Pope Benedict XVI's homily last Sunday for Palm Sunday ended with these words:
"
Jesus shows God as the One who loves and his power as the power of love. Thus, he tells us what will always be part of the correct worship of God: healing, serving and the goodness that cures.
And then there are children who pay homage to Jesus as the Son of David and acclaim him the Hosanna. Jesus had said to his disciples that to enter the Kingdom of God it was essential to become once again like children. He himself, who embraces the whole world, made himself little in order to come to our aid, to draw us to God. In order to recognize God, we must give up the pride that dazzles us, that wants to drive us away from God as though God were our rival. To encounter God it is necessary to be able to see with the heart. We must learn to see with a child's heart, with a youthful heart not hampered by prejudices or blinded by interests. Thus, it is in the lowly who have such free and open hearts and recognize Jesus, that the Church sees her own image, the image of believers of all ages.
Dear friends, let us join at this moment the procession of the young people of that time - a procession that winds through the whole of history. Together with young people across the world let us go forth to meet Jesus. Let us allow ourselves to be guided toward God by him, to learn from God himself the right way to be human beings. Let us thank God with him because with Jesus, Son of David, he has given us a space of peace and reconciliation that embraces the world with the Holy Eucharist. Let us pray to him that we too may become, with him and starting from him, messengers of his peace, adorers in spirit and truth, so that his Kingdom may increase in us and around us. Amen."
That was the end of the Holy Father's homily. He said that Jesus shows us the power of love and that to see that power of love that Jesus shows we need to see with our hearts. The children cheered Jesus as He entered Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, and the Pope invites us to join them in their jubilation. To join them and to be able to see Jesus, we must become like them; it is not too much for you and me to become like children if God Himself was able to do it in Bethlehem. We must flee from pride and see with a child's heart unencumbered by prejudice or selfish interests; becoming humble and lowly, our hearts will become free and open like a child, and we will be able to recognize Jesus. Jesus, in Himself, gives the world a space for peace and reconciliation, for healing and goodness, for worship and love, and we encounter Jesus as He seeks us out and embraces the world in the Holy Eucharist. It is in our encounter with Christ in the Holy Eucharist that we worship in spirit and truth and that the Kingdom of God increases in us and spills out of us to all those around us.
This Holy Thursday, the commemoration of the Last Supper and the institution of the Holy Eucharist, let us encounter Jesus anew with the eyes of faith, with the heart of a simple, trusting child, and entrust our whole selves to Him as He gives Himself to us. This is why Jesus came and became a man. He wanted to give Himself to us and become one with you and me. He says: "I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you." Let's earnestly desire to receive Him in every Holy Communion, and hold Him dearly within our hearts throughout each day.
Thanks for reading and your prayers.
Copyright 2007.
All rights reserved.
Showing posts with label Holy Communion. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Holy Communion. Show all posts
2.03.2008
The Presentation of Jesus in the Temple
It is late at night, so it is Sunday now; however, it still feels like today, Saturday, and not tomorrow, Sunday, because I am still awake. All day I’ve wanted to write about the feast of Saturday: the Presentation of Jesus in the Temple. For a good while, I’ve suspected there is some connection of my theory with the need to present one’s children in the temple and redeem them. Why does one need to present and redeem one’s newly-born child?
The first instance of this mentioned in the Bible comes from Exodus 13:11-16, right after the Passover and the Exodus, which states: “And when the LORD brings you into the land of the Canaanites, as he swore to you and your fathers, and shall give it to you, you shall set apart to the LORD all that first opens the womb. All the firstlings of your cattle that are males shall be the LORD’s. Every firstling of an ass you shall redeem with a lamb, or if you will not redeem it you shall break its neck. Every first-born of man among your sons you shall redeem. And when in time to come your son asks you, ‘What does this mean?’ you shall say to him, ‘By strength of hand the LORD brought us out of Egypt, from the house of bondage. For when Pharaoh stubbornly refused to let us go, the LORD slew all the first-born in the land of Egypt, both the first-born of man and the first-born of cattle. Therefore I sacrifice to the LORD all the males that first open the womb; but all the first-born of my sons I redeem.’ It shall be as a mark on your hand or frontlets between your eyes; for by a strong hand the LORD brought us out of Egypt.”
All first-born male cattle are sacrificed to God; a first-born ass can be redeemed with the sacrifice of a lamb instead or it can be sacrificed itself; all first-born sons need to be redeemed. It does not say how our sons are to be redeemed here; we will find that out in a later passage. God passed over all Israel’s first born in Egypt as He set them free, so now they need to sacrifice or redeem all the first-born.
A woman needs to be purified after she gives birth; she needs to wait forty days for having a boy and eighty days for having a girl. The presentation of a baby in the temple is also about the woman being purified after birth. Here we find out with what a child is redeemed. “And when the days of her purifying are completed, whether for a son or for a daughter, she shall bring to the priest at the door of the tent of meeting a lamb a year old for a burnt offering, and a young pigeon or a turtledove for a sin offering, and he shall offer it before the LORD, and make atonement for her; then she shall be clean from the flow of her blood. This is the law for her who bears a child, either male or female. And if she cannot afford a lamb, then she shall take two turtledoves or two young pigeons, one for a burnt offering and the other for a sin offering; and the priest shall make atonement for her, and she shall be clean” (Leviticus 12: 6-8).
A baby was to be redeemed with the sacrifice of a lamb as a burnt offering. A young pigeon or a turtledove was also sacrificed for a sin offering. The poor do not need to sacrifice a lamb; rather, they are allowed to bring a pair of turtledoves or pigeons for both of these sacrifices—the burnt offering and the sin offering.
We also find out that man’s redemption price is five shekels of silver. “Everything that opens the womb of all flesh, whether man or beast, which they offer to the LORD, shall be yours; nevertheless the first-born of man you shall redeem, and the firstling of unclean beasts you shall redeem. And their redemption price (at a month old you shall redeem them) you shall fix at five shekels in silver, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, which is twenty gerahs” (Numbers 18: 15-16).
So here is what I am thinking right now about all of this:
My theory is: The man and the woman in the Garden of Eden sought after a child of their own, they wanted to be creative like God and make a man, and so they ate of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, which is they had relations, and they conceived and had Cain. Since they had children in a manner contrary to God’s command, the children they bore were children of men, not children of God, so they were born without God’s life in them, which we call sanctifying grace, and their passions were disordered, which we call original sin.
Abraham is given a similar test as the man and the woman, and after ten years of waiting for his promised son, Abraham sins and has relations with Hagar, his wife’s servant. Twenty-five years later, they finally give birth to their own son, Isaac. Since they never really passed the test, God tested Abraham again and told him to sacrifice Isaac. As Abraham is about to sacrifice Isaac, God stops him, and Isaac is passed over for the ram caught by the horns of its head in a thorn bush.
Because of Abraham and Isaac’s faithfulness, God swears by Himself to make his descendants a blessing to all nations. It was because of this covenant God makes here that about five hundred years later the Israelites are redeemed and set free from Egypt. The first and foundational Passover was Isaac, and the second was the Passover of all the first-born from Egypt. Because of God’s redeeming work of freeing Israel from Egypt, for all their descendants afterward they need to present and redeem all children shortly after they are born.
Due to the fear of death, the fear of not having children, sin entered the world. The second reading for the Presentation is from Hebrews 2: 14-18. “Since the children share in blood and flesh, Jesus likewise shared in them, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the Devil, and free those who through fear of death had been subject to slavery all their life” (2: 14-15). It was the fear of death that led humanity into slavery; it is Jesus’ death which destroys this fear and power of death.
Jesus destroys the power of death by dying on the cross; we participate in His death by our baptism since by baptism we die with Christ and are raised up with Him in His resurrection. In the Old Covenant, children had to be redeemed shortly after birth; in the New Covenant, children are redeemed shortly after birth in baptism. Now instead of redeeming our children with the sacrifice of a lamb or a pigeon or turtledove, our kids are redeemed by the Blood of the Lamb. This turns our sons of men into children of God, and the original problem from the beginning is fixed. The specific antidote to the Fall is found first of all in Jesus’ crucifixion, death and resurrection and secondly in our participation in those saving deeds most notably through baptism and Holy Eucharist.
Thanks for reading and your prayers.
Copyright 2007.
All rights reserved.
The first instance of this mentioned in the Bible comes from Exodus 13:11-16, right after the Passover and the Exodus, which states: “And when the LORD brings you into the land of the Canaanites, as he swore to you and your fathers, and shall give it to you, you shall set apart to the LORD all that first opens the womb. All the firstlings of your cattle that are males shall be the LORD’s. Every firstling of an ass you shall redeem with a lamb, or if you will not redeem it you shall break its neck. Every first-born of man among your sons you shall redeem. And when in time to come your son asks you, ‘What does this mean?’ you shall say to him, ‘By strength of hand the LORD brought us out of Egypt, from the house of bondage. For when Pharaoh stubbornly refused to let us go, the LORD slew all the first-born in the land of Egypt, both the first-born of man and the first-born of cattle. Therefore I sacrifice to the LORD all the males that first open the womb; but all the first-born of my sons I redeem.’ It shall be as a mark on your hand or frontlets between your eyes; for by a strong hand the LORD brought us out of Egypt.”
All first-born male cattle are sacrificed to God; a first-born ass can be redeemed with the sacrifice of a lamb instead or it can be sacrificed itself; all first-born sons need to be redeemed. It does not say how our sons are to be redeemed here; we will find that out in a later passage. God passed over all Israel’s first born in Egypt as He set them free, so now they need to sacrifice or redeem all the first-born.
A woman needs to be purified after she gives birth; she needs to wait forty days for having a boy and eighty days for having a girl. The presentation of a baby in the temple is also about the woman being purified after birth. Here we find out with what a child is redeemed. “And when the days of her purifying are completed, whether for a son or for a daughter, she shall bring to the priest at the door of the tent of meeting a lamb a year old for a burnt offering, and a young pigeon or a turtledove for a sin offering, and he shall offer it before the LORD, and make atonement for her; then she shall be clean from the flow of her blood. This is the law for her who bears a child, either male or female. And if she cannot afford a lamb, then she shall take two turtledoves or two young pigeons, one for a burnt offering and the other for a sin offering; and the priest shall make atonement for her, and she shall be clean” (Leviticus 12: 6-8).
A baby was to be redeemed with the sacrifice of a lamb as a burnt offering. A young pigeon or a turtledove was also sacrificed for a sin offering. The poor do not need to sacrifice a lamb; rather, they are allowed to bring a pair of turtledoves or pigeons for both of these sacrifices—the burnt offering and the sin offering.
We also find out that man’s redemption price is five shekels of silver. “Everything that opens the womb of all flesh, whether man or beast, which they offer to the LORD, shall be yours; nevertheless the first-born of man you shall redeem, and the firstling of unclean beasts you shall redeem. And their redemption price (at a month old you shall redeem them) you shall fix at five shekels in silver, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, which is twenty gerahs” (Numbers 18: 15-16).
So here is what I am thinking right now about all of this:
My theory is: The man and the woman in the Garden of Eden sought after a child of their own, they wanted to be creative like God and make a man, and so they ate of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, which is they had relations, and they conceived and had Cain. Since they had children in a manner contrary to God’s command, the children they bore were children of men, not children of God, so they were born without God’s life in them, which we call sanctifying grace, and their passions were disordered, which we call original sin.
Abraham is given a similar test as the man and the woman, and after ten years of waiting for his promised son, Abraham sins and has relations with Hagar, his wife’s servant. Twenty-five years later, they finally give birth to their own son, Isaac. Since they never really passed the test, God tested Abraham again and told him to sacrifice Isaac. As Abraham is about to sacrifice Isaac, God stops him, and Isaac is passed over for the ram caught by the horns of its head in a thorn bush.
Because of Abraham and Isaac’s faithfulness, God swears by Himself to make his descendants a blessing to all nations. It was because of this covenant God makes here that about five hundred years later the Israelites are redeemed and set free from Egypt. The first and foundational Passover was Isaac, and the second was the Passover of all the first-born from Egypt. Because of God’s redeeming work of freeing Israel from Egypt, for all their descendants afterward they need to present and redeem all children shortly after they are born.
Due to the fear of death, the fear of not having children, sin entered the world. The second reading for the Presentation is from Hebrews 2: 14-18. “Since the children share in blood and flesh, Jesus likewise shared in them, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the Devil, and free those who through fear of death had been subject to slavery all their life” (2: 14-15). It was the fear of death that led humanity into slavery; it is Jesus’ death which destroys this fear and power of death.
Jesus destroys the power of death by dying on the cross; we participate in His death by our baptism since by baptism we die with Christ and are raised up with Him in His resurrection. In the Old Covenant, children had to be redeemed shortly after birth; in the New Covenant, children are redeemed shortly after birth in baptism. Now instead of redeeming our children with the sacrifice of a lamb or a pigeon or turtledove, our kids are redeemed by the Blood of the Lamb. This turns our sons of men into children of God, and the original problem from the beginning is fixed. The specific antidote to the Fall is found first of all in Jesus’ crucifixion, death and resurrection and secondly in our participation in those saving deeds most notably through baptism and Holy Eucharist.
Thanks for reading and your prayers.
Copyright 2007.
All rights reserved.
1.01.2008
We Shall All Know the Lord
The first reading for tomorrow’s mass is from the first Letter of Saint John, and I would like to take a portion of this reading as my jumping off point tonight:
“As for you, the anointing that you received from him remains in you, so that you do not need anyone to teach you. But his anointing teaches you about everything and is true and not false; just as it taught you, remain in him. And now, children, remain in him, so that when he appears we may have confidence and not be put to shame by him at his coming” (2:27-28).
John is addressing the “children” or those who are babes in their understanding of the faith. They were anointed certainly at their baptism and perhaps also at their confirmation. The anointing of baptism remains inside us to teach us about the truth, and we, in turn, need to remain in Him. Baptism gives us the heart and mind of Christ; having been made a new creation with Our Savior’s way of seeing reality, we will come to know the truth as long as we remain in Him. The anointing teaches us because it endowed us with Jesus’ dwelling within us and giving us His heart; we will learn from Him if we continue to remain in Him.
This anointing and new heart reminds me of one of the most important passages of the prophet Jeremiah which is also quoted in Hebrews 8:8ff:
“Behold, the days are coming, says the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, not like the covenant which I made with their fathers when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, my covenant which they broke, though I was their husband, says the LORD. But this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the LORD: I will put my law within them, and I will write it upon their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. And no longer shall each man teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’ for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, says the LORD; for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more” (Jeremiah 31:31-34).
The key ideas here are new covenant, God as our husband, the law within us on our hearts, our sins forgiven, and we shall all know God. When we enter into the new covenant at our baptism, our sins are wiped away, and we receive a new heart of flesh that desires to please God, our divine spouse. The two shall become one flesh, says Genesis 2:24, and so you and I become one flesh with God, our Husband. The biblical sense of to “know” refers to sexual knowledge, and marriage is the symbol God created to reveal what He desires His relationship would be with us. He asks us: “Will you marry me?”
There is nothing sexual in our relationship with God, but it is most intimate. In baptism, God becomes our God, and we become His people. He becomes our Husband, and we become His bride. He becomes one flesh with us and gives us His very heart to replace our old stony one. With His heart beating within us, with Him dwelling within us, with His mind and will becoming our mind and will, we intimately come to know the Lord.
He asks us at our creation, “Will you marry me?” We take a huge step in our relationship with Him at our baptism. Baptism is our saying yes to God’s question and is our marriage to Him. At our baptism, we are married to God. We renew that commitment with every Holy Communion. Every Communion is like every renewal of the marriage covenant when the husband gives his body to his bride. At Communion we receive the body of our Husband so that we can bear good fruit. If we give ourselves fully to Jesus, and that means pleasing Him in all we think, say and do, He will be able to give Himself fully to us so that we may have life to the full and be full with His fruit.
Thanks for reading and your prayers.
Copyright 2007.
All rights reserved.
“As for you, the anointing that you received from him remains in you, so that you do not need anyone to teach you. But his anointing teaches you about everything and is true and not false; just as it taught you, remain in him. And now, children, remain in him, so that when he appears we may have confidence and not be put to shame by him at his coming” (2:27-28).
John is addressing the “children” or those who are babes in their understanding of the faith. They were anointed certainly at their baptism and perhaps also at their confirmation. The anointing of baptism remains inside us to teach us about the truth, and we, in turn, need to remain in Him. Baptism gives us the heart and mind of Christ; having been made a new creation with Our Savior’s way of seeing reality, we will come to know the truth as long as we remain in Him. The anointing teaches us because it endowed us with Jesus’ dwelling within us and giving us His heart; we will learn from Him if we continue to remain in Him.
This anointing and new heart reminds me of one of the most important passages of the prophet Jeremiah which is also quoted in Hebrews 8:8ff:
“Behold, the days are coming, says the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, not like the covenant which I made with their fathers when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, my covenant which they broke, though I was their husband, says the LORD. But this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the LORD: I will put my law within them, and I will write it upon their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. And no longer shall each man teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’ for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, says the LORD; for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more” (Jeremiah 31:31-34).
The key ideas here are new covenant, God as our husband, the law within us on our hearts, our sins forgiven, and we shall all know God. When we enter into the new covenant at our baptism, our sins are wiped away, and we receive a new heart of flesh that desires to please God, our divine spouse. The two shall become one flesh, says Genesis 2:24, and so you and I become one flesh with God, our Husband. The biblical sense of to “know” refers to sexual knowledge, and marriage is the symbol God created to reveal what He desires His relationship would be with us. He asks us: “Will you marry me?”
There is nothing sexual in our relationship with God, but it is most intimate. In baptism, God becomes our God, and we become His people. He becomes our Husband, and we become His bride. He becomes one flesh with us and gives us His very heart to replace our old stony one. With His heart beating within us, with Him dwelling within us, with His mind and will becoming our mind and will, we intimately come to know the Lord.
He asks us at our creation, “Will you marry me?” We take a huge step in our relationship with Him at our baptism. Baptism is our saying yes to God’s question and is our marriage to Him. At our baptism, we are married to God. We renew that commitment with every Holy Communion. Every Communion is like every renewal of the marriage covenant when the husband gives his body to his bride. At Communion we receive the body of our Husband so that we can bear good fruit. If we give ourselves fully to Jesus, and that means pleasing Him in all we think, say and do, He will be able to give Himself fully to us so that we may have life to the full and be full with His fruit.
Thanks for reading and your prayers.
Copyright 2007.
All rights reserved.
The Circumcision of Christ
It is New Year’s Eve and the vigil of the Solemnity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Mother of God. In less than 40 minutes, the year 2008 will begin. Following is the gospel for tomorrow’s solemnity mass that I would like to consider tonight:
“The shepherds went in haste to Bethlehem and found Mary and Joseph, and the infant lying in the manger. When they saw this, they made known the message that had been told them about this child. All who heard it were amazed by what had been told them by the shepherds. And Mary kept all these things, reflecting on them in her heart. Then the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, just as it had been told to them. When eight days were completed for his circumcision, he was named Jesus, the name given him by the angel before he was conceived in the womb” (Luke 2:16-21).
Do you and I have the humility and simplicity as the shepherds did to run with urgency to find the Holy Family, especially to find the Son of God? Do I seek Him out? Am I amazed by the gospel or do we take it for granted, quickly turning my attention and heart to other concerns? I need to follow Mary’s example who took all these amazing events in and kept them in her heart to consider and unpack them. The shepherds left the Holy Family glorifying and praising God; do I do the same with the good news of salvation, bringing it back to my ordinary, everyday life? Does it affect how I life my life?
These miraculous events changed forever the lives of Joseph and Mary and I would assume the shepherds, too. All of these people who first encountered the living God made man had their hearts focused fully upon Him. They had an undivided heart that rejoiced in His birth, and their hearts were full for the joy of His arrival and for the love that enraptured their hearts. In proportion to how completely they opened their hearts in the direction of He Who Is Love their hearts were full and at peace.
The focus is the heart. When Jesus was eight days old, as was the age-old practice, he was circumcised and given His name. Circumcision in the Old Covenant is the pre-figurement of baptism in the New. They have a number of similarities: they are the passage way to entering the people of God, one is named as a part of the ritual, it is usually performed on infants, and it leaves a lasting mark. God added circumcision because of Abraham’s sin with Hagar as a penance and reminder that life does not come from our resources but is given as a gift by God. When Abraham fell, it was because his heart was hard and did not trust the promise of God to give him a son.
Circumcision is also a symbol of the need to cut away the stony outside of our heart so that we can have a new heart of flesh. It says in Deuteronomy 10:16: “Circumcise therefore the foreskin of your heart, and be no longer stubborn.” Circumcision at its deepest meaning is a matter of the heart as Paul said: “real circumcision is a matter of the heart, spiritual and not literal” (Romans 2:29).
The majority of Paul’s argument in Galatians is that we no longer need to be circumcised because circumcision was a symbol added because of sin, but now the reality has come. The reality is that Jesus’ heart was circumcised when He gave Himself up fully as a sacrifice on the cross and His heart was pierced. Circumcision is no longer needed because now we have been given the circumcision of Christ: baptism. We are baptized into Jesus’ death, and Jesus died because He trusted and obeyed fully with His heart. In baptism we are given Jesus’ faithful, crucified, pierced and resurrected heart so that we can be faithful, crucified, pierced and one day rise again, too.
In Paul’s letter to the Colossians he says much the same thing: “In him also you were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of flesh in the circumcision of Christ; and you were buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the working of God, who raised him from the dead” (Colossians 2:11-12). Baptism is our circumcision and the real circumcision. In baptism we receive our new hearts, our new tree of life that we needed ever since the Fall when our first parents turned their hearts away from God and His singular prohibition.
As we celebrate today the circumcision of Jesus as an infant, we can look ahead to when He fulfills that Old Covenant sacrament when His body is nailed to the tree and His Sacred Heart is pierced. Today we can remember and celebrate our own baptism when we received the circumcision of Christ and re-dedicate our hearts to Him that they may be His alone, for that is why we were baptized in the first place. We can fulfill this holy day of obligation by going to mass and receiving Holy Communion which is the fulfillment and celebration of our baptism. In The Sacrament, we receive the Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus, and the Body we receive is actually Jesus’ heart. It is all about the heart. It is all about eating the tree of life.
Thanks for reading and your prayers.
Copyright 2007.
All rights reserved.
“The shepherds went in haste to Bethlehem and found Mary and Joseph, and the infant lying in the manger. When they saw this, they made known the message that had been told them about this child. All who heard it were amazed by what had been told them by the shepherds. And Mary kept all these things, reflecting on them in her heart. Then the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, just as it had been told to them. When eight days were completed for his circumcision, he was named Jesus, the name given him by the angel before he was conceived in the womb” (Luke 2:16-21).
Do you and I have the humility and simplicity as the shepherds did to run with urgency to find the Holy Family, especially to find the Son of God? Do I seek Him out? Am I amazed by the gospel or do we take it for granted, quickly turning my attention and heart to other concerns? I need to follow Mary’s example who took all these amazing events in and kept them in her heart to consider and unpack them. The shepherds left the Holy Family glorifying and praising God; do I do the same with the good news of salvation, bringing it back to my ordinary, everyday life? Does it affect how I life my life?
These miraculous events changed forever the lives of Joseph and Mary and I would assume the shepherds, too. All of these people who first encountered the living God made man had their hearts focused fully upon Him. They had an undivided heart that rejoiced in His birth, and their hearts were full for the joy of His arrival and for the love that enraptured their hearts. In proportion to how completely they opened their hearts in the direction of He Who Is Love their hearts were full and at peace.
The focus is the heart. When Jesus was eight days old, as was the age-old practice, he was circumcised and given His name. Circumcision in the Old Covenant is the pre-figurement of baptism in the New. They have a number of similarities: they are the passage way to entering the people of God, one is named as a part of the ritual, it is usually performed on infants, and it leaves a lasting mark. God added circumcision because of Abraham’s sin with Hagar as a penance and reminder that life does not come from our resources but is given as a gift by God. When Abraham fell, it was because his heart was hard and did not trust the promise of God to give him a son.
Circumcision is also a symbol of the need to cut away the stony outside of our heart so that we can have a new heart of flesh. It says in Deuteronomy 10:16: “Circumcise therefore the foreskin of your heart, and be no longer stubborn.” Circumcision at its deepest meaning is a matter of the heart as Paul said: “real circumcision is a matter of the heart, spiritual and not literal” (Romans 2:29).
The majority of Paul’s argument in Galatians is that we no longer need to be circumcised because circumcision was a symbol added because of sin, but now the reality has come. The reality is that Jesus’ heart was circumcised when He gave Himself up fully as a sacrifice on the cross and His heart was pierced. Circumcision is no longer needed because now we have been given the circumcision of Christ: baptism. We are baptized into Jesus’ death, and Jesus died because He trusted and obeyed fully with His heart. In baptism we are given Jesus’ faithful, crucified, pierced and resurrected heart so that we can be faithful, crucified, pierced and one day rise again, too.
In Paul’s letter to the Colossians he says much the same thing: “In him also you were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of flesh in the circumcision of Christ; and you were buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the working of God, who raised him from the dead” (Colossians 2:11-12). Baptism is our circumcision and the real circumcision. In baptism we receive our new hearts, our new tree of life that we needed ever since the Fall when our first parents turned their hearts away from God and His singular prohibition.
As we celebrate today the circumcision of Jesus as an infant, we can look ahead to when He fulfills that Old Covenant sacrament when His body is nailed to the tree and His Sacred Heart is pierced. Today we can remember and celebrate our own baptism when we received the circumcision of Christ and re-dedicate our hearts to Him that they may be His alone, for that is why we were baptized in the first place. We can fulfill this holy day of obligation by going to mass and receiving Holy Communion which is the fulfillment and celebration of our baptism. In The Sacrament, we receive the Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus, and the Body we receive is actually Jesus’ heart. It is all about the heart. It is all about eating the tree of life.
Thanks for reading and your prayers.
Copyright 2007.
All rights reserved.
12.28.2007
The Meaning of Life
I left off on Tuesday in my post on The Three Passovers introducing the idea of the importance of the first-born. The three Passovers, Isaac’s sacrifice, the Passover, and Jesus’ sacrifice, all deal with the first-born. Isaac is the first-born, and he offers himself up as a sacrifice; he was passed over with a ram taking his place. Israel is God’s first-born, and they were passed over by the blood of the lamb on their doorposts and by eating the lamb. Jesus is the Father’s only-begotten Son: “He is the image of the invisible God, the first-born of all creation” (Colossians 1:15). Jesus, as pre-eminent first-born, sacrifices Himself in order for you and me to be passed over. We are united to Him in baptism and Holy Communion wherein we put His blood on our doorpost and eat the Lamb, respectively.
In the first two Passovers, the first-born was passed over; in the final one, the first-born is the sacrifice. Is there another first-born that was passed over in Jesus’ saving actions? -Perhaps it is you and me: “But far be it from me to glory except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. For neither circumcision counts for anything, nor uncircumcision, but a new creation. Peace and mercy be upon all who walk by this rule, upon the Israel of God” (Galatians 6:14-16). Paul speaks of the Church as the Israel of God; therefore, since Israel is God’s first-born, and we are now the New Israel, we and all members of the Church are God’s first-born. So we are first-born who are passed over by the angel of death, and our Passover Lamb is Jesus at the Last Supper and on the Cross.
The question that arises in my mind is why is the first-born so important, and why does it hold such a pivotal place in these highly important events in Salvation History? As usual, I think the answer lies in the events at the beginning. The course the man and the woman set the human race upon is the answer to much of human history and to the questions we have today. According to my theory, the direct result of the Fall was the conception of Cain. They wanted him and were trying to get him; hence, his name means gotten. He was the first-born of the human race. He was a murderer and a son of the evil one. The first-born son of man belonged, in a certain respect, to satan, and Cain gave himself over to his ways and so slaughtered his righteous brother.
Cain imitated his fathers in killing his brother: humanity is like a brother to the angels, and satan wants to destroy us and has destroyed many of us; Adam’s fall resulted in the spiritual death of the human race. Both satan and Adam murdered their brothers so to speak, and Cain only imitated what they did. In one sense it is amazing just how bad the very first person born of man was, yet in another sense, Cain was merely a chip off the old block. Either way you look at it, humanity’s fruitfulness started off with a horrible beginning. And his name was Cain for he was gotten. He was gotten.
So why did the first-born need to be sacrificed or passed over? A clue resides in the three main sacrifices of the Old Testament: bulls, sheep and goats. Bulls needed to be sacrificed because people were worshipping bulls and the bull-god, Apis. The Golden Calf was part of this worship where people were seeking fertility and prosperity and so the men and women would imitated what bulls would do to female cattle. Seeking life, they had an orgy. The result, they hoped, would be a conception: thus, the golden calf. Here, too, they were seeking a child, and they sought this child in a way contrary to their dignity, to God’s plan, and to trusting in God. After the golden calf, bulls needed to be sacrificed as a financial penance and so that the people would no longer worship them.
After the Golden Calf, the people went after another false god symbolized by goats. It was another fertility cult, and the people were again seeking life and a child in their own way and by their own terms. “So they shall no more slay their sacrifices for satyrs, after whom they play the harlot” (Leviticus 17:7). The satyrs are the goat gods who are obsessed with continually having sex, and those who worship these false gods would imitate them. Since the people were involved with this evil practice, God had them sacrifice goats. Again, it was a financial difficulty to sacrifice one’s livestock, and one’s gods did not look kindly on being killed. It was a God-given help to avoid this near occasion of sin.
Sacrificing bulls and goats was mandated because they were worshipped. Sheep were never worshipped, so why would God have us sacrifice them? A sheep is the sacrifice of the Passover, and Jesus is the Lamb of God. They are the most important animal sacrifice, but why does God mandate this sacrifice? Was their any sin associated with sheep or lambs? I think there was. Sheep symbolize humanity. We are like sheep; we are incredibly stupid. So sheep need to be sacrificed because they symbolize us; we worshipped ourselves. When did we do this? We do it every time we sin, but we do it especially when we seek humans over God.
The man and the woman sought a child over and against God’s command not to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. God wanted them to have a child, but He wanted to give it to them virginally as He did with Mary. They sought a child, and they got him, and they named him gotten (Cain). So here the theme of the first-born and sheep come together. The Passovers all have to do with sheep and with first-borns because our first parents worshiped, as it were, their first-born son and even disobeyed God to get him. Their souls were sold to satan in order to get Gotten; that is why he and all of the human family needs to be bought back or redeemed from the prince of this world.
We all deserve death and are in bondage to sin and satan, and we are like lambs, so the solution is for a lamb to take our place that we may be passed over and live. That is why sheep were sacrificed in the Old Testament, but those “sacrifices are offered which cannot perfect the conscience of the worshiper” (Hebrews 9:9). These Old Testament laws were good, but they were the symbol, not the reality. “For since the law has but a shadow of the good things to come instead of the true form of these realities, it can never, by the same sacrifices which are continually offered year after year, make perfect those who draw near” (Hebrews 10:1). Those sacrifices do not make perfect; however, Jesus’ sacrifice is capable of such a feat.
“For it is impossible that the blood of bulls and goats should take away sins. Consequently, when Christ came into the world, he said, ‘Sacrifices and offerings thou hast not desired, but a body hast thou prepared for me; in burnt offerings and sin offerings thou hast taken no pleasure. Then I said, ‘Lo, I have come to do thy will, O God,’’ as it is written of me in the roll of the book” (Hebrews 10:4-7). We are given a body in order to have something to sacrifice, and with our bodily sacrifices we are praying with the body. We are given a will in order that we can sacrifice that, too, and by saying “Thy will be done,” we are praying the most important prayer. Prayer and sacrifice, the prayer of the heart and of prayer of the body, when they are combined are the most powerful. When we completely trust God and seek to do whatever He asks of us, especially what He asks us to do with our bodies, then we are far along the path to unity with Him. It is in this full faithfulness that we have abundant life and belong to Him, and that is the meaning of life.
Thanks for reading and your prayers.
Copyright 2007.
All rights reserved.
In the first two Passovers, the first-born was passed over; in the final one, the first-born is the sacrifice. Is there another first-born that was passed over in Jesus’ saving actions? -Perhaps it is you and me: “But far be it from me to glory except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. For neither circumcision counts for anything, nor uncircumcision, but a new creation. Peace and mercy be upon all who walk by this rule, upon the Israel of God” (Galatians 6:14-16). Paul speaks of the Church as the Israel of God; therefore, since Israel is God’s first-born, and we are now the New Israel, we and all members of the Church are God’s first-born. So we are first-born who are passed over by the angel of death, and our Passover Lamb is Jesus at the Last Supper and on the Cross.
The question that arises in my mind is why is the first-born so important, and why does it hold such a pivotal place in these highly important events in Salvation History? As usual, I think the answer lies in the events at the beginning. The course the man and the woman set the human race upon is the answer to much of human history and to the questions we have today. According to my theory, the direct result of the Fall was the conception of Cain. They wanted him and were trying to get him; hence, his name means gotten. He was the first-born of the human race. He was a murderer and a son of the evil one. The first-born son of man belonged, in a certain respect, to satan, and Cain gave himself over to his ways and so slaughtered his righteous brother.
Cain imitated his fathers in killing his brother: humanity is like a brother to the angels, and satan wants to destroy us and has destroyed many of us; Adam’s fall resulted in the spiritual death of the human race. Both satan and Adam murdered their brothers so to speak, and Cain only imitated what they did. In one sense it is amazing just how bad the very first person born of man was, yet in another sense, Cain was merely a chip off the old block. Either way you look at it, humanity’s fruitfulness started off with a horrible beginning. And his name was Cain for he was gotten. He was gotten.
So why did the first-born need to be sacrificed or passed over? A clue resides in the three main sacrifices of the Old Testament: bulls, sheep and goats. Bulls needed to be sacrificed because people were worshipping bulls and the bull-god, Apis. The Golden Calf was part of this worship where people were seeking fertility and prosperity and so the men and women would imitated what bulls would do to female cattle. Seeking life, they had an orgy. The result, they hoped, would be a conception: thus, the golden calf. Here, too, they were seeking a child, and they sought this child in a way contrary to their dignity, to God’s plan, and to trusting in God. After the golden calf, bulls needed to be sacrificed as a financial penance and so that the people would no longer worship them.
After the Golden Calf, the people went after another false god symbolized by goats. It was another fertility cult, and the people were again seeking life and a child in their own way and by their own terms. “So they shall no more slay their sacrifices for satyrs, after whom they play the harlot” (Leviticus 17:7). The satyrs are the goat gods who are obsessed with continually having sex, and those who worship these false gods would imitate them. Since the people were involved with this evil practice, God had them sacrifice goats. Again, it was a financial difficulty to sacrifice one’s livestock, and one’s gods did not look kindly on being killed. It was a God-given help to avoid this near occasion of sin.
Sacrificing bulls and goats was mandated because they were worshipped. Sheep were never worshipped, so why would God have us sacrifice them? A sheep is the sacrifice of the Passover, and Jesus is the Lamb of God. They are the most important animal sacrifice, but why does God mandate this sacrifice? Was their any sin associated with sheep or lambs? I think there was. Sheep symbolize humanity. We are like sheep; we are incredibly stupid. So sheep need to be sacrificed because they symbolize us; we worshipped ourselves. When did we do this? We do it every time we sin, but we do it especially when we seek humans over God.
The man and the woman sought a child over and against God’s command not to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. God wanted them to have a child, but He wanted to give it to them virginally as He did with Mary. They sought a child, and they got him, and they named him gotten (Cain). So here the theme of the first-born and sheep come together. The Passovers all have to do with sheep and with first-borns because our first parents worshiped, as it were, their first-born son and even disobeyed God to get him. Their souls were sold to satan in order to get Gotten; that is why he and all of the human family needs to be bought back or redeemed from the prince of this world.
We all deserve death and are in bondage to sin and satan, and we are like lambs, so the solution is for a lamb to take our place that we may be passed over and live. That is why sheep were sacrificed in the Old Testament, but those “sacrifices are offered which cannot perfect the conscience of the worshiper” (Hebrews 9:9). These Old Testament laws were good, but they were the symbol, not the reality. “For since the law has but a shadow of the good things to come instead of the true form of these realities, it can never, by the same sacrifices which are continually offered year after year, make perfect those who draw near” (Hebrews 10:1). Those sacrifices do not make perfect; however, Jesus’ sacrifice is capable of such a feat.
“For it is impossible that the blood of bulls and goats should take away sins. Consequently, when Christ came into the world, he said, ‘Sacrifices and offerings thou hast not desired, but a body hast thou prepared for me; in burnt offerings and sin offerings thou hast taken no pleasure. Then I said, ‘Lo, I have come to do thy will, O God,’’ as it is written of me in the roll of the book” (Hebrews 10:4-7). We are given a body in order to have something to sacrifice, and with our bodily sacrifices we are praying with the body. We are given a will in order that we can sacrifice that, too, and by saying “Thy will be done,” we are praying the most important prayer. Prayer and sacrifice, the prayer of the heart and of prayer of the body, when they are combined are the most powerful. When we completely trust God and seek to do whatever He asks of us, especially what He asks us to do with our bodies, then we are far along the path to unity with Him. It is in this full faithfulness that we have abundant life and belong to Him, and that is the meaning of life.
Thanks for reading and your prayers.
Copyright 2007.
All rights reserved.
12.24.2007
The Three Passovers
Most everyone is familiar with the Passover which is explained in Exodus 12; it was the last and most powerful plague that was the impetus for the Egyptians freeing their Israelite slaves. The plague attacked all the Egyptian firstborn; for the Israelite firstborn to be passed over, they had to slaughter an unblemished year-old male lamb, put its blood on their doorpost using a hyssop branch, and eat the lamb.
The Last Supper is a re-presentation of the Passover; Jesus is re-making and fulfilling this ancient and liberating sacrifice and meal. A very important difference in the Last Supper is that Jesus did not finish the Passover as usual; there were four cups of wine in the Passover, but Jesus stopped after the third. He finished the Passover as He was crucified on the cross and drank the vinegar (cheap wine) from the sponge on the hyssop branch: “After this Jesus, knowing that all was now finished, said (to fulfill the scripture), ‘I thirst.’ A bowl full of vinegar stood there; so they put a sponge full of the vinegar on hyssop and held it to his mouth. When Jesus had received the vinegar, he said, ‘It is finished’; and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit” (John 19:28-30). What Jesus finished is the re-making of the Passover.
The Last Supper and the Crucifixion are of one piece “For Christ, our paschal lamb, has been sacrificed” (1Cor.5:7). Jesus takes on the role that the lamb plays in the Passover. He is sacrificed, and we are passed over. As the Israelites had to sprinkle the lamb’s blood on the doorpost and eat the lamb to be passed over, so we need to be baptized and receive Holy Communion. Baptism is the lamb’s blood on the doorpost because the “doorway” into our “house” is our eyes and face; therefore, the doorpost is our forehead. The water of baptism is the blood of Christ since we are baptized into Jesus’ death. Through these two essential sacraments, we are given the grace to be passed over by the angel of death.
The one Passover that is usually forgotten is Abraham’s sacrifice of Isaac back in Genesis 22. I talked about this momentous event a few days ago on 12/19/07, and it is this event and the faithfulness of both Abraham and Isaac that brings about God’s saving actions with his ancestors, the Israelites. The foundation for the Passover is Isaac’s self offering for it is the only time God explicitly swears an oath. The Crucifixion is mostly a re-presentation and fulfillment of Isaac’s sacrifice, and the Last Supper is mostly a re-presentation and fulfillment of the Passover. Thus, there is a parallel structure of events that forms one piece, one reality:
A Isaac’s Sacrifice
B Passover
B’ Last Supper
A’ Jesus’ Sacrifice
One of the common themes here in these three Passovers is the first-born son. In the Passover, not only were the first born Egyptians killed and the first-born Israelites passed over, all of Israel was passed over for they are God’s first-born son: “And you shall say to Pharaoh, ‘Thus says the LORD, Israel is my first-born son, and I say to you, ‘Let my son go that he may serve me’; if you refuse to let him go, behold, I will slay your first-born son’” (Exodus 4:22-23).
The other common theme in all of these is the symbolism of baptism and the Eucharist. Even after the Passover, the Israelites had not completed their escape from their enemies. The Egyptians pursued Israel and had them trapped up against the Red Sea with no where to escape. God opened up a way of escape through the water which gave new life to Israel and destroyed their enemies in the process. Once they were out in the wilderness, they grew hungry, and God provided food from heaven. After leaving Egypt, the Israelites again were saved through the water and fed by the heavenly bread. A further structure could look like this:
A Isaac’s Sacrifice
B Passover
C Through the Red Sea
C' Manna in the Wilderness
B’ Last Supper
A’ Jesus’ Sacrifice
One thing we can learn from all this is the immense importance of the sacraments of baptism and the Eucharist. If we receive baptism and Holy Communion, we are given the grace to pick up our cross and follow Jesus; we are given the new heart, the new tree of life, so that we can lay down our life in our everyday activity, so that we can be a person for others, so that we can love God with all our heart, mind and soul; we are given the grace to lay down our life for our friends and to be crucified alongside our Savior Jesus.
We, the baptized, are making our journey through the desert of this life on our way to the Promised Land, heaven. To make our way well, we need our daily bread which is daily prayer and Holy Communion. Many of the Israelites who ate the manna died along the way and did not make it to the Promised Land because of their faithless hearts. Likewise, just receiving the sacraments of baptism and the Eucharist does not guarantee anything. We still have to step out in faith and follow our Lord wherever He leads and do whatever He asks. We still need to give ourselves entirely to Him. Thankfully, He provides even the grace to do that.
What I would like to examine next is the significance of the first-born in these key events and how it might possibly relate to the Fall of Adam and Eve.
Thanks for reading and your prayers.
Copyright 2007.
All rights reserved.
The Last Supper is a re-presentation of the Passover; Jesus is re-making and fulfilling this ancient and liberating sacrifice and meal. A very important difference in the Last Supper is that Jesus did not finish the Passover as usual; there were four cups of wine in the Passover, but Jesus stopped after the third. He finished the Passover as He was crucified on the cross and drank the vinegar (cheap wine) from the sponge on the hyssop branch: “After this Jesus, knowing that all was now finished, said (to fulfill the scripture), ‘I thirst.’ A bowl full of vinegar stood there; so they put a sponge full of the vinegar on hyssop and held it to his mouth. When Jesus had received the vinegar, he said, ‘It is finished’; and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit” (John 19:28-30). What Jesus finished is the re-making of the Passover.
The Last Supper and the Crucifixion are of one piece “For Christ, our paschal lamb, has been sacrificed” (1Cor.5:7). Jesus takes on the role that the lamb plays in the Passover. He is sacrificed, and we are passed over. As the Israelites had to sprinkle the lamb’s blood on the doorpost and eat the lamb to be passed over, so we need to be baptized and receive Holy Communion. Baptism is the lamb’s blood on the doorpost because the “doorway” into our “house” is our eyes and face; therefore, the doorpost is our forehead. The water of baptism is the blood of Christ since we are baptized into Jesus’ death. Through these two essential sacraments, we are given the grace to be passed over by the angel of death.
The one Passover that is usually forgotten is Abraham’s sacrifice of Isaac back in Genesis 22. I talked about this momentous event a few days ago on 12/19/07, and it is this event and the faithfulness of both Abraham and Isaac that brings about God’s saving actions with his ancestors, the Israelites. The foundation for the Passover is Isaac’s self offering for it is the only time God explicitly swears an oath. The Crucifixion is mostly a re-presentation and fulfillment of Isaac’s sacrifice, and the Last Supper is mostly a re-presentation and fulfillment of the Passover. Thus, there is a parallel structure of events that forms one piece, one reality:
A Isaac’s Sacrifice
B Passover
B’ Last Supper
A’ Jesus’ Sacrifice
One of the common themes here in these three Passovers is the first-born son. In the Passover, not only were the first born Egyptians killed and the first-born Israelites passed over, all of Israel was passed over for they are God’s first-born son: “And you shall say to Pharaoh, ‘Thus says the LORD, Israel is my first-born son, and I say to you, ‘Let my son go that he may serve me’; if you refuse to let him go, behold, I will slay your first-born son’” (Exodus 4:22-23).
The other common theme in all of these is the symbolism of baptism and the Eucharist. Even after the Passover, the Israelites had not completed their escape from their enemies. The Egyptians pursued Israel and had them trapped up against the Red Sea with no where to escape. God opened up a way of escape through the water which gave new life to Israel and destroyed their enemies in the process. Once they were out in the wilderness, they grew hungry, and God provided food from heaven. After leaving Egypt, the Israelites again were saved through the water and fed by the heavenly bread. A further structure could look like this:
A Isaac’s Sacrifice
B Passover
C Through the Red Sea
C' Manna in the Wilderness
B’ Last Supper
A’ Jesus’ Sacrifice
One thing we can learn from all this is the immense importance of the sacraments of baptism and the Eucharist. If we receive baptism and Holy Communion, we are given the grace to pick up our cross and follow Jesus; we are given the new heart, the new tree of life, so that we can lay down our life in our everyday activity, so that we can be a person for others, so that we can love God with all our heart, mind and soul; we are given the grace to lay down our life for our friends and to be crucified alongside our Savior Jesus.
We, the baptized, are making our journey through the desert of this life on our way to the Promised Land, heaven. To make our way well, we need our daily bread which is daily prayer and Holy Communion. Many of the Israelites who ate the manna died along the way and did not make it to the Promised Land because of their faithless hearts. Likewise, just receiving the sacraments of baptism and the Eucharist does not guarantee anything. We still have to step out in faith and follow our Lord wherever He leads and do whatever He asks. We still need to give ourselves entirely to Him. Thankfully, He provides even the grace to do that.
What I would like to examine next is the significance of the first-born in these key events and how it might possibly relate to the Fall of Adam and Eve.
Thanks for reading and your prayers.
Copyright 2007.
All rights reserved.
11.17.2007
Adam and Eve Trust in the Serpent
In the attempt to write at least a little each day, I will give you one thought tonight. Chapter three begins with the serpent trying to break the trust and faith the woman had in God. He really doesn't say much: "Did God say, "You shall not eat of any tree of the garden'?" After the woman responds, he says, "You will not die. For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil." That's it. He starts by overstating God's singular command to prohibit any tree, implying that God is overbearing and not really interested in what is good for the man and woman. He concludes by directly contradicting God's warning of death and says that they will increase in wisdom by eating of the tree.
After seeing the desireableness of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and forgetting about God's command not to eat because He is not all that trustworthy, the woman eats of the tree. It does not take much to get the woman to turn away from God. The primary reason that the serpent did not have to do all that much is that she was under an incredible test: she was told to be fruitful and multiply and yet remain a virgin. She wanted a child very badly; she wanted to make a man as God had made a man; she wanted to be like God.
God wanted her to eat of the tree of life so that she could pass this test; to pass this test she would have to believe that remaining a virgin was the best thing for her and the way to life. But virginity means no children, and no children means death. She looked death in the face, and through fear of death, she forsook the command of God and betrayed her husband all of which began with a kiss in the garden. (The new Adam, Jesus, is also betrayed in a garden with a kiss by one dear to Him.) She wanted to get a child, so when that child was born she named him "gotten;" we know him as Cain. In trying to save her life, in trying to fulfill the command of God to be fruitful and multiply on her own terms, she made a covenant with death.
Understanding all of this is an immense help to more clearly and perfectly understand all that Jesus did; ultimately, I want to understand better why Jesus died on the cross and gives us Himself in Holy Communion, etc., and that is what much of this blog will be about. Both Testaments are needed to understand the other, and if when we read the Old Testament our hearts are not burning within us, then we do not understand what it is saying. I hope to help set that blaze upon the earth.
Thanks for reading.
Copyright 2007.
After seeing the desireableness of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and forgetting about God's command not to eat because He is not all that trustworthy, the woman eats of the tree. It does not take much to get the woman to turn away from God. The primary reason that the serpent did not have to do all that much is that she was under an incredible test: she was told to be fruitful and multiply and yet remain a virgin. She wanted a child very badly; she wanted to make a man as God had made a man; she wanted to be like God.
God wanted her to eat of the tree of life so that she could pass this test; to pass this test she would have to believe that remaining a virgin was the best thing for her and the way to life. But virginity means no children, and no children means death. She looked death in the face, and through fear of death, she forsook the command of God and betrayed her husband all of which began with a kiss in the garden. (The new Adam, Jesus, is also betrayed in a garden with a kiss by one dear to Him.) She wanted to get a child, so when that child was born she named him "gotten;" we know him as Cain. In trying to save her life, in trying to fulfill the command of God to be fruitful and multiply on her own terms, she made a covenant with death.
Understanding all of this is an immense help to more clearly and perfectly understand all that Jesus did; ultimately, I want to understand better why Jesus died on the cross and gives us Himself in Holy Communion, etc., and that is what much of this blog will be about. Both Testaments are needed to understand the other, and if when we read the Old Testament our hearts are not burning within us, then we do not understand what it is saying. I hope to help set that blaze upon the earth.
Thanks for reading.
Copyright 2007.
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