The Church east of Eden

Lent is a ritual journey that helps to center and ground us in God’s story. It is a season to embrace emptiness as a posture before God. Pastor Phil Kniss encouraged us to take this posture. In Genesis 2:15-17, 3:1-7 Adam and Eve forgot their position relative to God. Only after they partook of the fruit did they remember their emptiness. The story ends with Adam and Eve being forced to live east of Eden, and all of us figuratively remain there. Pastor Phil asked, “Where is God while we are east of Eden?” In Matthew 4:1-11 that is the question Jesus wrestled with as he spent 40 days in the wilderness. Satan tempted Jesus to take short cuts, to skip the wilderness and get back to Eden. In essence, Jesus was tempted to take the place of God. It is the same temptation we face both as individuals and as a body. Lent is a wonderful opportunity for us to repent and invite God to find us in the wilderness.