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is perhaps the best known story in human history, the story of Adam and
Eve. They ate fruit from the wrong tree. Right in the middle of the
garden was one tree that was off limits, they were not to eat its fruit,
they were not even to touch it. Well, you know the story, Adam and Eve
did the very thing there were told not to do. They ate the forbidden
fruit, and the first man and woman were evicted from the Garden of Eden,
and the human race has been in trouble ever since.
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| If
I were Adam or Eve, I would appeal the case on two accounts. The first
would be entrapment. If God did not want them to eat the fruit of the
tree, why did He make it so accessible? If you don’t want people to use
something you hide it, you don’t put it in the middle of the garden and
just say “Don’t touch!” |
| My
second appeal would be that the punishment did not fit the crime. For
picking one apple they are out of the Garden forever! And look what
happens right away: the serpent tells Eve to eat the apple and it would
make her like a God. She then gives it to Adam. God says to him why did
you eat of the tree? And Adam points to Eve and says she made me do it.
And Eve blames the serpent! And so we have the first split in God’s
creation. |
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story is not intended as a history lesson. Like the rest of the Bible,
this story is a lesson in living. This story is about you and me. It is a
reminder that we have been endowed with the gift of choice, and what we
do with that gift will largely determine the quality of our living. |
| We can misuse the gift of choice and the misery that can bring to
ourselves and others is beyond calculation, or we can use it wisely, and
the right choices can enrich our lives and those around us. This gift
of choice makes us most like God. As far as we know, none of the other
animals have this gift of choice. They have appetites, and they have
instincts, but not the gift of reflective choice. |
| Adam
and Eve used their ability to choose in a destructive way. They ignored
their responsibilities and overstepped their boundaries, and the result
was sadness for them and God. But it did not have to be that way; it
could have been totally different. The gift of choice is not a curse. It
was intended as a blessing but we being human can turn it in to a curse
by misusing it. |
| I
am going to tell you a story, one that I hear some version of nearly
every day. A young man made a choice twenty years ago. A friend of his
at high school had some drugs and he gave a sample to anyone who wanted
it. The young man thought, why not? I’ll just try it and see what it’s
like. It can’t hurt. He took his first does of illegal drugs that day. |
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was twenty years ago, and those twenty years have been a living hell.
He has not been able to hold a job or keep his marriage together. He has
been in and out of jail many times, slept under bridges and begged for
food. All because he said I’ll give it a try, what can it hurt? Other
young people were present that day who used their gift of choice in a
different way: they had a choice, and opted not to do drugs. Many went
to college, some of them earned professional degrees, most of them have
good jobs. They are responsible and respected in their communities. They
have gotten married, they have children, and it all goes back to that
day, twenty years ago when they had to make a choice. |
| Next
time you face choice, ask yourself a question: will I remember this day
with gladness, or sadness? It’s all up to you. The gift of choice is a
great privilege. We can misuse it to our shame and sorrow, but used the
right way, it is potentially our highest joy. |
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bible teaches that we are made in the image of God. Biblical scholars
and theologians agree that we bear no physical likeness to God since God
is Spirit, but we are like God in our capacity for free choice. We can
calculate outcome, we can access costs, and we can act on principles.
The choice is yours to make; what will you do next? |
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| Yours in Christ, |
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| Fr. Bob Warren, SA |
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| P.S. Please join the Friars of the Atonement for our special Father’s Day Mass at Graymoor on Sunday, June 17th. Will you please send me your special intentions
for the men in your life, so they are included in our prayers at this
Special Mass? I pray that Father's Day brings blessings to the men in
your life who daily serve in selfless family love and loyalty. |
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