Genesis 2:4b-7, 15-17; 3:1-8 (NRSV)
These are the generations of the heavens and the earth when they were created. In the day that the Lord God made the earth and the heavens, when no plant of the field was yet in the earth and no herb of the field had yet sprung up—for the Lord God had not caused it to rain upon the earth, and there was no one to till the ground; but a stream would rise from the earth, and water the whole face of the ground— then the Lord God formed man from the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and the man became a living being. The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to till it and keep it.
And the Lord God commanded the man, “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.”
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. 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.
Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable to you, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.
Grace to you and peace from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
When I was a teenager, I remember saying “If God doesn’t intend me to become a mother someday, then he’s playing some kind of cruel joke.” Looking back from the other side, having been blessed with the astoundingly rewarding and amazingly difficult job of parenting – twice, I was struck when I read again the beginning of the sacred story that in life, here are things you cannot un-know.
When I said that as a teenager, I did not know what it would be like to be awoken every two hours by a hungry baby, looking only to me for nourishment. I did not know what it would be like to have a little piece of my heart separate from me in this person, but always pulled back to me when in need. I did not know the joy and ache of watching a small person grow up in front of my eyes, reflecting back to me all my best – and worst – qualities. And one I knew these things… there was no going back.
Labor and delivery is by far the best example. I spent more than 9 months preparing for labor, seeking all the knowledge I could about what it meant – in nitty, gritty, real-life terms – to bring a new life into the world. I wanted to know every possible way I could make my first birth healthy and whole – and I was blessed that it all turned out that way. But there is nothing like birth to awaken us to our sense that we do not, in fact, know everything. We can seek the best information and the best experiences of others and the best providers who we have the most trust with… but in the end… there was no way I was going to know the reality of birth until I actually went through it myself. Until they handed me that 9#7oz real live person and I said (and I quote) “It’s a baby!”
What exactly did I think I had been preparing for?
But once they handed that real live baby to me, it was no longer wondering or wishing… I knew he was ours. And there was no going back.
This fall, our theme is “No Reservations.” And as we begin at the beginning again today, we see humans who seem to have had a lot of reservations once they taste the bittersweet fruit and feel the difficult, vulnerable, anxious knowing that you cannot unknow. They who had no reservations about picking the fruit, no reservations about grasping at being like God.
After the face, Eve and Adam are a little like new parents, freaked out at the knowledge that a part of them is no longer protect, no longer covered. Their nakedness. Their innocence. Their lack of knowledge has been exposed.
They have gained what they wished, they know more now than they did before, they know they are not God, and they can never be God, but they are forever in bondage to wanting to try. Their knowledge has left them feeling ashamed. For when the human beings begin to eat the fruit of the tree of knowledge, they show us the pattern we all live and breathe and cannot escape. We have a way of choosing our own control over trusting God. Our desire to know better than God what is good for us… leads us all straight out of the garden and the life lived solely for and with God. Yes, we call it sin. But it is less a willful act of destruction or immorality, and far more a life of denying God’s goodness and power in favor of our own devices, wherever they might lead us.
This is not a condemnation of curiosity or knowledge in our world today. I am confident that Adam and Eve could have learned much in the garden about the creation God had made, the intricate balance of ecosystems and the generative life of fruit trees, of wild grains and all plants that feed us.
But it is a clear description, and even a story of grief over the choice that humans always make. The choice to seek to “know,” to have all the information for ourselves, over the choice to trust the God who made us.
What God does next is to explain the consequences of their actions: serpents become snakes, women have pain in childbirth, men must till the ground for sustenance…life choosing oneself over God will be hard. There is no going back, no reserved spot for them in the Garden of Eden. Eve was right, their entire existence and understanding of life died there with that choice.
But God. God tells a different story. God says, no, there is no place reserved for you here any longer… BUT (And when God is talking consequences, you know there is always a “But”)…
But there is still life. There is still grace. God does not scrap them and start all over… I mean, if you were God, would you? No, God has No Reservations when it comes to us. And this is the beginning of the beginning of THAT story. God is the one who has No Reservations.
God gave them clothing and a new way of living. God did not destroy his creation. God looked at them, choosing to live away from him with what I imagine could be characterized as anger and grief, but God still loved them.
God has no reservations loving Adam and Eve, and all of creation. The sacred story reminds us that God gives us life and breath and plants and animals and ecosystems and curiosity and knowledge. Yes, even knowledge! We grasp for knowledge of our own situation, not wanting to live innocently, wanting to grapple with truth and reality. God adds to our knowledge and equips us to live independently from the utopian garden. Even after our rejection, God has no reservations gifting us with what we need for this mortal life.
And even more, when God sends Christ the king, to host us at his table, we don’t need a reservation either. In God’s kingdom, there are no reservations needed. The table is open to everyone. All are invited, all are embraced, even us who have chosen to walk away from God, are invited back, even with all our newfound knowledge. Even when we think we know better. Even when we have lost our innocence. Especially when we feel vulnerable and exposed. God accompanies us in this difficult life, with no reservations.
Thanks be to God!
Amen.
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