THE JESSE TREE SERIES
What does Tuesday of the first week of Advent entail for our Jesse Tree:
THE FIRST SIN
SCRIPTURE: Gen 2:4:3:34.
Chapter 2-3 of Genesis is the story of
Adam and Eve and the first fruit.
The second creation narrative in
chapter 2 of Genesis gives a simple, yet spirited message to us. Mankind
was created by God out of nothing and is called to live in friendship with God,
the Creator. The masterpiece of creation, he dominates all created beings
and by his work he must make the world a better place. Man and woman
share in the same nature; they are made for each other, they fulfill each
other. In the intimacy of marriage, the profound unity of the couple is
realized. Mankind’s co-operation with God is a divine extension of the work of
creation.
Verse 25 is also important for our
relationship with God and with each other. We know what happens to Adam
and Eve in chapter 3 with the temptation and the sin and the effect of it for
humanity.
However, Christian psychologists say
that humanity is constantly trying to strive to ‘return to the Garden of Eden’.
Everything comes from the hands of God that is good; evil does not have its
source in Him. Returning to the Garden of Eden implies that we go to the source
of this innate goodness within us. How we define the Garden of Eden will
be different for each person. People want to live blameless lives and to be
able to stand with clear conscious (naked) before God who created them, and in
front of other people. The challenge is to reflect on what are the
mechanisms we use to hide, to cover ourselves, to protect ourselves. We
might also consider that although ‘it is not good for man to be alone’, this
does not mean co-dependency or an enmeshed relationship with a spouse or
family.
Reading Ecclesiasticus chapter 17 and
reflecting on it with chapter 2 of Genesis may be worthwhile food for thought.
Genesis 3: The Fall.
The sin of Adam and Eve and its
consequences for humanity are depicted in a dramatic way in Chapter 3’s
narrative. By eating the fruit of the tree of knowledge, ‘man’ wants to decide
for himself and on his own what is good and what is bad and to act accordingly:
like the song title sung by Bing Crosby ‘I do it my way’.
Well, we may wonder what was really the
sin here, since God gave humanity free will. The sin is that man refuses to
accept an objective law. It appears an outrage against divine sovereignty, as a
sin of pride. Mankind does not want to submit himself to the order established
by God. All mankind who by its revolt against its Creator loses the friendship
of God and sinks into wretchedness, it disturbs the order of the
universe. However, God offers mercy, seen in the promise in Gen 3:15 ‘one
of the woman’s descendants will crush the serpent’s head’.
How does this passage link with the New Testament? Obedient even
unto the death of the Cross-, Christ, the perfect Servant of God, will make
amends for mankind’s disobedience. Risen from the dead, the new Adam is the
first born and the head of a new mankind. Reading Romans 5 seems to be an
excellent link passage to Genesis 3 on the fall.
Another useful passage comes from the
Preface of the Cross: ‘Father, in love you created man, in justice you
condemned him, but in mercy you redeemed him, through Jesus Christ our
Lord. But we must relate this to ourselves. We can be tempted to go into
our comfort zones and think that Christ has saved us, the effects of original
sin are wiped away at Baptism and all is well. God is indeed generous, but He
wants our friendship with Him.
We need to submit to the divine order
daily. A worthwhile friendship needs to be worked at. It does not just happen.
We have to commit ourselves to our relationship with God. He knows us and when
we do fall, Christ in his divine mercy, through the Church, provides us with
the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Perhaps we can reflect on our attitudes
towards this sacrament and use it wisely and often to nurture our relationship
with God especially during this Advent Season.
..
THE PERSON: Adam and Eve
Adam and Eve were our first parents of all who live. God had given them
everything, but had instructed them not to' eat of the fruit in the middle of
the garden'- the tree of knowledge. Adam and Eve saw that it was desirable and
were tempted by the devil. They disobeyed God's command. When God provided them
with the opportunity to own and admit their sin, the first blame game
occurred.
THE EVENT/THEME: THE FIRST SIN: During our reflection
time today, let us ponder on the first sin of disobedience and pride. We may
wish to
- Offer a prayer of contrition: for
the personal and communal sins of the world.
- Rediscover a greater awareness of sin: Reflect
on your own personal weaknesses/sins and rediscover the beauty of the
sacrament of Reconciliation this Advent. Let us celebrate God's
forgiveness.
- Make a practical commitment: As
today's theme is the first sin, we may wish to spend some time making a
thorough examination of conscience making a practical commitment to
re-educate ourselves on the nature of sin in our lives and receiving the
sacrament of reconciliation more regularly as part of our ongoing
spiritual growth (e.g. read section on the Catechism of Catholic Church,
seek out other resources that are appropriate to our personal journeys and
or find a good spiritual director/confessor to help us grow spiritual
flowers, and weed the garden beds in our soul to remind you of this
day and theme of the first sin.
SYMBOL 3: TREE WITH FRUIT OR APPLE
The fruit is a symbol of sin in our
lives and those things, which draw us away from God and from obeying Him.
Let us recall Adam Adan and Eve and
their first sin. Let us try this advent to not be drawn to the fruit of
disobedience as we prepare our third symbol ( second cut out symbol) and
place it on the tree.
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