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Then the Lord God said, "It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper as his partner." So out of the ground the Lord God formed every animal of the field and every bird of the air, and brought them to the man to see what he would call them; and whatever the man called every living creature, that was its name. The man gave names to all cattle, and to the birds of the air, and to every animal of the field; but for the man there was not found a helper as his partner. So the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and he slept; then he took one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh. And the rib that the Lord God had taken from the man he made into a woman and brought her to the man. Then the man said, "This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; this one shall be called Woman, for out of Man this one was taken." Therefore a man leaves his father and his mother and clings to his wife, and they become one flesh.(Genesis 2:18-24)
During my life I have seen some things made by hand. My earliest memories saw my mother and grandmother in the kitchen making flour tortillas by hand. Each one uniquely and specially made, thrown onto the griddle, hand turned and lovingly shared with us. I tried a couple of times in the making of those tortillas only to have my tortillas called maps by my mom, for the ability to make a perfectly round tortilla was not my ability. I also own a couple of pairs of handmade boots. Custom made just for me; I put my socked foot on a manila folder and the bookmaker traced the outline of my foot, measured with tape different parts of my left and about six weeks later I had the most wonderful, beautiful pair of boots I had ever seen. I guess seeing my initials on them made me a bit biased. But nothing compares to the handiwork of God in this story. Seeking to provide company and companionship to the first man, God decides the man needs a helper and partner. Ancient humor comes in as the next scene is the man receiving from God all the animals and birds, the man names them and probably wonders which of these might be that helper and partner. Talking birds? They're only fun for a bit. A giraffe? Too tall for the house, though Adam did not yet have one. Monkeys? Nah. Not a partner nor helper in the bunch. The story goes that God proceeds to cause a deep sleep to come over the man and God removed one of the man's ribs and from that rib made a woman. The divine surgery was so successful that the man turns poetic as he declares, "This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; this one shall be called Woman, for out of Man this one was taken." Ah, yes. Perfection. Did you expect anything less from the Creator? In the Hebrew "ishah" for woman, taken from "ish" the man. And then the declaration: "Therefore a man leaves his father and his mother and clings to his wife, and they become one flesh."
The gospel text for this coming Sunday deals with the question of divorce and in Jesus' response to those seeking to trick Him, He quotes from this beautiful passage. Told by the ancients to explain things that we've asked as children, and later as wondering (and wandering) adults: Where did we come from? Why is there such a thing as marriage? The writer points to God. God made all things and God made you and me. We are uniquely and wonderfully made, and in the creation of woman, God brings her to the man and the man declares her perfect and the writer shares how this is how marriage came into being. Poets and poster makers have tried to explain the rib as being that which is next to the man, not under him, or above him, behind nor before him; ribs protect the vital organs, especially the heart and we can make of that whatever we want. (Just go to the next wedding and see how creative the pastor makes the ceremony.)
The question becomes what do couples make or create from their marriage? Nellie and I sought to create an environment for God in our lives and we sought to bring children into our lives. We created great memories and great children, who are making a great difference in their own lives and each in their way contributing to the good of the world. We still work at marriage, trying to create all that God would allow from and for us; seeking to be continually in service to humanity. We do have some "agreement issues," but we work those out and we seek to stay always in love with each other, because our first love is God.
What are you creating in your life?
PRAYER: Lord, for those in marriage, bless and protect them. Help the truth of Your handiwork and love be ever present in us. For those seeking marriage, bless and protect them and provide that which is from You for them. We seek Thy will. For those suffering from a broken marriage, we pray healing and comfort. If there are children involved, may their memories be gracious ones; bless and protect them O Lord. And we pray with faith all these things, in Jesus' strong name, amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord!
Eradio Valverde
