This is the fifth and final week of our current message series, “Important Enough.”  Of course that means that we will be starting a new message series next week – it will be another 5-week series entitled “Confessions of a Control Freak.” When we begin a new series it is always the perfect time to invite a friend who doesn’t go to church to come with you one weekend.  In fact, it is related to the message this week.
    In this series we’ve been talking about when enough is enough. We’ve talked about this idea of enough and how it is a question that haunts us. We wonder if we have enough, get enough, do enough, be enough.  We have discussed that we really do not want to make “enough” the goal of our life, because that causes us to look only at ourselves, and then we lose sight of the  real purpose of our lives, which is to follow our Lord, Jesus Christ.
    Two weeks ago we acknowledged that sometimes we just don’t have enough: time, money, energy, enthusiasm, strength, patience courage, peace of mind. As Christ-followers we need to consistently turn to the Lord in our need and trust him. Whatever we give to God he multiplies. Last week we said that to follow means we don’t have to worry about being good enough to get into heaven. Christ on the cross is more than good enough for us.
    This week we are going to look at a passage from our first reading from the Book of Genesis.  Many of you will remember that this summer I wrote a series of reflections on the Book of Genesis. Genesis helps us to understand eternal truths and the reality of our human condition. When God created the world and everything in it, he pronounced it good.
    In today’s first reading we heard, “The Lord God then took the man and settled him in the Garden of Eden to cultivate it and care for it” (Genesis 2:15). All the world is good and God gives the first man Adam a job to do: care and cultivate the garden.
    Adam is in paradise. He is in a perfect world. All is good, which makes this next verse somewhat surprising. The Lord God said: “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make him a suitable partner for him” (Genesis 2:18).
    This is the only place in the first two chapters of Genesis that we hear the words, “not good.” God recognizes a problem in Adam’s life that even Adam himself, at this point, does not truly understand.
    That’s our reality. We don’t always recognize or appreciate the problems in our life. We can’t always see when something is missing from our life that we truly need.
    God sees that “it is not good . . . to be alone.” God hates loneliness because God is not alone. God is a community of three persons – Father, Son and Holy Spirit, who are continually loving one another in an endless, eternal community of love. Even though Adam has a good relationship with God, that is not enough.
    It is not enough just to have a relationship with God. Spiritual growth and health requires more than just a good relationship with God. You will not grow closer to God, you will not become everything God created you to be by just spending time with God in personal prayer or private devotions. Prayer is essential, its just not enough. To grow as a follower of Christ, it is not enough for you to simply come here and attend Mass on the weekend. Mass is crucial. It is the source and summit of our whole faith, but more is needed. You need friendship in faith.
    Ironically, old time parishes back in the day, the parishes of your great grandparents, got this. The whole of parish life was designed to build fellowship and friendship among parishioners. Those days are long gone. Today, with our insane schedules and reliance on social media, we’re more isolated and alone and lonely than ever.
    We need friendships in faith, to more successfully follow Christ. We also need them to just live more successful lives. We are not enough to solve the problems and meet the responsibilities of our life on our own. We will never have enough time, energy and stamina to meet our responsibilities. We can’t. We need God and, we need other people.
    We may not see the problem of trying to do life all alone and on our own, but God sees it. “So God formed out of the ground various wild animals and various birds of the air, and he brought them to the man to see what he would call them; But none proved to be the suitable partner for the man” (Genesis 2:19, 21).
    Now wait a minute. Didn’t God know that none of the animals would satisfy Adam’s need for companionship? Didn’t he know all the animals would fall short? Of course he did. He knew that, but Adam didn’t. As all these animals fail to meet Adam’s need for companionship, God is helping him realize that he needs a human relationship.
    God is heightening his desire for friendship and fellowship in which he is known and can be known. Adam recognizes that it is not good. So, Genesis tells us, “The Lord God then built up into a woman the rib that he had taken from the man. When he brought her to the man, The man said: ‘This one, at last, is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh’”(Genesis 2:22). Adam finally and at last understands his situation. And now it is good.
    This is one reason we have been promoting our small groups.  Our experience is that when people join a small group, they have an experience not unlike Adam’s. They never knew what they were missing. Just substantive conversation with other people who actually care about you could be a refreshing experience for many. Sharing a joy doubles it, and sharing a sorrow, cuts it in half. Placing all of it in the context of our faith, helps us to understand what’s going on better and to understand our faith better.
    God wants to put some people around you to help you shoulder your burdens. God wants to put some people around you to share your joys and successes.  The bad news is you cannot have an entirely successful life all alone and on your own, there are just too many areas to take care of. That’s the bad news. The good news is that you don’t have to.