Origin Story #15.1 of 21:

I heard the sound of thee in the garden, and

I was afraid, because

I was naked; and so

I hid myself…

I ate. (Gn 3:10-13)

Lots of “I”s.  Our origin story takes a turn from the “them” of: “Let us make …them male and female” (1:27-27). Or again, in the Garden story, the wonder of them “both naked and not ashamed” (2:25). After eating the forbidden fruit, the “us” turns into a world of “I”s. It’s everyone for oneself.

It’s the “I” the serpent promised. But now, it’s the “I” that can’t stand upright before his Creator. It’s the “I” that hides, blames and mumbles. “I was afraid…” Why this fear? It’s a fear of being found out—of being exposed for who I really am. There’s something contrived about his center—about this “I” that revolts against his Creator. To these isolated, fearful, blaming “I”s, God declares his judgments.