Hey folks,
I accidentally hit send without posting anything, so i had to return and edit what should have been the post. Our Scripture focus, for Sunday, is Genesis 2. I hope each and everyone of you have read this text and prepared to offer great insights for Sunday's message. I look forward to reading what ideas and revelations come to you all after reading this very familiar text.
After an initial reading, this past Sunday, i had some very interesting thoughts. As i read the text, rehearsing the story of Adam and Eve, i realized a few things that i hadn't thought about before. All of life, as most historians, archeologists, and scientists argue, began where the Garden of Eden is reported to have been where God planted it. I dont know when Genesis was written, but i do know that oral tradition was used to tell the story of Adam and Eve and the Garden, and that dates back centuries before the story was canonized. I guess what i am trying to say, is that according to oral and written tradition, where the Garden is said to be, according to Genesis, meshes with what history argues where humanity began. Coincidence?
And i thought this might be where the message began, but our small group gathering, Sunday night, illuminated something else that i glanced over. I had read this text, over and over, and it never struck me in the way the group revealed the text to me. Even though i had read the part about Adam wasn't meant to be alone, i quickly scanned it, to get onto the other stuff. But my sisters and brothers helped me see it, as it truly was meant to be. We were meant to live together.
Sure in the story, Adam and Eve were the only ones, initially, but i truly sense God meant for us to live together, as sisters and brothers. The Garden of Eden was an idyllic place where every need, every possible need, was met. Their food, right there, shared. Their need for companionship, right there. Their faith, developed in a daily walk, literally with God. And it was heaven on earth. I sense this is God's intention for us, to be communally linked and sharing what we have so all have enough, and when we do, trusting God for all, we experience heaven on earth.
But there is more. As my brother Dave illuminated, the Jewish tradition involved a man paying a dowry for his bride, so that he could show his need, desire to have her join him in marriage. But then he would return home, build an addition to his father's house, and when he was finished, he would go get his bride. If she was ready, she went with them, and they lived, happily ever after. IF, as the parable Jesus shared, she wasn't, well then divorce was a standard step. I dont rehearse this little tradition for any other reason, but to illustrate how I feel God intended for us to live: together. Side by side. Sharing jobs. Sharing resources. Living, in dependence of God, and co-existing as one Godly community. The new couple added their family, their livestock, their entire existence to the groom's father's land. And together, they became a mighty force of mutual preservation and growth. And this was heaven on earth.
It could be that way again, but we must get beyond our individualistic nature that permeates our culture. We cannot be "western" and live in community, together. In order to have it good, as it was in the garden, we must give up our need for selfish gain, and do what benefits the whole. This is where God becomes real and powerful to us, as a church. But it wont happen without each of us sacrificing a little, and in some cases a lot, so that the whole can be healthy and God ultimately glorified. These are just some thoughts from a rambling preacher. What do you have to offer? I look forward to being inspired by your wisdom, insight, and love. Amen.
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