February 22, 2026 Sermon
Guest Minister: Rev. Drakar Druella
Sermon title: “To Bear Good Fruit”
Scripture: Genesis 2:15-17 and 3:1-7
Genesis 2:15-17
15The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to till it and keep it. 16And the Lord God commanded the man, “You may freely eat of every tree of the garden; 17but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall die.”
Genesis 3:1-7
The First Sin and Its Punishment
1Now the serpent was more crafty than any other wild animal that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God say, ‘You shall not eat from any tree in the garden’?” 2The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden; 3but God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the middle of the garden, nor shall you touch it, or you shall die.’ ” 4But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not die; 5for God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” 6So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate; and she also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate. 7Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made loincloths for themselves.
When I selected these scriptures from the Hebrew Bible a couple of months ago, I did not realize I would be studying this scripture in my spiritual book study group the week before. Because of this, it has been on my mind this past week, and my perspective on it has shifted considerably from what I learned in Catechism years ago. Having been raised Catholic, my basic understanding used to be that it was simply about original sin and disobedience to God. Over the years, however, I have learned that there is so much more to this scripture, but before we unpack it, let’s first explore verses 15 through 17.
In Genesis 2:15, it says, “The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it.” In this verse, God essentially is telling Adam that he is supposed to not only take care of the earth and all that it provides, but that the earth is intended to be a resource to meet his and essentially humanity’s needs.
Eden is a paradise in the sense that it has a plentiful water supply and abundance of fruit and plants that can be eaten; yet, it is not a place where Adam and Eve were intended to just sit around and pop fruit in their mouths without a care in the world. Even in God’s original design before the fall, Adam and Eve had assigned duties. They were to till the garden and to keep it. They had what we would call “agricultural duties.” The purpose of their work is not to provide for God, but to cultivate what God has given them. God is the provider here. God knows what we as humans need, and from the very beginning understood that we need to engage in purposeful activity for our physical, emotional, and spiritual health. Tilling and keeping the garden was meant to be satisfying and fulfilling work. Now, I want to acknowledge that this may not be what some of us in this room would consider satisfying and fulfilling work, but for the sake of the story, we understand that it represents our basic human need for meaningful work! And if you think about it, we all benefit from having things to do that give us a sense of purpose and importance as human beings, and God knew this from the start. After all, God created us.
God’s command to Adam and Eve to cultivate and keep the garden also extends into something even more significant: a divine trust and responsibility bestowed upon humanity. The phrase “to work it and take care of it” is not just about physical labor. It’s about more than that. It’s about a stewardship role that denotes respect and care. This implies an intrinsic relationship between humans and the earth, a relationship of nurture and protection. The prohibition against eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil essentially set the stage for free will and the moral tests that accompany it.
When we get to verse 16, it reads, “And the Lord God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden.” This verse is often overlooked due to our focus upon the prohibition against eating of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, but it’s important to remember that God first established a very wide range of permissible activity. This is a garden that is chock full of trees bearing fruits and nuts, different bushes with all kinds of berries upon them, and all kinds of vegetables too numerous to even count. Adam and Eve would never be bored with the same old food day after day, and they certainly wouldn’t go hungry. God provided both substance and variety. In essence, they lack absolutely nothing.
Then we get to verse 17, which says, “but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die.” When you think about it, God denied the fruit of only one tree. There is no prohibition against eating the fruit of the other special tree—the tree of life. In verse nine, it reads, “The Lord God made all kinds of trees grow out of the ground—trees that were pleasing to the eye and good for food. In the middle of the garden were the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.” They were allowed full access to the tree of life. And just a side note of interest here: there was actually no mention of the apple that is portrayed in popular culture. God prohibits the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. The idea of an apple probably comes from the similarity of two Latin words, malus (evil) and malum (apple). If you notice, there is wordplay between two similar words with different meanings.
A point that is often overlooked is that God provided freedom here. If you’re wondering how that is, when God set the boundary to not eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, they had the freedom to choose to do so. And as is often the case with loving parents when dealing with children who are innocent and unable to comprehend reasons, God did not give a reason as to why the tree was prohibited. In this situation, God is like a loving father warning his child about potential danger without an extended explanation. And we all know that kids don’t always do what their parents suggest!
And as is often the case with kids, there is always the question, “But, why, Dad? Why?”
I read a story recently that made me chuckle, because we can all relate to it in one way or another. In this story, a mother talks about how humans are prone to push boundaries, and oh, how it starts early! She references the story of Adam and Eve with the forbidden fruit, and this is what she said:
When my younger son was two, I put the cookie jar up on the refrigerator, out of his reach, and explained to him that he could have a cookie after dinner. When I left the room to vacuum, he dragged a dining room chair to the counter, climbed up on the counter, and pulled the cookie jar between his chubby legs. I came back into the kitchen just as he was reaching into the jar for the cookie that I had delayed but not forbidden. I promised I would pop his hand if he got a cookie. He looked me in my eyes and never left my gaze as he got a cookie and ate it. He had determined in his two-year-old mind that the cookie was worth a pop on the hand.
Was that sin? No, but it was disobedience and pushing the boundary. I had not promised him he would die or suffer alienation or be kicked out of my house—such threats would come much, much later as he grew into teenage years. But my confession is that it was my sense that I had no control over him. Influence, maybe. But not control.
God, it is clear, also has no control over humans. I can hear my son saying, “Why buy cookies if I can’t have them when I want?” I can hear Eve saying, “Why put a tree of the knowledge of good and evil and a tree of life in the garden if we are forbidden to eat from them?” And that is the center of boundary crossing—the question “Why?”
She went on to say that if you think about it, the command not to eat from the tree of knowledge essentially symbolizes a boundary set by God for the well-being of humans. And many of us already understand that it serves as a test of obedience, but how many of us also understand that it serves as a reminder to trust in divine wisdom? For without trust in divine wisdom, it can be mighty difficult to be obedient. This is understandable. We need to know that the God we trust is divine and wise, if we are to be obedient to what is asked of us. The act of disobedience can also signify a desire for autonomy and knowledge beyond what was intended, ultimately leading to what we call “sin” and its consequences.
The bottom line is that when we choose not to follow God’s wisdom, we are setting ourselves up for a difficult learning experience. I can testify to this one and could share some stories! As we mature, though, we learn to trust and follow God’s wisdom more, no longer doubting that spiritual nudge we sense from God. We develop the ability to recognize divine wisdom, whether through written scripture, a sermon that speaks to us, or a quiet internal “nudge” that feels like spiritual guidance. When we listen to divine wisdom in these ways, we are establishing a solid and holy connection with God, and that is the healthy boundary that helps steer our lives in ways that make it rich and meaningful.
As we move into Genesis 3:1-7, the story shifts to the cunning serpent’s conversation with Eve, and what is often overlooked is how the snake plays the role of the questioner. We often think of it as a “tempter,” but another way to understand the serpent is to recognize it as a tester of the question “What will humanity do in response to boundaries?”
Test them, bend them, break them.
I believe that it is human nature to do so, especially in our “younger spiritual years,” when we are still exploring our autonomy and understanding of life. Ultimately, though, these verses remind us of the importance of guidance and the consequences of straying away from it. It prompts us to contemplate the balance between seeking knowledge and wisdom while respecting the boundaries set by God. In other words, it reminds us of the importance of respecting divine guidance and trusting in its purpose for our well-being as we navigate our own choices and decisions.
The title to this sermon is “To Bear Good Fruit,” a title I created before I even wrote this sermon. And although it does not seem to fit the topic at first glance, it is a perfect closer. For as we have just begun the season of Lent, we are reminded through the story of Adam and Eve of our imperfection as human beings. The season of Lent, I believe, offers us a path back to that perfection. Although we may have no path back to some “mythic perfection,” we do have the opportunity to change our ways or “repent.” If you think about it, as Christians we are essentially striving to repent or change our ways on a daily basis. It’s part of our spiritual growth and development to do this. Lent is a reminder of the importance of this spiritual practice and an invitation to focus upon it more deeply. It is a reminder that we can start over again and again, renewing ourselves and making our connection with God closer with each appeal to change our ways.
Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit, representing our imperfection as human beings and our desire to sometimes push those divine boundaries. Still, we can renew ourselves through each choice to trust and honor divine wisdom – to listen to God’s promptings in our lives. When we practice this, our actions and state of being will bear good fruit. Through this practice we can embody love, joy, peace, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, patience, gentleness, and self-control – the Fruits of the Spirit. Let this season of Lent be your invitation to step more fully into your perfection through the sacred discipline of starting over and renewing yourself. Be well and be fruitful, my friends.
Rev. Drakar Druella
