Word to the Wise
Saturday, February 10, 2007 - St. Scholastica (5th Friday in OT)
[Genesis 3:9-24 and Mark 8:1-10]For you are dirt and to dirt you shall return.
With those dramatic words, the judgment on Adam and Eve concludes. They disobeyed God and suffered the consequences. It seems to me that much of what happens to Adam and Eve is not some creative punishment that God thinks up to impose on them. The discourse seems more a sad shaking of the head as God informs the players of the problems they themselves have brought upon their heads by their own sinfulness. "You could have had it good, but no, you had to go and do this! Now you're going to have to live with the consequences." The last line, quoted above, is a blunt reminder to the couple of their origin which they sought to overcome by "becoming like God." However idyllic the Garden of Eden may seem to us, it is clear that Eden was a place where difficult and sinful choices could be made. I rather think most of us would find it very hard to live in "Eden." Indeed it seems we spend a lifetime losing, restoring, and losing Eden over and over. As long as we are close to God, we are as close to Eden as we can get. Our faults, mistakes and sins lead us out of the garden. The good news is that we don't have to stay out. Jesus has reopened the gates and we can find our way back. We have to acknowledge our waywardness, even if that is obvious by the fact that we are asking to be readmitted! What is awful to think is that some folks just don't want to come back. AMEN
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