Perfection. We all strive to be perfect in something – some more than others. Some of us want to be the perfect parent, or have the perfect family. We want to have the perfect job, or the perfect house. Or in our hobbies, we may want to be that perfect craftsman or in something like running, I may want to perfect my technique. Many of us aim to be perfect and have control and knowledge of everything in our lives. The problem is, nobody is perfect. Adam and Eve had the chance, but just as we do, they wanted to be more perfect. They wanted to be like God and know the things that He does, and so as we heard in yesterday’s readings, Satan tricked them. He twisted things around and tricked Adam and Eve into eating the fruit. In their quest for perfection, Adam and Eve ushered imperfection into the world.
As soon as they did it, they knew. Their eyes were opened and the suddenly noticed all the imperfection and their nakedness. In Genesis it says,
The LORD God called to Adam and asked him, “Where are you?” He answered, “I heard you in the garden; but I was afraid, because I was naked, so I hid myself.”
In their shame they hid from God. They attempted to hide and put up a façade hoping that God would not notice. How often do we do that? In this crazy world of instant gratification and excess, how often do we search for more – more knowledge, more power, more things, and more pleasure? How often do we seek fulfillment through things? How often do we eat that forbidden fruit because we feel it will bring meaning and make us feel good, only to be left desiring more? The devil is dangling that carrot from the stick, and we keep chasing. And so we keep doing this, and we may be filled with more shame and more regret, but yet we can’t stop. We put up our facades, we sew the leaves together to hide our shame and put up a perfect front, that everything is fine. And we try to hide from God, thinking that He cannot see.
When we sin, we’re saying to God that we know better than Him, that we can do it on our own and that we know what’s best for us. We’re doing what we think will make us feel and look perfect. The problem is, we cannot attain perfection on our own, or with anyone else’s help but God. Satan has twisted the words and thoughts around so much that the freedom we all strive for and that God wants us to have is being abused and exploited to where no one is free. Our freedoms have led to sex addiction, drug addiction, addiction to money and power and countless other vices. Our freedoms have led to increased anger, horrors and violence. If left unchecked, those pleasures lead to divorce and destruction of families, the destruction of human dignity, and death. But yet, these actions are glorified in the media and our movies and TV shows and are enabled by our freedoms. What may seem innocent at first can quickly turn into a problem from which it is hard to escape.
There is only one way to perfection – thru Christ. The Gospel reading today is littered with signs of perfection. The people were following Jesus because He spoke of perfection and how we can attain it, and He was doing some amazing things. They were following him for three days, and were likely starving and very thirsty, and were probably suffering quite a bit in the hot desert. But on the third day, Jesus showed them a miracle. A miracle of perfection that not only provided nourishment and the food they needed to survive, but He also showed them the power of God and what can happen if we simply believe in Him and follow Him. A similar story of a period of suffering, desertion, and a perfect miracle of salvation will occur here again in a few weeks.
He fed 4000 people with seven loves of bread. The leftover scraps filled seven baskets. Seven happens to be the perfect number in the scriptures, the number of perfection. And, it all stems back to the story of Creation where God created the world in six days, and then on the seventh day He rested because it was it was good. The world was perfect. Jesus showed us in the Gospel that amidst all our suffering, our pain, our trials and the uncertainty of the world, that we can achieve perfection through Him. Through this event in the Gospel Jesus shows us that only He can provide the fulfillment that we are seeking, not through our selfish desires that Satan plants in our minds. Jesus shows us how we can achieve that perfect peace and harmony that was formed so long ago in the Garden of Eden.
How do we do this? Well it’s in plain site in today’s readings. If you look closely in Genesis today, this lays the foundation for confession, penance and forgiveness. Adam and Eve, in trying to hide from God finally fess up and admit what they did, even though Adam blames Eve in the process. Was this a confession? Did they ask for forgiveness and did God forgive them? No one but God, Adam and Eve knows that answer. But they had to serve their penance. God is disappointed in them and the situation that just occurred, and He now realizes that it will never be the same. He knows that they now know of good and evil, and according to His Law they must be punished. He tells them that life will not be easy, and there will be pain and suffering, and then he banishes them from the Garden of Eden and settles them just to the east – in the desert where the ground is hard and tough. This is just how it was in Marks Gospel today, where the crowd had been following Jesus, and they were in a deserted place without food.
But before God sends Adam and Eve on their way, he provides adequate clothing for them.
For the man and his wife the LORD God made leather garments, with which he clothed them.
They were His creation and He loved them. Even through their sin and His disappointment, God provided for them what they needed to survive, just as Jesus did for the crowd. Perhaps he clothed them not only materially, but also with His grace. Only God knows, but He doesn’t want us to hide and be ashamed of our sins. He wants us to come to Him seeking forgiveness. No matter how much we sin, how much we suffer, or how much we despair, if we follow Jesus and praise Him and seek His forgiveness through the sacraments, He will give us love, grace, and salvation. The sacraments of Christ’s Eucharist and Reconciliation are the two best gifts that God gave to us. But through all the sacraments, God provides His grace and a little bit of perfection here on Earth.
Where Adam and Eve were settled, the perfection of Eden loomed in the distance. It was never too far away. The crowds sensed this in the Gospel reading today, the perfection in Jesus was never too far away. That’s why they wanted to continuously follow Him even though they were starving. It’s the same for us. Perfection is there in the sacraments, it’s there in God’s Word. Perfection is never too far away – when we’re seeking true fulfillment, we just need to know where to look, and God will provide.
