After Pentecost
Genesis 3:8–15
8And they heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden. 9But the LORD God called to the man and said to him, "Where are you?"1 10 And he said, "I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, ecause I was naked, and I hid myself." 11He said, "Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten of the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?" 12The man said, "The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit of the tree, and I ate." 13Then the LORD God said to the woman, "What is this that you have done?" The woman said, "The serpent deceived me, and I ate." 14The LORD God said to the serpent, "Because you have done this, cursed are you above all livestock and above all beasts of the field; on your belly you shall go, and dust you shall eat all the days of your life. 15I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall crush your head, and you shall bruise his heel." (Gen 3:8 ESV)
This has got to be the most tragic day in human history: "The man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God." This is not just a story about Adam and his wife, but about all of you. For you are Adam's descendents. You have inherited Adam's problem, and you are in the same dilemma, facing the same conundrum. Like Adam, you are tempted to "be like God." To be your own boss; to make your own decisions; to live for yourselves rather than for others; and you don't want to take orders from anyone. The story of Adam is really your story.
The whole world is like Adam and Eve. One of the distinctive characteristics of our society today is an unwillingness to be held accountable. We don't want to take responsibility for our actions. We don't want to have to answer to anyone else. We don't want to be responsible for anyone else's problems. "I'll just keep to my own business and stay out of it," is our attitude today. So you can see your neighbor being held-up by a thug on a street corner and just walk right on by as if you didn't see anything at all. You can see your homeless neighbor wandering the streets, and just look the other way as if you didn't see him. You can see an elderly person abandoned by friends and family a nursing home. The world today is just like the first two guys in the Parable of the Prodigal Son. Like Cain you challenge God with, "Am I my brother's keeper?" And the answer is always the same, "I was hungry and you did not feed me, I was naked and you did not clothe me,...depart ye into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels."
Like Adam, the world today is running from God; forbidding god-talk in the public square, in schools, in workplaces, in government. Banning the word "Christ" or any of its derivatives, such as "Christmas." Not allowing prayer in the name of Jesus, or any public display of faith. Our society wants to avoid God and run from his presence. So you go to work and hide yourselves amidst the forest of skyscrapers and office buildings, hoping that God won't find you in the jungle of business, or school, or in your tangled web of relationships, or in the desert of your own inner, personal desires and self-centeredness. We even hide from God in church. How often, when the Scriptures are read or the Sermon begins your ears turn off, you stop listening, your mind wanders and tries to avoid hearing God speak. You, like Adam, are the one running from God, trying to hide, both to avoid having to do what he tells you as well as to escape his inevitable judgment and wrath at your rebellion.
Ever notice what an intimate and friendly chat Eve had with Satan about fruit on a tree in the garden. God walked with man in the garden in intimate friendship, but man preferred Satan's company more than God's. Man was once the lord of the earth; once the caretaker of the garden; having once had dominion over all the animals of the land and sea, but he turned his dominion all over to Satan. When man let the Satan rule him, all authority was handed over to the devil. The world that was once the house of God, with man in charge, is now the house of Satan, and you are the Satan's hostages and prisoners.
So, down through the ages, from Adam to you—God is calling out, "Where are you?" He is seeking and searching, like a rancher seeks his lost sheep, or a widow her lost coin. In the words of Scripture we hear his voice calling out forlornly, the heartbroken voice of a father whose child has run away from home, "Son, where are you?" "Daughter, come home!" This is the voice of the mother on the evening news, taking advantage of the TV cameras to call out to her missing child, "Come home. We love you. We forgive you." This is the father of the prodigal son gazing off in the distance, straining his eyes, trying to see his son coming over the ridge on the horizon. "Adam, where are you?" ...The call still echoes down through the centuries and around the globe every time the Gospel is preached.
God will not give up. He will not let go of you. He will not end the search. He will himself break into the house of the strongman to rescue his children and bring them home. He said, "I will put enmity between Satan and the woman, and between Satan's offspring and her offspring." This great verse, known as the "protoevangelion" or "first Gospel" tells of someone yet to come—an offspring, the seed of a woman. This, by the way, is the only reference in all the Bible to the offspring of a woman. In this verse God promises to smash into human history, crash into the world, break into the household of Satan, the strongman, bind him, plunder his possessions, and rescue you from his bondage.
Fulfilling the promise he made to Adam, the Seed of the woman came; the offspring was born of the Virgin Mary. The very Son of God tore open the heavens and came into this world. The Son of God broke into the strongman's house to seek and save the lost, to free sinners from their sins, to rescue you from death, to break open the doors of hell and lead you to life.
But there is a cloud hanging over this offspring of a woman—Satan will bruise his heal. A foreboding of trouble, suffering, blood, and death. He will be bruised in the heel.
His heel was bruised when he was rejected and betrayed by his friends. By his beatings. By his suffering. By his crown of thorns. By his cross. By being forsaken by his Father. By his death. But for that reason he came; to give his life as a ransom for your sin. He came to rescue you from the power of Satan, the strongman. To rescue you from the power of sin and from sin's wages—eternal death and damnation. He came to seek the lost and to save the sinner. He came to enter into the strongman's house and plunder his possessions; to turn over all that he had; to release his prisoners.
Although his heal was bruised, that was but a temporary injury. In the end, he was victorious. He did crush the head of Satan. He did bind the strongman. He did plunder his house.
All that to free you from sin, death, and the power of the devil. As Jesus went about Galilee, proclaiming the kingdom of God, casting out demons, healing the sick, he was not doing it by the power of Satan. Nor was he a mere "miracle worker." He was plundering Satan's house, the strongman's house, overturning his furniture, throwing the garbage out the window, rescuing you, and taking you back into the kingdom for God.
By Jesus' death and resurrection the strongman was bound and tied. He was rendered powerless. You, who once was his hostage and captive, were set free. "Oh death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?"
You yourself, were once the house of the strongman, under the power of Satan. Human nature has been delivered into slavery and is held captive by the devil. (Col 1:13). He fills your nature with a passionate desire for wicked opinions and errors and pushes it to sins of every kind. The devil cannot be conquered without Christ's help, because he is the strongman whose house you cannot plunder. How powerful is the devil's kingdom. He keeps you tied up.
But at your Baptism, Jesus Christ entered into you, and tied up the strongman and plundered his house. Christ was given to you to remove both these sins and their punishments and to tie up the devil and destroy his kingdom, sin, and death. At your Baptism, Jesus began cleaning up your filthy heart, letting his light shine into the darkness of your thoughts, reforming your attitudes and prejudices, and turning you back to God. You who once ran from God and hid in the bushes, have been found by God and restored to his family. You who once avoided God and closed your ears to not hear his Word, have had your ears opened. You who once fled from being accountable to any one now joyfully do all you can to please and obey God. You who once avoided any responsibility for the sufferings and needs of your neighbor, now gladly seek ways to offer your service; to help and protect him.
In your baptism you answered the forlorn call of a loving Father, "Where are you?" And like the prodigal son, you were welcomed back into the household of God with great joy and celebration.
"...When Christ appeared as a high priest...he entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by means of his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption." Now, instead of running from God, in Holy Communion you "...draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, that you may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need."
Be glad in the Lord! Your "...inner self is being renewed day by day." So says St. Paul in our Epistle reading. You have been redeemed from the strongman, from the oppressor. Your inner self is being renewed. It is a work in progress. The Holy Spirit is not finished with you yet. But he is at work to renew you, so let there be no divisions among you. A house divided against itself cannot stand. Strive for unity of purpose and mission amongst yourselves. Lay down those old grievances and forgive one another, as Christ has forgiven you. Now that the Lord has entered into your heart the strongman is tied and bound, his possessions plundered, so seek to fill your lives with grace and mercy as you live out the love of Christ in your every word and deed. For you once were the strongman's house, but now the strongman has been bound and his house plundered. The power of God to bind the strongman and plunder his house expresses itself in your humble service and love. Jesus' death and resurrection rewrites the script for the identity and conduct of Jesus' followers both corporately and individually.
You now have a new Lord. Service and love is the church's mission as it seeks to follow this new Lord, Jesus Christ, who has bound the strongman and set you free. Amen.