You Can’t Go Back
During Junior High and High School I did a lot of camping. You may remember this about me, but I was involved in Boy Scouting and camping was a big part of that experience. I also went to Confirmation camp and participated in 3 summers of the LYLE program which is a program designed to help High School youth develop as leaders as they grow in faith. One thing I distinctly remember about these two experiences and how they differed was how the fire was made. It seems silly, but when you go camping you gotta have a fire! How else are you going to cook your s’mores? In Boy Scouts we made our own fires, often unsuccessfully. At church camp, the magical fire fairies did it (That’s a joke). But in all honesty, we never saw the fire being made. As we would walk down to the campfire ring across the big field during early dusk the glow of the fire was already going down at the worship space. It was always there and present. We didn’t have to do anything to make that happen.
Well of course someone had to make that fire. It was the camp support staff who did it. I remember the weeks when I served on summer staff as camp support. Another staff member and I would load up the Gator and drive down the bucket of s’more supplies, wood, bits of newspaper and matches to go start the fire for evening worship. We would joke about getting to play the role of the “magical fire fairies” that helped camp to happen. It was a crucial job because support staff helped to set up, run activities and clean during the week so the other staff could focus on the campers. When you were in this role you had knowledge about what happened behind the scenes because that’s where you worked for the majority of the week. Most of the magic and mystery of camp was now gone because you were making the magic happen for others.
This isn’t the first time this has happened to me nor do I think it will be the last. God seems to be constantly calling me to places where I can’t go back to blissful ignorance. Places where I get involved in what used to be behind the scenes. I want for you to reflect on your own experiences that you’ve had like that this morning. We’ve all had them. Maybe it was that time you signed up for PTA. You have probably experienced in your job once or twice. Perhaps you’ve experienced it at church when you signed up for (or got invited onto) a team. I’ve seen the women’s ministry meeting about their retreat. For those ladies it now isn’t about just simply coming to the weekend to participate. I know that my children’s ministry team or Tina knows way more about the ins and outs of youth and family ministry than before (probably because I over-share). Knowledge and involvement changes things. When you see things, experience things, get passionate about things you reach a point of no return. Suddenly everything is different and you can’t go back.
During this first Sunday in Lent we read this well-known story from Genesis. This story is a part of the origin story of our faith. We see it everywhere: in art, writing, music and it has been interpreted and misinterpreted through the centuries. It’s everywhere and everyone has thoughts on it. We’re going to visit it anew this morning. God created man from the dust and placed him in a garden with some very important tasks and a command. The man was tasked with keeping and tilling the garden. He is also told to eat from every tree in the garden, EVERY TREE, except the one in the middle that gives knowledge of good and evil (knowledge of everything). God noticed that the man was alone and that wasn’t good. So God created animals, but that just didn’t seem to be quite enough. So God created out of his rib a partner for the man. Adam is elated in his response, “Finally! Someone that is a part of me and is just like me!” We’re also told that they were naked and not ashamed…an interesting comment but neither of these lasts very long.
Enter the serpent. The craftiest of the creatures that God created. That’s important to note because it means the serpent has been here all along. The Bible doesn’t say it’s evil nor did it ninja its way into the garden. He’s just a crafty bugger. He approaches Adam and Eve with a question: “Did God say you can’t eat of any of the trees?” Eve answers the question correctly, though a bit exaggerated (the whole even if we touch it we’ll die). The serpent then pushes a bit further…” You won’t die. God knows what will happen…you’ll be like God knowing good from evil.” What the serpent does is push a button that is already there. The serpent sets up God to be something different than what Adam and Eve know God to be: controlling, greedy, selfish, wanting to hold Adam and Even back, not wanting the best for them. The serpent sets up a different reality…you’re not gonna die, that’s just silly, but what you will be is more than what you are now. You will know the same things as God and be able to set your own agenda. Adam and Eve want a bit of that reality so they take the fruit and eat it.
Immediately, they die. Not physically, but everything they had known before, everything they had understood before is now gone. Their eyes are opened and there is no going back. What God had said came true. Death happened. When God comes to walk with them in the garden Adam and Eve are hiding. When God questions them about what happened the Blame Train takes off at rocket speed. It wasn’t me it was her, it wasn’t me it was that thing… it tricked me. Obviously knowledge of good and evil doesn’t give you the courage to admit you’ve done wrong. What has happened is a change, a change that’s difficult to come back from.
There’s an old joke that is built off of a Lutheran stereotype: How many Lutherans does it take to change a light bulb? Change? Change is that dirty 6 letter word that we shudder to think about. It’s not just Lutherans that have a problem with it, everyone does. We fear change because in our mind change equals one thing…death. If we change things it will kill everything. In one sense we’re right because, like we talked about earlier, when change happens something different happens and we can’t go back. In this case we experience death all the time. Our lives are constantly changing so that we don’t often experience things that are the same. Nothing is static. We’re afraid of the changes because it means we lose something. We can’t go back.
The fear that we feel is the words of the serpent still ringing in our ears. It lives in our minds and in our hearts. Those words still pushing the button inside of us. Words that set up a God who doesn’t care about us. We’re on our own. We can be more, know more, and decided for ourselves. We know better because we have the knowledge of good and evil. We can be the same as God. We believe those words. We listen to them and live in shame and fear. We know we’re naked and vulnerable. We try and cover ourselves the best we can but it just barely works out. God has different ideas for us though.
God wants to determine our identity. It’s an identity that has persisted before the words of the serpent begin to swirl. You are God’s child. God’s reality has always been different. One that speaks differently than the serpent’s. I care deeply for you and want to be with you. I want you to trust me to take care of you. I will take care of you. I want to live in harmony with you. I want to give you what you need. I want to define you. God doesn’t just tell us these things, but shows them to us through Jesus. Through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus, God shows us that change doesn’t mean death. Change also brings life. It can be hard to understand, but we see it all the time. Like this year when we decided to do a worship service instead of just a Bible study on Wednesday nights. We’re seeing new people find a welcoming place in our congregation who may not have found our community otherwise. This is just one example. In many ways, everyday God reminds us of our identity. You are mine and nothing can change that.
Special K has been running a pretty consistent ad campaign here recently. The TV ads picture various women stepping on a scale and instead of showing a weight it would show a word such as confidence, strength, joy, pride, etc. They then ask the question, what will you gain when you lose? I want to pose this same question to you today. What will you gain when you lose? Our faith has a particular answer to this question. We gain a new identity and lose our old one. We become a Child of God. God defines who we are. We lose the fear that keeps us trapped and gain hope in all things. We gain the reminder that God walks with us through every change. We gain a reminder of life and the relationships that are a part of it. Just like when I was a part of support staff at camp our view is changed. We become people who make things happen. We become people who make love happen in others. We light the fire. As you venture into this week and Lenten journey remember that God is present with you defining your identity. Because of this we walk in confidence of the promise, that love casts out the fear and doubt. The promise that hope is living and active in you. That is the fire that burns inside you. That fire is what makes things happen for others. It’s a change that we can’t go back from. Amen.
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