trees; 17 but don’t eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, because on the day you eat from it, you will die!” 18 Then the Lord God said, “It’s not good that the human is alone. I will make him a helper that is perfect for him.” 19 So the Lord God formed from the fertile land all the wild animals and all the birds in the sky and brought them to the human to see what he would name them. The human gave each living being its name. 20 The human named all the livestock, all the birds in the sky, and all the wild animals. But a helper perfect for him was nowhere to be found.
21 So the Lord God put the human into a deep and heavy sleep, and took one of his ribs and closed up the flesh over it. 22 With the rib taken from the human, the Lord God fashioned a woman and brought her to the human being.
Genesis 2:23–25 (CEB)
23 The human said,
“This one finally is bone from my bones
and flesh from my flesh.
She will be called a woman
because from a man she was taken.”
24 This is the reason that a man leaves his father and mother and embraces his wife, and they become one flesh. 25 The two of them were naked, the man and his wife, but they weren’t embarrassed.
1 The snake was the most intelligent of all the wild animals that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say that you shouldn’t eat from any tree in the garden?”
2 The woman said to the snake, “We may eat the fruit of the garden’s trees 3 but not the fruit of the tree in the middle of the garden. God said, ‘Don’t eat from it, and don’t touch it, or you will die.’ ”
4 The snake said to the woman, “You won’t die! 5 God knows that on the day you eat from it, you will see clearly and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” 6 The woman saw that the tree was beautiful with delicious food and that the tree would provide wisdom, so she took some of its fruit and ate it, and also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. 7 Then they both saw clearly and knew that they were naked. So they sewed fig leaves together and made garments for themselves.
8 During that day’s cool evening breeze, they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden; and the man and his wife hid themselves from the Lord God in the middle of the garden’s trees. 9 The Lord God called to the man and said to him, “Where are you?”
10 The man replied, “I heard your sound in the garden; I was afraid because I was naked, and I hid myself.”
11 He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Did you eat from the tree, which I commanded you not to eat?”
12 The man said, “The woman you gave me, she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate.”
13 The Lord God said to the woman, “What have you done?!”
And the woman said, “The snake tricked me, and I ate.”
This is the word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
You may be seated.
When Brendan was quite small (and I do have permission to share this story), we went into a small, crowded gift shop by our local grocery store. It’s the kind of place that had a little bit of everything - and where you never quite sure if they’d have what you were actually looking for. You now, a rack of cards, a smattering of tea cups and pots, a small area with children’s toys, a selection of fancy pens and maybe some nice journals or notebooks, and any number of breakable items that cause fear in the heart of parent entering such a place with a preschooler.
I believe the conversation outside the store would have gone something like this:
“Brendan, we are going to go into this store and there are a lot of breakable things in here, so I want you to look with your eyes and not with your hands, okay?”
[Brendan nods with seriousness]
Tell the story…
And while I have plenty of parenting fails that I could share, on this particular day, I picked up my terrified child, I paid for the item we broke (I don’t remember now even how much it was) and we left the store with our innocence somewhat fractured. But there was no sense in which I needed to punish Brendan that day. The sound of breaking glass behind him was scary enough. The shopkeeper was firm, but kind. We paid our debt and I made sure that my little boy was okay. Our relationship with one another was intact. And, since I paid for the item, our relationship with the shopkeeper was intact as well. We were not banished from that particular “garden” if you will. But had experienced “a fall” if you will.
In Genesis 2 & 3, we hear the second account of creation, and then the story of the fall. Quite a beginning.
Humans are called to live in the presence of God and in relationship with one another and with the whole of creation. We see the human (and then the humans) living in God’s presence. Living in relationship with one another. And with creation.
We see in Genesis 1 & 2 that humans are created to bear the image of the Creator FOR THE SAKE of the rest of creation. Living in those three relationships (with God, with self/others and with creation is designed to function when the image bearers live with those relationships in tact. The humans are both made of earth and divine breath. Formed from dust and breathed into by God.
In the first account - that we didn’t read today, do you remember how the account is punctuated…? Again and again, God creates and then calls it… GOOD. Over and over. And when God creates humans - male & female in the divine, God calls it VERY GOOD. And in this second account of creation, only one time do we hear that something isn’t good. And it’s the human’s isolation and alone-ness. And so Eve, as Adam will name her, is brought into the picture. Not to serve Adam. Not to amuse him. But as his “ezer kenegdo”… Marg Mowczko helps us here:
“Genesis 2 tells us that Adam, who was all alone, needed help, and that a woman, Eve, was created to provide this help. The Hebrew word for “help” used here is ezer, and it is mostly used in the Hebrew Bible for God’s help. Importantly, ezer is qualified by the word kenegdo. Kenegdo tells us that Eve was a person who was similar to Adam, who corresponded to him, who was his equal counterpart.
Eve was not an afterthought or an extra in God’s scheme. She was not a mere auxiliary or assistant for Adam. The narrative of Genesis 2:18ff, which includes the statement that it was “not good” for the man to be alone, was designed to emphasise the vital necessity of Eve. The naming-of-the-animals exercise highlights her unique compatibility and equality with Adam (Gen. 2:20).”
I bring this up, because the words “suitable helper” or “help meet” as the King James renders it has been weaponized against women. And I want to be clear that I think the ways in which it has been weaponized have been based on bad readings of the text. Because of it’s pervasive teaching in many places, it’s important to name.
So. We have the human couple. Planted in the garden, there to tend and keep.
And then, the snake arrives and we watch a scene unfold that is a bit like watching a car crash. We know what’s happening and we don’t want it to happen, but there’s nothing we can do to stop it.
The origin story of humans is followed by the origin story of sin
Preach more on sin, pastor. No not those ones!
what is sin?
If life is a machine, then sin is a bad gear that makes the machine malfunction.
If life is a kingdom, then sin is a terrorist movement in the kingdom.
If life is a family, then sin is a feud between family members.
If life is a body, then sin is an untreated disease that poisons the whole system.
If life is a river, then sin is mercury or arsenic that pollutes it.I
f life is a garden, then sin is the army of slugs that eat your tomatoes.
If life is a computer, then sin is a virus that destroys your hard drive.
I’m reading a number of books these days that are written by friends and colleagues… it’s a delightful
In my friend Aaron Miller’s book Witness of These Things he writes:
“I have found that it’s easiest and clearest in my context to talk about sin as a problem of distorted relationships…We see this first in the choice to eat of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil — the one tree out all all trees that was to be off limits. The temptation isn’t the fruit; it’s to be as gods. That temptation is awfully seductive. We may not have a particular tree, but we are just as susceptible to trading the triune God for the trinity of our wants, feelings and perceived needs.”
In my friend Jonny Morrison’’s new book - Prodigal Gospel :
Sin beginning as a deception of what God is really like and then gets expressed as:
- a violation of love
- a wound or an inheritance
- a social system
In Genesis 3, we see what accompanies sin when sin enters the picture?
Shame and blame
Shame vs guilt - guilt is feeling badly about what we’ve done whereas shame is feeling badly about who we are. Guilt can be helpful in showing us where amends need to be made. Shame twists things so that we seek an out from the sense of not enoughness that ensues.
Aaron:
“Shame gets its claws into us and mangles what was meant to be good and beautiful, messing up our ability to see ourselves well. It causes us to hide ourselves, from God and from each other…They do not want to be vulnerable with each other; they do not want to be found by God.”
In their shame, we quickly see that their relationships with God, with themselves, and with one another have been distorted, broken. And we also see that the humans are no longer bearing God’s image for the sake of the created world; they are in conflict with the world.
Blame vs responsibility & culpability
Can we go back to Brendan and the gift shop?
Should a store selling toys display fragile and expensive glass items on low tables very close to the toy section?
Could the store owner have charged me the “cost” of the item and not the markup?
Should I have left Brendan at home? Or made him stay to pay the cost of his “sin” and to learn a lesson by having to work off his debt to the storeowner even though he was probably in need of a diaper change?
Blame is a game that comes VERY quickly and naturally. Responsibility requires more of us. Including the willingness to be wrong. To have messed up. To be at fault.
Adam blames Eve. (That woman you gave me!)
Eve blames the snake. (These animals you made!)
And it’s easy to throw shade at Adam & Eve, but how many of us say, “yes. I made a mistake. I’m so sorry.”
What might have happened if they had taken responsibility for what happened? Would that have changed the story in some way? Adam says, I’m right here God. And I messed up. Help!
Humans are called to live in the presence of God and in relationship with one another and with the whole of creation. Humans are created to bear the image of the Creator FOR THE SAKE of the rest of creation.
Creatures of earth & divine breath fall… and the result is distorted relationships…
with God
with self
with others
and with creation
And what is God’s response to the fall? It triggers God’s pursuit of us. From Genesis 3 til now we have the story of what God is willing to do to reveal what God is really like (correcting our false images), to restore whatever has been broken, wounded, harmed, and to invite us to participate with God in the renewal of all things. That is a good news story!
In Jesus, we see how far God will go to love the world. But Jesus isn’t the first time this is revealed. As we trace the story through the old testament, we’ll see how each time the relationship gets murky, God promises. God takes action. And God is faithful to finish what gets started. Over and over again. God will initiate and reach out to those who have turned away.
Which means that if you feel like your relationships with God, with yourself, with others or with the whole of creation is distorted, you can anticipate that God is reaching out towards you. That God’s love has not run out. That God’s mercy has not been exhausted. That God’s faithfulness is still something you can rest on… in fact, in Genesis 3 there is a tiny little promise made… that is actually quite a huge promise, as it turns out….
The promise made in Genesis 3:15
15 And I will put enmity
between you and the woman,
and between your offspring and hers;
he will crush your head,
and you will strike his heel.”
21 The Lord God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them.
The same God who got divine hands dirty playing in the dirt, crafting a human and then breathing divine life into them… now makes leather clothes for them… their shame is not tenable for God. God doesn’t say, well that’s silly. Don’t feel like that. God says, yeah, that’s what sin does. So here’s a leather tunic. What a generous, loving God.
And then God “banishes them from the Garden”… but not really. For their own protection, God sends them East of Eden.
I don’t think I took Brendan into another gift shop til he was a bit older - couple of years at least. ;)