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A reading from the Book of Genesis 3: 1-8:
Now the serpent was the most cunning of all the animals
that the LORD God had made.
The serpent asked the woman,
“Did God really tell you not to eat
from any of the trees in the garden?”
The woman answered the serpent:
“We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden;
it is only about the fruit of the tree
in the middle of the garden that God said,
‘You shall not eat it or even touch it, lest you die.’”
But the serpent said to the woman:
“You certainly will not die!
No, God knows well that the moment you eat of it
your eyes will be opened and you will be like gods
who know what is good and what is evil.”
The woman saw that the tree was good for food,
pleasing to the eyes, and desirable for gaining wisdom.
So she took some of its fruit and ate it;
and she also gave some to her husband, who was with her,
and he ate it.
Then the eyes of both of them were opened,
and they realized that they were naked;
so they sewed fig leaves together
and made loincloths for themselves.
When they heard the sound of the LORD God moving about in the garden
at the breezy time of the day,
the man and his wife hid themselves from the LORD God
among the trees of the garden.
The Word of the Lord.
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“When they heard the sound of the LORD God moving about in the garden…the man and wife hid themselves.”
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Our reading from Genesis describes the first time human beings sin against God. And what do Adam and Eve do?
They run away and hide.
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Perhaps they’re afraid that God will punish them.
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What is my own image of God?
Is he someone whom I must hide from when I sin? Is he out to punish me?
Or is he a merciful Father, who loves me, seeks me out, and wants to heal me?
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God answers this question for us.
As soon as he discovers that Adam and Eve have sinned, he seeks them out. He doesn’t set the garden on fire; rather, he cries out to them, “Where are you?”
God isn’t looking to punish them; he’s looking to dialogue with his children, to help them understand why their actions were harmful, and to show them how to move forward.
The same is true for us.
Whenever we sin against God or our neighbors, the temptation is to run away and hide.
But we should run to our Father, instead, particularly in confession, in order to start the process of healing. If it’s been a while, then consider going during Lent.
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“When they heard the sound of the LORD God moving about in the garden…the man and wife hid themselves.”
But the Lord shows us that we should never hide from him; rather, run to Him who has loved us and given himself for us.
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