In the First Reading when Adam and Eve sinned there were consequences. Before they sinned they enjoyed a delightful familiarity with God. They are portrayed as walking with God in the cool of the evening. After their fall they are afraid of God and try to hide from him. And there is a breakdown between themselves: Adam betrays Eve.
Where once unity and harmony existed, now there is division, fuelled by mistrust, mutual recrimination, and fear. It wasn’t God who brought this punishment on them.
They brought it on themselves. We are not punished so much for our sins as by our sins.
The sad scene ends with a promise of salvation. God takes pity on Adam and Eve and promises to send them a saviour. The Gospel shows the promise fulfilled in Jesus. Jesus overthrows Satan and establishes the Kingdom of God.
For those who believe in him, and who do God’s will, a new kinship is formed and a new intimacy with God becomes possible. As a result of what he did, we are not just God’s creatures, but members of God’s family. And a new bond is formed between us. Thus the old divisions are overcome.