The Cross--The Tree of Peace; Genesis 3:1-21, Colossians 1:19-23

Last week, we saw the tree of life as a symbol of the sure hope we have of eternal life. We heard that it was God’s plan from the beginning to give eternal life to people, freely offering it to any and all who will receive it. We also saw that although neither Adam nor Eve, nor any other human being, were permitted to eat of the tree of life after choosing to disobey God, the tree is present at the end of time, showing that none of us are without the hope of eternal life. It just comes to us differently. Today we see the promise of peace that was given to Adam and Eve and has been given to us—peace given to us through the death of our Lord Jesus Christ on the cross. So what was so wrong with what Adam and Eve did? Was it wrong to want wisdom? We are told to ask for wisdom. Was it wrong to want to be like God? We are called to be like Jesus, and He even gave us the Holy Spirit so that we can be like Him? No, it was wanting to be equal with God, something that the Son of God had from the beginning but didn’t grasp and hold on to, but willingly relinquished for our sake, as the Christ hymn in Philippians 2 tells us. And yet, our Colossians passage tells us that “it was the Father’s good pleasure for all the fullness to dwell in Christ.” He was fully God. By the way, this part of our passage is part of a Christ hymn as well. So in addition to simply being disobedient, which is a big enough problem on its own, the problem with eating of the tree of the knowledge of Good and Evil was defining for ourselves good and evil, wanting to be in the position of God. This is something we have problems with all the time today. We do what is right in our own eyes, just like they did in the Book of Judges. When we try to do good, there are often unintended harmful consequences. That which we label as evil is often not as bad as we make it out to be. We’ve just come through one of the closest elections ever, and some offices are still too close to call, and yet the two main parties constantly demonize the other, even though each group represents almost 50% of the population. The world views held by each position are radically different. Both views have flaws. And there are many more world views out there. This is what happens when we try to discern for ourselves good and evil. We end up divided and confused, and we fall into the same blame game that Adam and Eve did. But there is a solution to the problem. Adam and Eve were not left without hope for eternal life, even though they couldn’t eat from the tree. They had to wait for a promise, a promise of peace, and Someone in whom they could put their trust. We see that promise given by God in Genesis 3:15. Even as God is pronouncing curses and will continue to pronounce the curses, the consequences for breaking the covenant, God offers a solution by way of a promise. God tells the serpent, “I will put enmity between you and the woman, between your seed and her seed. He shall crush your head, and you shall bruise Him on the heel.” The curse the serpent received is the promise of hope and peace for Adam and Eve. Though strife between the serpent and the woman would exist, the seed of the woman would be victor. We know that this is a prophecy fulfilled only by Jesus Christ. Women do not have seed. That is a term used for male sperm. But Jesus was born of the Virgin Mary without contribution from any man. Rather, she conceived by the Holy Spirit. The cross was a bruise to the heel of the Promised One, but on that same cross, Jesus crushed the head of the serpent, because it was through His death that He purchased reconciliation for people—reconciliation not just with God, but also between people. Horizontal and vertical relationships could be restored, symbolized in the shape of the cross. And His victory was in the fact that He conquered death through death by rising again from the dead. Our New Testament reading this morning tells us that Jesus reconciles all things to God—all things, all of creation that has been disordered can be put back to right. Jesus has made peace through the blood of His cross, according to Colossians 1:20. I Peter 2:24 says Jesus “Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree.” He carried out sins up to the cross, so ‘that we might die to sin and live to righteousness.” Colossians 1:21 goes on to tell us that we were hostile to God in our minds and alienated from God, engaged in evil deeds. We needed a change of mind, and we need a change of mind if we want to see things from God’s perspective. According to Romans 12:1-2, our minds are renewed as we offer ourselves as living sacrifices. We surrender ourselves to the will of God. We go back to what God wanted for us in the beginning, and now we are capable of doing so. Though we were subject to the consequences of eating from that tree of knowledge of Good and Evil, Christ reconciled us through His bodily death, so that we can stand before God as holy and blameless if we continue in the faith and the hope of the gospel. There is an emphasis on the body of Jesus, because not only is He fully God but fully human. He had to be fully human to bear the curse. In Galatians 3:13, Paul tells us, “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law, having become a curse for us. For it is written, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree,” according to Deuteronomy 21:23. What was intended to be a curse provided the removal of the curse and became the instrument of peace. By the cross, the power of the curse was broken. I have been introduced this Advent to paintings called “Mary Consoles Eve.” These paintings of two women, one pregnant, Mary, comforting a shamed and remorseful Eve, showing her that her child is the Promised One is coming who will break the curse. I love the image of restoration and healing. The promise given to Eve is being fulfilled. She has not been forgotten by God, and she can receive peace and life. Jesus gives us lasting peace that takes away guilt and shame. Partaking of a forbidden tree led to strife, but Jesus’s death on a tree restores us to peace. Do you have the peace of Jesus? Are you still quick to decide for yourself right and wrong, or are you genuinely seeking God’s best? How will live into peace this season with so many divisions in our world? Jesus calls us to be peacemakers. He has passed His ministry of reconciliation on to us. Where in your mind does hostility still reside? Is it with God? Is it with certain people or a person? Will you surrender it to Jesus so that your mind can be renewed?