Bone of my Bone, a Reflection on Genesis 2:18-24

In the chapter 1 version of creation, every day God looks at that day's work and pronounces it good. Light was good, separation of land and water was good, vegetation was good, separation of night and day was good, creatures of sea and sky were good, and, as a culmination, land animals, especially humans.

So God created humankind inhis image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them (Genesis 1:27).

In the chapter 2 version of creation (2:4b-25), the order of what gets created when is different from chapter 1's version. For example, God puts a man on earth then plants a garden.

Another difference is the one that is the focus of this week's Old Testament lection that has been chosen to respond to the Gospel lesson--that is, that the woman is not created at the same time as man, as in Genesis 1, but rather is created to serve a need, a need of the man.

Unlike Chapter 1, God sees that something is not good: "It's not good for a man to be alone. He needs a partner," God says.

And, as soon as Adam saw the woman that God had carved out for him, he was grateful, "Finally, someone for me."

Living alone is tough. There's something in us humans that needs and benefits from a relationship.