Word to the Wise
Wednesday, February 13, 2019 - Wednesday in the 5th Week in Ordinary Time
[Gen 2:4b-9, 15-17 and Mark 7:14-23]The Lord God gave man this order: "You are free to eat from any of the trees of the garden except the tree of knowledge of good and evil. From that tree you shall not eat; the moment you eat from it you are surely doomed to die." [Genesis]
FEBRUARY 13 BL. JORDAN OF SAXONY, OP [immediate successor to St. Dominic]
I think we all know what is going to happen after God gives Adam this order. We would know it not just because we know the biblical story but we know it from our own experience. It is that human experience that made the biblical authors ask questions about how humanity got into sinning when God had made things so nice for us. The question of free will and obedience stares us in the face.
Every parent knows this experience as parent and from their own childhood. When mom or dad says "Don't do it!" the child is going to wonder, "Why not? I want it!" At this moment in the story in Genesis, the command seems to just "hang in the air." But it is there as a challenge to us before we come to the story of the creation of a partner for man and the temptation that follows. Why would the knowledge of good and evil be such a bad thing? We shall see as the story goes on, the issue is not so much about good and evil but about power. In the meantime, we can ask ourselves about other commands we have received from God and how we react when we are told, "Don't do it!" AMEN