Monday of the First Week of Lent

They heard the the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden at the time of the evening breeze, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the Garden. But the Lord God called to the man, and said to him, “Where are you?” -- Genesis 3:8-9.

Y’all know this is one of my favorite images in the Bible -- God strolling in the garden to enjoy the cool evening breeze. He calls to Adam for companionship, much like asking a dear friend or spouse to walk a beach at sunset.

In the Bible, the first creation story in Genesis 1 portrays God in terms that accentuate God’s majestic and distant sovereignty. God simply speaks, and the world comes into being. In the second creation story (Genesis 2-3), far from being distant, God is portrayed as much more involved in the details of creation. He moves through the Garden searching for Adam. The two images of God could not be more different. Are they both true? Is God both majestically distant from us and, at the same time, extraordinarily close to us?

Compare Psalms 8:5-6 to Psalms 144:3-4. Both of these images of the humans are profoundly true for we are both extraordinarily fragile creatures and are also more powerful, gifted, and competent than the rest of creation.

Many suggest that to reconcile these dual images of God and humankind we must achieve a balance. This is easier said than done. Perhaps that is why Christ’s call to his disciples was simply to put down their nets and walk with him. History doesn’t record it, but I suspect the call was “at the time of the evening breeze.”

Webb