"A Falling Out"
Based on Genesis 3:8-15 and Mark 3:20-35 (texts are available below)
June 6, 2021
Today’s Gospel lesson describes a time when the mother and siblings of Jesus seem embarrassed by what Jesus is doing. It reminds me of a time when I did something that embarrassed my mother.
It was when I was very young—probably three or four years old. My mother had just helped me take a bath, and I was playing by myself in our living room. Then I remembered that one of my favorite toys, a dump truck, was in the sandbox out in the yard. So, without thinking, I went outside and got it.
A few minutes later, my mom came back into the room and asked, “Joey, where did you get that toy?” When I tell her what I had done, she became upset because I had gone outside without any clothes. The tone of her words let me know that public nudity was not a good thing.
The story we read this morning from Genesis seems to have a similar message. God is walking through the Garden of Eden, searching for God’s human children, Adam and Eve, who were hiding. Kind of like when I go into our backyard looking for our two cats, who hide from me because they love being outside. In this case, however, Adam and Eve don’t come out when they hear God calling because they’re embarrassed about being naked.
The humans in this garden shift from a childlike innocence to a shameful awareness of their bodies. Where God definitely sounds like a parent—asking Adam, “Who told you that you were naked?” Followed by another guilt-filled question: “Did you eat from the tree I commanded you not to eat—the tree of the knowledge of good and evil?”
Which sets off a blaming game. Where the man blames the woman for giving him the forbidden fruit. Where the woman blames the serpent for tricking her into eating it. And where the serpent suggests God is lying when saying that the humans would die after eating the fruit. The same kind of blaming game that takes place in all sorts of relationships. The blaming game happens in families, in politics, in workplaces, and in faith communities. Where we rationalize that it’s not my fault because someone did something bad to me first. Which reminds of Flip Wilson, the African American comedian whose 1970s TV show included his drag character Geraldine. Who would pass on the blame for everything she did wrong by saying, “The devil made me do it!”
Unfortunately, today’s reading is the last act in a three-part play. Our lesson doesn’t tell us what happened before. We only see the consequences. And the blaming game. Which is how many Christians and theologians interpret the garden story—as an explanation of the cause of all human sin. This story has also been used as a “clobber” passage for queer people—where preachers like Jerry Falwell (who first used it 40 years ago) like to say: “It’s Adam and Eve—not Adam and Steve.”
Interestingly, the word “sin” is never used in the garden story. Nevertheless, Christians say the Garden of Eden is the story of “original sin.” And that “the fall” of Adam and Eve means that a “sinful nature” has been inherited by each of us humans. And even though the term “original sin” isn’t used in the Bible, it is a cornerstone of orthodox belief. Which also holds that the only atonement for sin must be a “perfect sacrifice.” And since all humans are imperfect, that theology links the perfect sacrifice to the death of Jesus Christ.
Christians throughout history have helped to develop the doctrine of original sin, especially theologians like Augustine, and later Luther and Calvin. The conventional way of reading this story derives in large part from the writings of St. Paul—specifically his letter to the Romans. But nowhere in Jewish Scriptures is this garden story presented as an explanation for sin.
Like many Christians, when I was young I believed the story of the fall was a literal story—that it actually happened. Gradually, I came to see that the Eden narrative is not true in the sense of a news story or history book. But it is a story that tells us something true about our human experience. A story that tells us that the Fall is not so much a “fall down” into depravity and sin and death. Or even a “fall up”(as one of my seminary professors suggested), where Adam and Eve were seeking to become God-like in their knowledge.
Perhaps a better choice of words would be a “falling out,” as suggested by Dr. Terry Fretheim (another of my seminary professors.) Where, as he says, the story is more about human “estrangement, alienation, and displacement, with an ever-increasing distance from Eden, each other, and God.”*
I like that analogy. For “falling out” is something that happens within families, between friends, and at all levels of interpersonal relationships. Our experiences of violence, cruelty and racism tell us that something in our society is wrong. Our own struggles with dishonesty, compulsion and addiction remind us that we humans are definitely not perfect. Our experiences of guilt, shame and brokenness speak to our need for redemption.
For each of us is human. Not perfect. And each of us occasionally fail at loving, or fall into old patterns of behaviors that hurt ourselves and those we care about. In that way, all of us can see ourselves in this garden story. The good news is that like Adam and Eve—despite our own falling-out experiences, our story does not end there. We can turn to God and one another as we seek to confess our failings, make amends, and when possible offer reparations. And just like Adam and Eve, God still continues a relationship with us. That’s another part of the garden story that we didn’t hear today.
Of course Christian repentance can be overdone. Some faith groups are so preoccupied with sin and guilt, shame and repentance, they talk of little else. And lose sight of joy. They devise elaborate frameworks for original sin, hell and damnation, and systems of exclusion. Which can lead us to see ourselves and others as far worse than we really are. Which also ignores the great good we are capable of doing.
Five hundred years ago, Martin Luther coined the term, “simil justus et peccator.” Which means that we humans are both saints and sinners, together at the same time. A paradox that continues throughout our lives. So, instead of asking you to wallow in shame and other negative feelings, today God of our garden story says to you: “You are my beloved child, fearfully and wonderfully made, just as you are.”
That message of grace is the center of our Lutheran faith. Where God doesn’t expect you to be perfect. Where God knows we will ultimately screw up. Where God loves us no matter what. Just like a mother understands when her child does something stupid or silly or embarrassing.
It’s a journey not focused on feeling bad about ourselves and the nakedness of our souls before God. But a life journey that leads us to gratitude in response to God’s grace, which is always with us. I believe that’s what this garden story is really about. And what God calls us to be.
As Nadia Bolz-Weber, one of my favorite contemporary Lutheran theologians wrote several years ago:
“I want the day to come when Christians are described not as judgmental but as those who rejoice in the world and delight in humanity. And what is a call to joy but a call home?... Undeterred, our God still uses any means necessary to be known by us: God speaks through prophets, slips into skin and walks among us in Jesus, woos us in bread and wine, surprises us in the strange and the stranger, [and] enters our ears in the words of life.” **
My friends, I hope today you hear that voice in the garden calling your name—calling you home to this table. Where God our mother gathers us together. Freed to live as God’s beloved children. Amen.
-----------------------------
* Terrence E. Fretheim, “Is Genesis 3 a Fall Story?” (“Word and World,” Luther Seminary, St. Paul, MN; Spring 1994), p. 153.
** Nadia Bolz-Weber, “Joyless Christians and the Lord of the Rings” (Sojourners Magazine, July 12, 2011, Washington, DC), https://sojo.net/articles/joyless-christians-and-lord-rings.
FIRST READING Genesis 3:8-15
[Adam and Eve] 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? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?” The man said, “The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit from the tree, and I ate.” Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this that you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent tricked me, and I ate.” 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.”
GOSPEL LESSON: Mark 3:20-35
[Jesus went home;] and the crowd came together again, so that [Jesus and the disciples] could not even eat. When his family heard it, they went out to restrain him, for people were saying, “He has gone out of his mind.” And the scribes who came down from Jerusalem said, “He has Beelzebul, and by the ruler of the demons he casts out demons.” And he called them to him, and spoke to them in parables, “How can Satan cast out Satan? If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. And if a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand. And if Satan has risen up against himself and is divided, he cannot stand, but his end has come. But no one can enter a strong man’s house and plunder his property without first tying up the strong man; then indeed the house can be plundered. “Truly I tell you, people will be forgiven for their sins and whatever blasphemies they utter; but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit can never have forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin”—for they had said, “He has an unclean spirit.” Then his mother and his brothers came; and standing outside, they sent to him and called him. A crowd was sitting around him; and they said to him, “Your mother and your brothers and sisters are outside, asking for you.” And he replied, “Who are my mother and my brothers?” And looking at those who sat around him, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! Whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother.”
It was when I was very young—probably three or four years old. My mother had just helped me take a bath, and I was playing by myself in our living room. Then I remembered that one of my favorite toys, a dump truck, was in the sandbox out in the yard. So, without thinking, I went outside and got it.
A few minutes later, my mom came back into the room and asked, “Joey, where did you get that toy?” When I tell her what I had done, she became upset because I had gone outside without any clothes. The tone of her words let me know that public nudity was not a good thing.
The story we read this morning from Genesis seems to have a similar message. God is walking through the Garden of Eden, searching for God’s human children, Adam and Eve, who were hiding. Kind of like when I go into our backyard looking for our two cats, who hide from me because they love being outside. In this case, however, Adam and Eve don’t come out when they hear God calling because they’re embarrassed about being naked.
The humans in this garden shift from a childlike innocence to a shameful awareness of their bodies. Where God definitely sounds like a parent—asking Adam, “Who told you that you were naked?” Followed by another guilt-filled question: “Did you eat from the tree I commanded you not to eat—the tree of the knowledge of good and evil?”
Which sets off a blaming game. Where the man blames the woman for giving him the forbidden fruit. Where the woman blames the serpent for tricking her into eating it. And where the serpent suggests God is lying when saying that the humans would die after eating the fruit. The same kind of blaming game that takes place in all sorts of relationships. The blaming game happens in families, in politics, in workplaces, and in faith communities. Where we rationalize that it’s not my fault because someone did something bad to me first. Which reminds of Flip Wilson, the African American comedian whose 1970s TV show included his drag character Geraldine. Who would pass on the blame for everything she did wrong by saying, “The devil made me do it!”
Unfortunately, today’s reading is the last act in a three-part play. Our lesson doesn’t tell us what happened before. We only see the consequences. And the blaming game. Which is how many Christians and theologians interpret the garden story—as an explanation of the cause of all human sin. This story has also been used as a “clobber” passage for queer people—where preachers like Jerry Falwell (who first used it 40 years ago) like to say: “It’s Adam and Eve—not Adam and Steve.”
Interestingly, the word “sin” is never used in the garden story. Nevertheless, Christians say the Garden of Eden is the story of “original sin.” And that “the fall” of Adam and Eve means that a “sinful nature” has been inherited by each of us humans. And even though the term “original sin” isn’t used in the Bible, it is a cornerstone of orthodox belief. Which also holds that the only atonement for sin must be a “perfect sacrifice.” And since all humans are imperfect, that theology links the perfect sacrifice to the death of Jesus Christ.
Christians throughout history have helped to develop the doctrine of original sin, especially theologians like Augustine, and later Luther and Calvin. The conventional way of reading this story derives in large part from the writings of St. Paul—specifically his letter to the Romans. But nowhere in Jewish Scriptures is this garden story presented as an explanation for sin.
Like many Christians, when I was young I believed the story of the fall was a literal story—that it actually happened. Gradually, I came to see that the Eden narrative is not true in the sense of a news story or history book. But it is a story that tells us something true about our human experience. A story that tells us that the Fall is not so much a “fall down” into depravity and sin and death. Or even a “fall up”(as one of my seminary professors suggested), where Adam and Eve were seeking to become God-like in their knowledge.
Perhaps a better choice of words would be a “falling out,” as suggested by Dr. Terry Fretheim (another of my seminary professors.) Where, as he says, the story is more about human “estrangement, alienation, and displacement, with an ever-increasing distance from Eden, each other, and God.”*
I like that analogy. For “falling out” is something that happens within families, between friends, and at all levels of interpersonal relationships. Our experiences of violence, cruelty and racism tell us that something in our society is wrong. Our own struggles with dishonesty, compulsion and addiction remind us that we humans are definitely not perfect. Our experiences of guilt, shame and brokenness speak to our need for redemption.
For each of us is human. Not perfect. And each of us occasionally fail at loving, or fall into old patterns of behaviors that hurt ourselves and those we care about. In that way, all of us can see ourselves in this garden story. The good news is that like Adam and Eve—despite our own falling-out experiences, our story does not end there. We can turn to God and one another as we seek to confess our failings, make amends, and when possible offer reparations. And just like Adam and Eve, God still continues a relationship with us. That’s another part of the garden story that we didn’t hear today.
Of course Christian repentance can be overdone. Some faith groups are so preoccupied with sin and guilt, shame and repentance, they talk of little else. And lose sight of joy. They devise elaborate frameworks for original sin, hell and damnation, and systems of exclusion. Which can lead us to see ourselves and others as far worse than we really are. Which also ignores the great good we are capable of doing.
Five hundred years ago, Martin Luther coined the term, “simil justus et peccator.” Which means that we humans are both saints and sinners, together at the same time. A paradox that continues throughout our lives. So, instead of asking you to wallow in shame and other negative feelings, today God of our garden story says to you: “You are my beloved child, fearfully and wonderfully made, just as you are.”
That message of grace is the center of our Lutheran faith. Where God doesn’t expect you to be perfect. Where God knows we will ultimately screw up. Where God loves us no matter what. Just like a mother understands when her child does something stupid or silly or embarrassing.
It’s a journey not focused on feeling bad about ourselves and the nakedness of our souls before God. But a life journey that leads us to gratitude in response to God’s grace, which is always with us. I believe that’s what this garden story is really about. And what God calls us to be.
As Nadia Bolz-Weber, one of my favorite contemporary Lutheran theologians wrote several years ago:
“I want the day to come when Christians are described not as judgmental but as those who rejoice in the world and delight in humanity. And what is a call to joy but a call home?... Undeterred, our God still uses any means necessary to be known by us: God speaks through prophets, slips into skin and walks among us in Jesus, woos us in bread and wine, surprises us in the strange and the stranger, [and] enters our ears in the words of life.” **
My friends, I hope today you hear that voice in the garden calling your name—calling you home to this table. Where God our mother gathers us together. Freed to live as God’s beloved children. Amen.
-----------------------------
* Terrence E. Fretheim, “Is Genesis 3 a Fall Story?” (“Word and World,” Luther Seminary, St. Paul, MN; Spring 1994), p. 153.
** Nadia Bolz-Weber, “Joyless Christians and the Lord of the Rings” (Sojourners Magazine, July 12, 2011, Washington, DC), https://sojo.net/articles/joyless-christians-and-lord-rings.
FIRST READING Genesis 3:8-15
[Adam and Eve] 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? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?” The man said, “The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit from the tree, and I ate.” Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this that you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent tricked me, and I ate.” 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.”
GOSPEL LESSON: Mark 3:20-35
[Jesus went home;] and the crowd came together again, so that [Jesus and the disciples] could not even eat. When his family heard it, they went out to restrain him, for people were saying, “He has gone out of his mind.” And the scribes who came down from Jerusalem said, “He has Beelzebul, and by the ruler of the demons he casts out demons.” And he called them to him, and spoke to them in parables, “How can Satan cast out Satan? If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. And if a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand. And if Satan has risen up against himself and is divided, he cannot stand, but his end has come. But no one can enter a strong man’s house and plunder his property without first tying up the strong man; then indeed the house can be plundered. “Truly I tell you, people will be forgiven for their sins and whatever blasphemies they utter; but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit can never have forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin”—for they had said, “He has an unclean spirit.” Then his mother and his brothers came; and standing outside, they sent to him and called him. A crowd was sitting around him; and they said to him, “Your mother and your brothers and sisters are outside, asking for you.” And he replied, “Who are my mother and my brothers?” And looking at those who sat around him, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! Whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother.”
