Genesis 3:9-15; 2 Corinthians 4:13-5:1; Mark 3:20-35
The Lord
God called to the man after he had eaten of the tree. ‘Where are you?’ he
asked.
Where are
you?
This is a question we often ask each other,
and a question we occasionally ask of ourselves – Where am I? But, somehow, in the mouth of God it seems
like a strange question. The Lord God
called to the man … Where are you?
It goes without saying that God knew precisely
where Adam was; he is not asking for enlightenment. He is trying to enlighten
Adam – ‘Adam, my son, what have you done? Look at yourself, look at where you have
taken yourself.’
God wants us and comes looking for us. Though his fear and guilt may have paralysed
him somewhat Adam must still, somehow, have been aware, however dimly, that it
was the goodness of God that was
seeking him, that God still wanted him.
God wanted to reveal himself to Adam as a patient, understanding, forgiving but
just God. He wanted Adam to find him and he wanted Adam to find himself.
Sin always
takes us to a place we should not be, a dark place, a lonely place. The Lord God calls to Adam; Adam is hiding.
Why? Because he has sinned. He experiences for the first time that sin inescapably
removes us from the presence of God. Sin causes us to lose the one capacity we
need to remain in his presence – our innocence – and so deprived of his
innocence Adam finds himself hiding in his guilt. As we all well know, this is
a terrible place to be.
Sin makes
us ashamed of ourselves and our shame is experienced as nakedness. Adam is ashamed of himself. He discovers his
nakedness. We know that he always was naked but it didn’t bother him because he
was innocent. The eyes of an innocent person are always directed to God and to
the other and to self with a pure gaze. But now Adam’s eyes are turned towards
himself. He has caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror of his soul and suddenly
he is deeply ashamed, and hides.
Sin makes
us hide from God, from each other, and from ourselves. When we hide from God we hide from all that
is good – peace, joy, light, life, truth, wholeness, love. The fracture in our
personality caused by sin makes us hide also from the ‘other’ because we fear
that should the other see our shame they might withdraw their love, and reject
us. So we sew fig leaves of pretence about ourselves in a vain effort to
disguise our guilt. And would do we do that?
Sinners
routinely blame others! Having
sinned we accuse others. In answer to God’s question: Have you been eating of the tree I forbade you to eat? Adam replied:
It was the woman you put with me; she
gave me the fruit, and I ate it.’ Notice the double accusation the woman
– you? Eve, in turn blames the serpent: The serpent tempted me and I ate.
