Reading 2 • September 15
Today's Scripture
Genesis 2:15–25
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.”
Then the Lord God said, “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper as his partner.” So out of the ground the Lord God formed every animal of the field and every bird of the air and brought them to the man to see what he would call them, and whatever the man called every living creature, that was its name. The man gave names to all cattle and to the birds of the air and to every animal of the field, but for the man there was not found a helper as his partner. So the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and he slept; then he took one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh. And the rib that the Lord God had taken from the man he made into a woman and brought her to the man. Then the man said,
“This at last is bone of my bones
and flesh of my flesh;
this one shall be called Woman,
for out of Man this one was taken.”
Therefore a man leaves his father and his mother and clings to his wife, and they become one flesh. And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed. (NRSVUE)
Reflection
Thank you, Lord, for arranging it for me today to tackle one of the thorniest passages of the Bible, in less than 300 words. Just one more way my faith is tested and strengthened!
All kidding aside, this is a tough assignment. I think of the many interpreters and believers who came before me and forged these ideas into a weapon of domination and exploitation. I think of the faith I left and the reasons I joined the Presbyterian church, prominent among which is the equal status of the genders. Tree of Knowledge! Adam’s Rib! The Garden of Eden as minefield.
Leaving the literal interpretation to others, what does this passage mean theologically? What is God really telling us about our relationship with God and creation? How is it answering the eternal question of who are we and why are we here?
First, that all creation comes from God, even that creature whom God bestowed with reason.
Second, there is work to do, maintaining the garden and the animals, and following God’s command. (Humans cannot handle eating from the Tree of Knowledge. It is way beyond their capacity.)
Third, partnership (or the opposite of isolation) is crucial to a happy, centered life.
The original Hebrew of this passage is full of wordplay that is lost in translation, but the important message of that original language is harmony. God created the heavens and earth, and it was good (as we read yesterday), but here man is alone, and that is not good.
God creates man’s partner out of the man himself. (Interestingly, I learned this is the only Middle Eastern creation story that describes a separate, distinct creation of woman.)
Possibly, the partner was already contained within the man (as some rabbinical teaching has it). Consider Adam’s relief, after naming every other creature in the Garden, to have a partner in the work (“at last”). The same flesh, the same bone. Harmony. Oneness. Faith in God’s plans.
There! Solved it. (I must’ve eaten from the Tree of Hubris this morning.)
Prayer
Oh my Creator, thank you for the sheer wonder of all you made — the cosmos, the planet, animals, people. Please help me magnify your glory by respecting and protecting what you created. Amen.
Written by Jim Garner, Member of Fourth Presbyterian Church
Reflection and Prayer © Fourth Presbyterian Church
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