I want to point out to you something
that is glaringly different in this story of the creation of Adam and Eve or as
it is called in the Hebrew the Story of “Ish
(man) and Ishah (woman).” In the very
beginning of Genesis, there was the creation story. All the things that God
created and the verse would end with the phrase and God saw that it was (finish
the phrase for me). That’s right “Good.” All this creating and it ends with
“and God saw that it was “Good.” Now we get to the second chapter and something
that God created ended up being “not Good!” That sounds kind of weird that all
the sudden, God would say it is “not good,”
To be clear, God is not saying that
man or “Ish”is not good. God is
saying that it is not good for man to be alone. God wants to give man a helper
a partner. When we hear the word “helper” we might tend to think of the helper
as a personal assistant; maybe someone to do the things we don’t want to do. We
might think of a partner as in something a little less than ourselves; a
partner in name but I make all the decisions. Well, I have got some bad news if
you do think that way. The term “helper”
holds a lot more weight and means a lot more than what we would think. Because
in the other books of the Old Testament, God is referred to as “helper.” Later
in Genesis, God is helper, 1 Samuel, Isaiah, and in so many other places
throughout
Scripture; So,
“helper” carries some divine weight and so this helper or partner is not just
some assistant.
So God determines that God will
create the partner for man. He begins creating out of the dust. He creates this
one creature, low to the ground, big giant paws, and with a big fury mane…man
says, he is dressed like a king- king of the forest…Lion. He gets to the next
animal and this one is higher, long legs, little bit of a mane, and with a long
tail...it says Nay!...man says, horse. Next one comes along and it is big and
round, black and white, mooooves pretty slow…man says “T-bone, dinner, and man
says…cow. He gets to this pink big and round one, low to the ground and looks
like it will eat anything and man says…breakfast! God keeps creating and none
of these seem to be able to be the partner that God or man has in mind. Each
creature is able to do some things but just not what was needed in that special
partner.
God caused this man to fall asleep.
Our scripture says that God took a rib from the man and created and brought
this creature to man. I think one of the things that highlights the importance
of this rib is that the Hebrew word for rib is “rashi.” This word has been used
to describe a rib, but it can also be used for the word “side.” Would it change
the story if we used the word side, instead of rib? Either way it is a part
coming out of the man’s body, but using the word side can drive home a deeper
meaning of what is being created by God. A side of man, coming out of that man
to create this woman or “or ISHAH.”
Adam knew what was happening and
knew the importance of what God did. “This
at last is bone of my bone and flesh of my flesh!” This man found that
helper that would help him get through the world and be in the world together.
It was as if man said to God, “That’s what I’m talking about!” Ish or man knew
that being alone and working in God’s creation was not going to be easy and he
would need some help. She will be able to work with me and do some of the
things that need to be done. She is a person that I can relate to and talk
with, reason with, share my joys and challenges with, and this person will
understand and we will work together to figure all this out!
This points to two things that God
is showing us in this Genesis story. First it shows us about relationships. IN
the first chapter of Genesis, we see earth related to sea and air, day related
to night, sun and moon. They were all in relationship together! They are not
dependent upon each other but taken together and in relationship to one another
they are good. But when this man is created and there is no one else that
creates lonliness and that is not good. It is not good because it deprives “Ish” from being able to share experiences.
He cannot talk to the animals, they cannot reason with him, speak in a language
that he understands, or help him with difficult questions or tasks. They might
be able to help in some ways, but not in all ways.
The introduction of ISHAH makes this
possible. Because man now has woman, they are now in a community together. They
are now able to share, talk, work, reason, question, rejoice, mourn, and live
and grow in relationship together. This is not necessarily about a marriage, it
can be, but is largely about forming a community together.
The second thing that God shows us
in Genesis chapter two is that we are different in our gifts. As I said earlier
that the word “Rashi” is used for rib and side. This means that out of man came
a side that even the man may not have known he had. There were gifts that he
was unaware that he possessed and it is through woman that those gifts are now
present and revealed. For instance, my wife is really good at some things in
our family and I am good at others. I take care of the tech stuff in our
household and she takes care of the family schedule (with kids and grandkids).
It is not unlike the church
community. Each and every one of us possesses different gifts and talents; some
are better at construction, some teach, some govern, some work in the tech
field and some work in the fields. Just like that man and woman, we are a
community…together! While we have different gifts and talents, we share them
with our brothers and sisters in our congregation, social ministry, property,
and all other aspects of the church in proclaiming the Goodness of God. It is
who we are called to be so that no one is left alone; because God says that
being alone is not good!
Today is the day we acknowledge that
we are not alone and we welcome all who come in the doors as well as reaching
out to the community outside the doors. It is the day we say that we are here
for one another to pray, help in need, laugh, cry, so that no one is alone. It
is the day that we celebrate our community, our differences, our gifts, and our
praise for the God who created us AND the God who redeemed us through Jesus
Christ, God’s Son on the cross. It is through Jesus Christ that we experience
God’s love and God’s message that we are all valuable and loved in God’s sight.
Because of the sacrifice of Jesus, there is forgiveness, not just for
ourselves, but for all of God’s children. Through that sacrifice, we remain
God’s community and in relationship with one another.
May we celebrate our differences,
may we reach out to our brothers and sisters in the local community and the
global community. It is GOOD for us to be here together. Thanks be to God:
Amen!
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