Sermon for: Feb 10, 2008_Lent I_A_RCL Brian McHugh, priest & vicar
[Gen 2:15-17; 3:1-7][Ps 32][Rom 5:12-19][Matt 4:1-11]

Some musings on the Genesis Myth:

We human beings are “afraid” of Mortality – often called Death. Or we are affronted by it. It is not an accident that the holy season of Lent begins by starkly confronting us with the reality that we “are dust”, and to dust” we shall return. We wonder why we die – were we once immortal, and did we do something that brought on Death? Death has been interpreted by some as being the consequence of sin, or of whatever we did to insult God.

We wonder what’s beyond that boundary called Death. Is it “good”or “bad”, delightful or horrible? We wonder, is there anything we can do to avoid punishment? This has often led to the demeaning of religion to a legalistic keeping of rules rather than a path to becoming fully human. It has often made religion a system of controlling others, of having power over their lives.

We wonder if it’s worth striving for things – material, spiritual, emotional – if it all gets taken away from us sooner or later, but inevitably. We wonder if we can avoid it, and how: freeze-drying, or making a Faustian pact with “the Devil” or with some being who holds out the possibility of escape. We listen metaphorically to “serpents” who tell us, No, you won’t die! Note the serpent in the Genesis story today, who promises Adam and Adama that they can be like God. Or the Devil in the Matthew story who promises Jesus escape from death from a fall that would kill anyone.

This story from Genesis is an age-old attempt to understand ourselves. Every human culture has equivalent stories, equivalent “myths” – what I call “truth tales”, though I wish I could think of a classier name! Our Jewish ancestors developed this story over centuries, rethinking and refining, different generations adding to the inquiry. It tackles the profound questions every human being has. Where did we “come from”? Is our human nature essentially good or essentially bad? Why do we live with the conflict of good and evil in our lives, which causes us such suffering and confusion? Where can we find the answers to these nagging questions we have? Do we have the courage to look at our selves honestly and accept responsibility, or do we have to blame someone else? We still live in a patriarchal culture where women are blamed for much of the world’s problems, and blamed for mens’ “problems”, removing responsibility from men and permitting them to indulge their often selfish desires - all this justified on a male interpretation of the Genesis story.

And of course, the age-old question/hope: Is there an “Eden”? “Eden” is not a physical place; it is an emotional or spiritual or philosophical “place” where we can find peace and understanding and where we can be in harmony with one another and with the creative forces of the Universe. Are we going to learn how to create it, or do we live in the fantasy that God is going to hand it to us on a silver platter? I’m glad that the myth has us being expelled from Eden. It seems wisely to indicate that we understand our predicament, and know we have work to do.

Many interpret the Genesis myth to say that we human beings were once sinless and then “fell” into sin. I don’t believe in the widespread particular interpretation of what is called “The Fall” I believe it is and always has been human nature to be capable of Good and of Evil. “Eden” is a metaphor, a symbol, for the human longing and hope that we can choose love, be happy, overcome our penchant for fouling our own nest. In my view, if we are spiritually and emotionally healthy, the being we call God is an ally - one who will help us and lift us up. The God who punishes is the creation of a spiritually and intellectually unhealthy mind. The Christian God is essentially a God of Grace, as is the God of the Jews. The overlaying of an angry or condemning God is of human origin, and more specifically, the creation of a human mind which does not believe in humanity’s own essential glory and worth. I do. So does Jesus.

So. What does the Gospel for this first Sunday in the holy season of Lent ask us to confront if we would place our feet on the path of “return to Eden”? Jesus is baptized. He is immediately “led by the Spirit” into the wilderness, where he fasts for 40 days and 40 nights in preparation. This, like all such undertakings, is to help Him to see with the inner eye more clearly. At this moment of extreme hunger and weakness, He is tempted by Satan, known as the “father of lies”.

We all remember what happens. First, Satan offers Jesus life on the basis of His own power and physical needs; Jesus says No; that Life is infinitely more than that. Second: Satan offers Jesus the tempting thought that Life can be maintained by manipulating God. Jesus says No; God and we are One; we find Life together. Third: Satan offers Jesus personal power from worldly riches and glory. Jesus says No; Life is found in the godly path of loving service, compassion, mercy, justice.

My colleague Barbara Crafton put it beautifully: “Jesus sits in the wilderness and wants the things we all want. He sits there until he knows he can live life without any of them, because he knows, as we all must know, that we all will lose everything. And then he arises and returns to his world, as we return daily to ours. But we know more about what we can do with the power we have been given than we knew when we began.”

I said that the theme of this Lent was going to be Finding the Glory. Whatever we do this Lent, it will be helpful if we learn that we can receive the power to tell ourselves “No”sometimes. We need to have the power to say “No” to the many lies we are told or that we tell yourselves. To say No to things we are tempted to think will bring us joy and peace but which we know to be lies.

In the Collect today we pray: as you know the weaknesses of each of us, let each one find you mighty to save. This is the true nature of the God we know in the Christ: She is there with us, in us, every step of the way on the path of transfiguration as a child of God.