but a stream was welling up out of the earth
and was watering all the surface of the ground
This stream reminds us the one which the psalmist wrote, the one which makes glad the city of God (see Psalm 46:4). Both the stream in Genesis and in the Psalm were indeed preludes to the one which flowed through the heavenly city in the book of Revelation, in which heaven itself was revealed to be a new Eden:
Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb through the middle of the street of the city; also, on either side of the river, the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit each month (see Revelation 22:1-2).
Why mention this similarity? Is it just a curious piece of trivia? We would rather suggest that this consistency on God's part, from creation, to earthly city, to heavenly one has a purpose and things which we can learn from it. We may begin simply with the consistency of God's intention for his creation. Much goes awry along the way, thanks in no small part to we his creatures. Yet his original plan is never invalidated and he continues to reestablish things according to his blueprint. If this stream later comes to symbolize grace and the Holy Spirit we may rightly infer that this was the main stream from which we were always meant to drink.
the LORD God formed man out of the clay of the ground
and blew into his nostrils the breath of life,
and so man became a living being.
The ground was watered by the stream. But it was in a still more direct fashion that God would give life to Adam. Creation was marked by the superabundance of God's goodness. But only into Adam did God himself breath the breath of life, his Spirit. Adam was formed not only of the good but impermanent materials of the created world. He was also given an immaterial soul with which to know and to love. And this was always meant to be animated by God's own Spirit living within him.
with the tree of life in the middle of the garden
and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
One tree was meant to be a source of everlasting life, a gift that was not natural but supernatural, and one which required relying on God and trusting his word. The other tree existed in virtue of human freedom. Free creatures could by nature of that freedom allow their trust in their creator to die in their hearts and to prefer their own interpretation of good and evil over his. There was indeed something appealing about the fruit of that tree, and perhaps there was a good use for its fruit. But it was never meant to be something that Adam and Eve seized for themselves in an act of defiant disobedience.
The LORD God then took the man
and settled him in the garden of Eden,
to cultivate and care for it.
We note briefly that work was not a consequence of the fall. Adam already had this assignment before any sin had been committed. Rather, it was the painful and arduous nature of work, the lack of fulfillment and enjoyment from undertaking it, that was a consequence of sin.
These words "to cultivate and care" have several aspects. One of which is that Adam was meant to 'guard' the garden, something which takes on significance given what comes next in the narrative. Another is that these words together are commonly found later in Scriptures in the context of the liturgical activities of Levitical priests. We suggest that by using them here Adam is established as the first priest over Eden, the first temple. Already God's desire for creation itself to be a chorus of right praise of which Adam is intended to be the leader.
And so it might have been. But Adam failed in the one job he had been given, and from the vast array of legitimate choices he had to exercise his freedom, chose the only thing forbidden.
From that tree you shall not eat;
the moment you eat from it you are surely doomed to die.
It was not indeed so much the fruit of that tree that defiled Adam as the intention by which he allowed himself to partake of it. And from that moment on evils would flow as if uncontrollably from "within the man, from his heart". The original order was shattered and what was meant to give rise to praise instead produced "evil thoughts, unchastity, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, licentiousness, envy, blasphemy, arrogance, folly".
But as we have seen, the original intention of creation, though shattered, was not beyond repair. The damaged human heart, no longer animated by the supernatural breath of the Spirit, could again be restored and reanimated. This would only happen when the side of Christ was pierced and the true river of gladness flowed. It would only happen when his own body was given back to earth so that his bride, the Church could be formed from his wounded side. Then finally he himself could once again breathe this life into creatures and restore them.
And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit" (see John 20:22).
No comments:
Post a Comment