March 8, 2020
One of the stories that
Christians like to tell (and that you heard last week) is that, in the
beginning, there was God. God created
everything, including human beings. And
God took the first two human beings – the man and the woman – and placed them
in a garden.
Then God told them, “You can
eat from every tree in this beautiful garden. Every tree – except one. The one in the middle. The tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
Do not eat from that tree. Because, if
you eat from that tree, on that day, you will die.”
So, the man and the woman
lived happily together with God in the garden.
One day, one of the creatures
that God had made – one that was especially clever – spoke to the woman. “Did God say you could eat from any tree of
the garden?”
“No,” said the woman. “We are
not to from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil – or even touch it. Otherwise, we will die.”
The serpent said, “You won’t
die. Instead, you will become like
God. You will be able to tell the
difference between good and evil.”
The woman looked at the fruit
of that tree. It looked both delicious
and beautiful. Not only that, she
realized what she would get out of it – wisdom!
So, she took the fruit and ate it.
Then she gave some to the man and he ate.
They didn’t die – unless it
was from embarrassment. Their eyes were opened, and, for the first time, they
realized they were naked! They did the
best they could – they covered themselves with leaves. Then they hid from each other and from God.
You know what happens next –
God comes looking. While the man and the
woman try to avoid blame, God gets to the bottom of it. They do not die, as God
said. But they can no longer stay in the garden. They are banished to the
outside world where they will experience suffering. And, before they go, God gives them a decent
set of clothes.
While mostly Christians focus
on the act of disobedience and the rupture in the human relationship with God,
we tend to forget about the promise of the serpent – you will be like God, knowing
good and evil. As all false
promises, it contains a bit of truth. Otherwise,
it wouldn’t be so tempting! Their eyes
are indeed opened! But telling the
difference between good and evil?
In many ways we can tell the
difference between right and wrong (especially if it only concerns other
people!), but we spend our lives chasing what we think is good and avoiding
what we think is bad, and it turns out in the long run not to be. “If I just get the right degree,” we think.
“If I just get the right job, if I just get the right house, if I just live in
the right place, if I just get the right boss, if I just get the right family –
then my life will be good and not bad!”
We all have our own
lists. Mine starts out something like –
If I can just have one more chocolate chip cookie – if I can just have one more
cup of coffee – if I can just read one more book… But, like the meme I saw on
Facebook the other day said – “I don’t know how many cookies it takes to be
happy, but so far it’s not 27.”
There is goodness in those
choices – even in cookies! Unfortunately,
they are not so good as we think they are in creating lasting happiness. We think we are good at telling what brings
us happiness, but actually we are confused.
We are not so good as we think we are at seeing what will be truly beneficial
in the long run and what will not. And
we are not so good at realizing that the changes we need to make, in order for
our lives to be good, are not outward.
Rather, the change that needs to happen is inward.
I think that’s what Nicodemus
doesn’t quite get.
In some ways, Nicodemus’ life
was good – very good. Nicodemus had made
it to the top. He was a Pharisee and a
prominent one at that. He is described
as a leader. He was religiously
observant and probably well-to-do. He
may have been especially generous in alms-giving.
If there was a Who’s Who list
in Jerusalem, Nicodemus would have been on it.
But still – it wasn’t enough. How
else do you explain the late-night visit to Jesus?
“Rabbi,” he says, “You must
be a teacher who has come from God, because no one could do these miracles
you’ve been doing if they hadn’t.”
“That’s correct,” Jesus
replies. “But if you truly want to see
God at work, you must be born from above.”
Nicodemus must have gotten a
puzzled look on his face. “How can that
happen once you’ve grown up? You’re not
suggesting that a grown man like me can reenter his mother’s womb, are you?”
“No,” Jesus went on. “That’s how birth in the flesh takes
place. And you must be born in the flesh
to be in this world. But the person on
the inside is another matter. For that
person to be born, it takes God. You
can’t do it on your own. You need God –
the Spirit of God. Just like you can’t
control the wind – you can’t make the wind blow and you can’t make it stop – so
you can’t control God’s Spirit. That’s
the birth I’m talking about.”
Nicodemus was still having a
hard time understanding. “I don’t get it.
How can this be?”
Jesus said, “Let me make this
as plain as I can – You remember the snakes in the wilderness? The people were refusing to trust God, so God
sent snakes to bite them. Many became
sick. When they cried out to God for
help, God told Moses to hold up a bronze serpent for them to see. And those who looked on the serpent that
Moses lifted up were saved. In the same
way, the Son of Man must be lifted up on the cross, so that those who see him
and trust him will be brought back to God.
“What it all boils down to is
this – God loved the world so much that he was even willing to give his own Son
out of love for a rebellious world. God
wants to save the world – the whole world and everything in it – not out of
anger, but out of love.”
If you are still as confused
as Nicodemus – and as confused as I often am about this – let me recommend I
John 4. There John explains:
God’s love was revealed
among us in this way: God sent his only Son into the world so that we might
live through him. In this is love, not that we loved God but that he loved us
and sent his Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins. Beloved, since God
loved us so much, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God;
if we love one another, God lives in us, and his love is perfected in us. (I John 4:9-12)
How are we born from
above? It is through the power of God’s
love. This love is most clearly shown on
the cross. It is love that does not
condemn, but saves. In that love, Jesus
draws all people to himself. In that
love, we are born. In that love – the love with which God first loved us – we
are transformed.
Christians like to tell
another story that comes near the beginning. Although its climax comes at the
end of Genesis, it is a story of transformation that is also a solution to what
happens in the garden.
It is the story of Joseph –
not the guardian of Jesus, the husband of Mary – the son of Jacob – wearer of
the coat of many colors.
Joseph, in fact, was the
eleventh son of Jacob, but he was still his father’s favorite, probably because
he was the first child born to his true love, Rachel. Of course, this does not sit well with his
ten older brothers. It doesn’t help matters that Joseph also has dreams of grandeur. One day, they get fed up, take his precious
coat and throw Joseph down into a pit.
They want to kill him, but think better of it. Instead, they sell him to slave traders on
their way to Egypt. They tell their
father that he has been mauled by a lion and present him with the shreds of the
coat.
This deeply grieves Jacob,
but it also grieves Joseph. He was
having great childhood up to that point.
Perhaps we could even call him a spoiled child. Now he is a slave far from home. He is bought by Potiphar, an officer in the
pharaoh’s army. It goes well with Joseph
there. He becomes Potiphar’s most
trusted slave. But when his wife accuses
Joseph of trying to seduce her, Potiphar flies into a rage and has Joseph
thrown down into prison.
When Joseph is in prison,
things go well with him. He gains the trust of the prison warden, who puts him
in charge of the care of all the prisoners. Because of this Joseph meets two
important men – the royal cupbearer and the royal baker – who had both offended
the Pharaoh in some way. Joseph
correctly interprets their dreams. The
cupbearer regains his position while the baker loses his head. Before the cupbearer returns to court, Joseph
asks him to remember Joseph, but the cupbearer forgets. Until one day, the Pharaoh himself has dreams
no one can make sense of.
Then the cupbearer says, “Oh,
there was this guy in prison who correctly interpreted my dream and the dream
of the baker. Maybe he can help.”
So, Joseph was summoned. He
told the pharaoh that his dreams meant there would be seven bountiful years
followed by seven lean years. Joseph
advised him the stockpile the extra during the seven plentiful years so that
people would not starve during the famine.
Pharaoh was so impressed that he put Joseph in charge of it all.
When the famine comes,
Joseph’s brothers come seeking food. To
make a long story short, they are reunited and end up bringing their father to
Egypt to live with them.
Eventually, the old man
dies. The brothers say to each other,
“With Pop out of the way, nothing will stop Joseph from taking his revenge on
us. Let’s tell him that Jacob told us to
tell him to forgive us.”
So, that’s the story they
feed Joseph. But Joseph says, “Am I in the place of God? What you intended for
evil, God intended for good, that many people might be saved from starvation,
as you can see. So, don’t be afraid. I
will care for you and your children.”
Remember the temptation of
the serpent? “You will not die; you will
become like God, knowing good and evil.” Joseph’s words are a refutation of
that temptation – I am not like God; I do not know the difference between good
and evil.
I believe that it was through
his continued trust in God’s love for him in the face of all his suffering that
brought about a change in Joseph. It was
a change that allowed him to serve others so that they might be spared from suffering. It was change that allowed him to love his
brothers and not take revenge. It was a
change that was rooted in God’s love for him and for the world.
Again, from I John (4:7-8) – Beloved,
let us love one another, because love is from God; everyone who loves is born
of God and knows God…for God is love.
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