WATCHWORD:
God formed Man out of dirt from the ground and blew into his nostrils the breath of life. The Man came alive—a living soul! 16-17 God commanded the Man, “You can eat from any tree in the garden, except from the Tree-of-Knowledge-of-Good-and-Evil. Don’t eat from it. The moment you eat from that tree, you’re dead.” 18-20 God said, “It’s not good for the Man to be alone; I’ll make him a helper, a companion.” 21-22 God put the Man into a deep sleep. As he slept he removed one of his ribs and replaced it with flesh. God then used the rib that he had taken from the Man to make Woman and presented her to the Man.23-25 The Man said, “Finally! Bone of my bone, flesh of my flesh! Named her Woman for she was made from Man.” They become one flesh. The two of them, the Man and his Wife, were naked, but they felt no shame.
The serpent was clever, more clever than any wild animal God had made. He spoke to the Woman: “Do I understand that God told you not to eat from any tree in the garden?” 2-3 The Woman said to the serpent, “Not at all. We can eat from the trees in the garden. It’s only about the tree in the middle of the garden that God said, ‘Don’t eat from it; don’t even touch it or you’ll die.’” 4-5 The serpent told the Woman, “You won’t die. God knows that the moment you eat from that tree, you’ll see what’s really going on. You’ll be just like God, knowing everything, ranging all the way from good to evil.” 6 When the Woman saw that the tree looked like good eating and realized what she would get out of it—she’d know everything!—she took and ate the fruit and then gave some to her husband, and he ate. 7 Immediately the two of them did “see what’s really going on”—saw themselves naked!” Various verses from Genesis 2 and 3 The Message.
Meditation:
Consequences
Eve, this is quite a tasty bit of fruit. Where did you get it? From the tree? That tree! But God told us not to touch that one. Well, he did, but he didn’t really mean it. The fruit is luscious-looking and oh so tasty. Now that I ate that, I can see so much more, and, Adam, shouldn’t you put on a fig leaf?
Everywhere there is a caution, a warning, a forecast of approaching flood or tropical storm. We hear “shelter in place” and “take refuge in a basement or interior room.” We are told not to drive through water that floods the road. We understand that the vaccine and masking can be an effective defense against the virus. We are advised to stay away from in-door, large-group parties and other such activities. All these advisories are coming to us from those who know what they are talking about.
Yet, we eat the fruit. We elect to ignore the cautions, choose not to shelter, in a basement or elsewhere. We are challenged by water on the road and drive on. We would rather believe a lie than scientific proof, and by gum I’ll party where and when I want…It is my right!
Consequences. We hear the cautions and we hear the prohibition but our human nature decides that we are an exception to the rule, only to find that there are no exceptions, the rule isn’t flexible and it is eternal.
Yes, we have the choice in all these matters and advisories, and we exercise that, right up to, but not including, where and if you will receive medical attention, or where your family will need to go to identify your body. Yes, there is accountability, and, as they say, “the piper will be paid.”
Look on your prayer list, or so many others that we pray for. How many of those people that you lift up to God are paying for the consequences of their actions. We ask God to be merciful, to heal, to keep them safe, and yet too often our own decisions put us in jeopardy.
We are told, on the spiritual side, that our bodies are at temple. And we believe that. Pentecost presented us with the gift of the Holy Spirit that now dwells within us. And we believe that. We believe that we are a child of God, and that is something we should ponder deeply.
In a bit of my writing I called war, “sin compounded”. Everything before us, the luscious forbidden fruit, the advisories, the scientific breakthroughs, the weather forecasts, all have passed through the hands of God. We, you and I, and all these others, are entrusted with this holy temple that is our body.
We have been gifted with free-will, so, yes, it is your right. Eat the fruit, if that is your choice. Adam did. You had best adjust your fig leaf. The choices are ours, the consequences are the Lord’s. So be it.
Bulletin Board:
September 11, 2001, twenty years ago, our memories are still painful as we recall that day and listen to the tributes and prayers for those who lost their lives, and those who continue to suffer the loss of loved ones, a category that we all fall into. In your prayers this morning, may I suggest we include our nation, strong, yet continues to reel from evil forces, some natural, like the virus, others not so understandable. God bless the U.S.A.
Let us pray.
Heavenly Father, this world is complicated and some of the decisions are difficult to make. Guide us Lord, help us, Holy Spirit, to glorify your holy name in our respect for this temple You have entrusted to us. We pray this in the name of Jesus the Christ, our Lord and Savior. Amen.
