The garden was finished and it was good. Except for one thing. It was not good for the man to be alone. He needed a helper, one fit just for him. One that would correspond to him in such a way that all things would be very good. So the Lord brings to Adam all kinds of animals to see what might fit. Adam meets one after another, naming them as they come, but no suitable helper can be found.
The Lord takes a different approach then. He causes Adam to fall into a deep sleep and from his side he takes one rib bone. Closing up that spot with flesh he takes the rib and fashions for Adam a helpmate fit for him. From his own side comes his bride, a precious gift from God. Bone of his bone, flesh of his flesh, Adam exclaims. God in turn blesses this union saying that the two of them shall hold fast to one another becoming one flesh. They are to multiply, be fruitful, and fill the earth. And they do. Children come, and great-grandchildren too. But not before trouble.
Sometime between the union of Adam and Eve by God and the birth of their first sons, rebellion takes place, shame becomes very real, and sin enters into creation. Forsaking the words and instruction of God, Adam and Eve seek their own way, following after the desire of their own hearts instead of trusting in the promises and mercy of the Lord.
The effects of this rebellion and sin against God are immediate for Adam and Eve and deeply apparent in their sons and all the sons to come. Adam and Eve are expelled from the garden, the ground is cursed, and doing that special work given to mankind becomes difficult and dangerous. What had been “very good” became a complete mess.
Cain will kill Abel and God will render judgement on all of creation through a catastrophic flood because “every inclination of their hearts are evil continuously.”
At the time of our Gospel reading from Mark, nothing seems to have changed. Jesus is confronted by the religious authorities who have begun to seek an opportunity to destroy the Son of God. His words and instruction fall on deaf ears, his works seen with blind eyes. They ask questions of Jesus, trick questions to test and trap him into accusing himself but he is no fool, he is wisdom, and he knows their hearts.
They want to know if it is okay for a man to divorce his wife. Moses said it was fine, they say. In other words, you can’t be greater than Moses who allowed us to divorce and remarried as long as we give the proper paperwork.
But Jesus connects himself, his teaching and presence, to the beginning. Going all the way back to Genesis chapter two Jesus tells these false teachers that “from the beginning of creation, God made them ‘male and female.’ Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.’ So they are no longer two but one flesh.” (Mark 10:1-16)
This was the way and it was the way from the beginning of all things. Jesus knows, he was there. He continues to teach as he stands with the religious people and many of the disciples. This is the picture of marriage under God. Immediately following this Jesus also affirms the importance of children in the kingdom of God. So God will join a man to a woman and the two shall be united into one flesh to bear fruit, multiply, and be blessed by God.
Something is wrong though, remember? The religious teachers bring it up though they don’t know it. “Because of your hardness of heart he wrote you this commandment,” Jesus adds. From Moses to Jesus this commandment from Moses, not God, stood not because of righteousness or proceeding in faith but because of the same shameful, rebellious heart passed down from Adam and Eve. It is still the situation today.
Marriage and the family have been hammered ever since that serpent whispered into the ears of Adam and Eve while they gazed at that fruit tree. This is the same, yesterday, today and will be until that final day. Hearts are hard, ears are deaf and eyes are blind to the grace and wisdom of God’s design for men, women and family. We all know this to be true of our time as it was for Moses’ time. You only have to take a few minutes to reflect on the relationships of your own life and the lives of those you know. There are times when our faithless hard hearts muddle everything up.
But all is not lost. There is a way.
Jesus has been talking about this way. Not long from this moment in chapter ten of Mark’s gospel Jesus will say one last time why he has come. He will be delivered over to death, buried and three days later will be raised. It was necessary.
It is the hardness of heart of all mankind that will put him there. He will bear the sins of the world, sins of husbands and wives and children. He will carry their shame, guilt, and punishment to that mountain and hang upon that tree. But this tree will bring life and this “Adam” renewal. You see, just as Adam fell asleep in that garden and his bride was brought forth from his side, so this Jesus, the second Adam, will fall asleep upon that cross and from his pierced side will flow another bride. A bride made of blood and water, in the water, by the blood. The bridegroom will give his life, a broken body, blood poured out, to make his bride pure and holy. This marriage is a mystery, but it is Christ and his Church, of which you are a part.
This redemptive act is the hope we carry in our marriages and family, and promote in the world. This is God’s design for the home. A home and marriage standing firm on the understanding that He has save us and joined us to himself that we live! Alleluia! What God has joined together, let not man separate.
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