Our first reading was part of what we call the 2^nd creation story, one of the Ancient Near Eastern Myths which make up the early part of the Book of Genesis.

In the story, God creates Adam from the earth, and, realizing that it’s not good for him to be alone,  So, he creates Eve from Adam’s rib – a partner for Adam.  And God places them in the garden with very few restrictions, and they live together in relationship with one another and with God who, apparently, has the practice of coming in the cool of the evening to spend time with them in friendly fellowship. 

So, when God comes along one evening, and finds that Adam and Eve are hiding, God knows that something has gone badly wrong.

This is what, for centuries, we have called ‘the fall’!  Adam and Eve, representing all of humanity, right down to you and me, have ‘fallen’ from the idyllic relationship which we might have been able to enjoy with God!

There is a sense in which this is one of the saddest passages in Scripture, as God comes to the Garden, calling out: “Adam, where are you?”  And Adam replies: “I heard you coming, and I hid, because I was afraid, because I was naked.”  It’s profoundly sad, because all God has ever wanted, the thing that has always been at the very centre of the heart of God, is relationship.  It’s summed up in a thought that runs throughout the entire Scriptural record from start to finish.  God says, over and over again, at various times and in various ways: “I will be your God and you will be my people”

That’s it. That’s the heart of God.  From the beginning, when God comes in the cool of the evening to (in the vernacular) ‘hang out’ with Adam and Eve, to the very end of the story and the coming of the new heaven and new earth, God wants one thing above all else – to be in relationship with us – us and him in perfect harmony!

So, this is why this scene in Genesis 3 is so profoundly sad, because the thing God wants more than anything has just been broken.

But there’s something powerful to notice here – that God still shows up!

Adam and Eve have broken the relationship, and by their eating of the forbidden fruit, and they’ve set in motion this series of consequences that will eventually lead to the death and resurrection of Jesus.  And God knows this already, even before he questions them.  But God still shows up, calling out to them: “Where are you?” because there is nothing more important – there is nothing more central – than the relational connection between God and God’s people, and, by extension, the relational connections within the community of God’s people!

This relationship represents a love that’s been about reconciliation since the first break in the relationship occurred all the way back in the beginning!

I said before that the heart of God is about relationships, and I believe that’s true, but because of the fall, because of our age-old rebellion against the ways of God, relationships on every level have been broken.

And we see it in the Genesis story:

• In the break between God and God’s people
• Between the people and the creation as the ground is cursed a little later on in the story
• Within the relationship of Adam and Eve, and the whole created order, represented here by the serpent, as they try to pass the blame from one to the other

And we can’t help but see it played out in all sorts of tragic ways in our everyday experience of living in this world:

• Violence
• Injustice
• Theft
• Greed and envy
• Apathy toward the suffering of others
• Broken homes
• Broken families
• Broken communities
• Broken world

And look, we can even see it in the 3^rd Chapter of the Gospel of Mark, in our other reading this morning. “Jesus went home.” That’s how the story starts. ‘Home’ should be a safe place, a place of comfort and welcome, but even here, the relationships are all messed up!

• His neighbours think he’s out of his mind
• His family seems to agree, as they come to restrain him
• The religious leaders think he’s possessed by Beelzebul, the ruler of demons

This is not a happy homecoming marked by welcome, and healthy relationships!  But in the middle of all this family dysfunction, and community dysfunction, and all these difficult interactions, Jesus reframes what it means to be part of the family of God: “Whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother.”

Or we might put it this way:

• Those who in the face of violence, strive for peace
• Those who in the face of injustice, work to put things right
• Those who in the face of greed and envy, seek equality
• Those who in the face of apathy, live lives of love and service
• Those who in the face of broken homes and broken families, work to bring reconciliation
• Those who in the face of abuse of the weak, use their power to speak up and speak out for, and to effect change

These people are brother and sister and mother to Jesus.

And I can’t help but comment here, that these are the sorts of people we need to elect to parliament on July 4^th!

Those who journey together, walk the way together, build community together, bringing reconciliation and peace, wherever and whenever there are broken relationships!  These are brother and sister and mother to Jesus!

Now, of course, we’ll never do it perfectly. Like our very first ancestors, we’ll mess up, and we’ll try to pass the blame, and we’ll find ourselves naked and ashamed and afraid.  

But, also, like our first ancestors, we’ll find that God keeps showing up, over and over again, calling our names, seeking us out, building us up, and bringing reconciliation and peace to our broken lives and broken world!

And all of this happens in the name of Jesus Christ, Crucified, Risen and Ascended, as we walk his way together.  Amen.