Art Reading Scripture

The Rebuke of Adam and Eve, Domenichino, 1626, National Gallery, Washington D.C.

They heard 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, "Where are you?" He said, "I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself." He said, "Who told you that you were naked?" Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?" The man said, "The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me the fruit from the tree, and I ate." Then the LORD God said to the woman, "What is this that you have done?" The woman said, "The serpent tricked me, and I ate." Genesis 3:8-13

On the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel Michelangelo imagined the moment when God reached out with an outstretched arm and a finger of his hand extended towards Adam. Adam reaches back to God extending his own hand. Their fingers nearly touch. God's other arm is wrapped around a woman, Eve, and his hand rests on an infant. The scene presents, declares connection, blessing, anticipation of unity and community, life and companionship. Recently I saw record album art similarly showing two hands reaching towards each other with electricity like lightning arcing between them. The name of the album was Real Connection. Hands reaching towards one another, friends and lovers, parents with children holding hands as they walk together express connection that is love, life-giving and beautiful.

Domenichino's painting of The Rebuke of Adam and Eve strikingly re-presents the Michelangelo's scene as God inquires about what has happened that has inspired fear, disconnection and exposure. While God's hand still reaches towards Adam and Eve, Adam's and Eve's hands extend away from God and from each other. The bond of connection is broken. Unity is now distance. Adam and Eve separate from God and each other casting blame. Adam's blaming is particularly egregious as it extends both towards Eve and towards God. "The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit from the tree, and I ate." Adam's eyes and expression say, "Hey, you gave her to me." Eve points to the serpent, "The serpent tricked me, and I ate." Poetically the Hebrew word translated as "tricked" sounds like "hissed." "The serpent hissed at me, and I ate." Eve's dismay at being blamed is fully directed at Adam, as though somehow he will get absolved and she will bear the brunt of this "sin" forever. The serpent simply slithers away blaming no one.

The infant under God's arm looks vaguely like the one God's hand touches in Michelangelo's image. It has the same reddish curly hair. The infant is scratching its head wondering what is going on and how this will affect all children born into the distancing of humanity from God. Will God distance Godself from humanity and creation? Beneath God and the infants who bear him rest a lamb and a lion. In the shadows they too appear to be wondering what this separation will mean for them. The vulnerable lamb looks to Adam and Eve, "What have you done?" The lion looks up towards God, "Have I lost peace and community with the lamb?" Will the lion and lamb be able to lie down together, or does this separation mean theirs as well?

God reaches towards Adam and Eve. Rather than withholding his hand God still extends a hand of real connection. I see in God's extended, open hand God's desire to keep connection in spite of Adam and Eve's distancing and fear. Perhaps there is even an expression of dismay and sorrow, yearning and loss. God laments the loss of connection, faith, and community with those created in the image of God. Rather than wrath or anger for what went wrong, God grieves and still reaches out in hope that even this can be made good again if they can find away to stay together. Like someone reaching for something that has fallen from their grasp and desiring to hold it again, God seeks to catch his children back.

God remained gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. Certainly consequences of separation and distancing remained as a result of the knowledge of evil. But God did not remove from Eve her name which resembles the word for "living" or her honor of being "mother of all living." Nor did God leave them exposed in their nakedness and shame. God covered their bares skins with other "garments of skins." The Apostle Paul imagines being reconnected to God in faith and salvation via an act of reclothing us. "As many of you as were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ." Galatians 3:27. "...now you must get rid of all such things - anger, wrath, malice, slander and abusive language from your mouth. Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have stripped off the old self with its practices and have clothed yourselves with the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge according to the image of its creator." Colossians 3:8-10 We distance ourselves from God and each other in the knowledge of evil and in acts of blaming and shame. God continues to reach out to us with what God knows of goodness, mercy and love that reunites all things in One, hand to hand, real connection.

Keep the faith. Say your prayers. Love like Jesus.

Pastor Tim Bauer