June 10, 2018 — Tenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
GN 3: 9-15; PS 130: 1-8; 2 COR: 4:13–5:1; MK 3: 20-35
In today’s First Reading from the Book of Genesis we hear the story of Adam and Eve and their sins, defying God. However, when God was present in the garden, the man and woman hid themselves. Adam responds to God’s question why in part by saying “I was afraid… so I hid myself.” Did he, do any of us really think he could hide from God?
As children many of us may have hidden from a parent when we did something wrong and it was in violation of some specific order we had received. Our efforts to hide what we did and to hide ourselves were probably no more effective than Adam’s.
As humans we know the temptation of following our own plans, even if they are contrary to God’s. We think we know better and we may try to still have it our way. If what we have done is particularly shameful, we may try to hide our sins from God.
The sincere truth is that we cannot hide from God any more than Adam and Eve could. Psalm 139 declares, “Where can I hide from your spirit (God’s)? From your presence where can I flee? If I ascend to the heavens, you are there; if I lie down in Sheol (the place of the dead) you are there, too. If I say ‘Surely darkness will hide me’… Darkness is not dark for you.”
What are we hiding from? In recent weeks we have learned over and over how much God loves us. It is time for us to accept that and not hide.
