It has always been about obedience and disobedience, about right and wrong, about good and evil.
The story begins at the Garden of Eden, supposedly a perfect world, but eventually made imperfect by disobedience.
When Adam and Eve chose not to follow the Creator’s command, they lost the garden and all the perks in it. They lost what could have been theirs and that of their descendants, which was a life of eternal bliss. Of course there would always be the “what ifs” had not our first set of parents went astray.
Maybe life in this world would have no end like it does when somebody dies. There would be no pain or suffering. For the punishment they got for willfully cutting themselves off the vine were disability and mortality, transcending generations, according to the Book of Genesis.
The story of Genesis could be fiction, but its meaning remains a just measure of the way we live our individual and collective lives, then and now. The idea of an existing omnipotent God may not excite everyone, but there is no one as crazy as him as to give his creation the power to supplant him from his throne. That was Adam’s agenda, advised by Eve: for himself to take the place of the king. The story endures up to this day because everyone aspires to be king, to control the world, to make life easy for himself even if it comes to a point where he brings suffering to the lives of others.
Yet positive stories could be history-altering as well. Abraham had a son whom he cherished more than he did his other possessions, probably more than he cherished his own aging life. Tested by his God to give up his son, he obliged; no questions asked, no complaints, and not a whimper of grumbling was heard from him. Pleased by Abraham’s obedience, his God rewarded him with the promise of special favor upon his descendants (in multitudes as countless as the grain of sand at the edges of the sea), by which the Israelites came to be known as the chosen people of God. (Even his other son became beneficiary of God’s blessing, whose descendants eventually comprised the followers of Islam.)
Man’s relationship with his God has been uneven — one losing the faith, the other keeping it; one hopeless, the other hopeful. It is a story of God keeping his covenant with Abraham, despite repeated transgressions by the people of Israel. He sent a servant named Moses not only to rescue them from their bondage in Egypt but, even more redeeming, by giving them the law at Mount Sinai, to also rescue them from the bondage of sin. God’s law did not fully reformed his people, however. Even his appointed ones, like King David, went astray by, at some point in his life, adoring worldly powers and pleasure more than by worshiping and glorifying his God. He coveted. He raped. He murdered. He lied. In war, he plundered the wealth of other peoples. But despite human frailties, God never loses hope that one day, man will rediscover his bearings, committed to follow the law.
The curse of the original sin at the garden (e.g. enmity between the seeds of the woman, can be construed as good, and of the serpent, can be construed as evil) frees no one from the constant struggle to do what is right, which is often less rewarding — from a worldly perspective — than doing what is wrong, and to always chose good over evil. Many have fallen by the side, unable to match up with the challenge. Abraham’s multitudes needed an extraordinary means by which creation could be reconciled with the creator.
About 2,020 years ago, in a gesture that can only come from a bottomless wellspring of love and mercy, God once again came to the rescue. John was born on June 25, who went on to preach to those who cared to listen to repent for breaking God’s law, and six months later Jesus himself was born, who later preached about herding back the lost sheep, and warned about the flock being scattered by wolves.
His teachings — outlandish as they are — resonate more than ever today, in a world where competing desires have overshadowed him — the one true object of our worship. He told his audience to love one another, even their enemies; to the oppressed, he asked them to pray for their tormentors. He walked the talked, as it were, absolving his accusers while thoroughly humiliated and experiencing unbearable physical pain as he approached his death at the cross.
In a world where one is hardly sure of what is right or wrong, one wishes Jesus was born today, to re-affirm the clarity of the law. We recall he once warned us about false prophets, for “they will deceive many” (Matthew 24:4]). He said: “Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits” (Matthew 7:15)
Even his appointed ones, like the clergy, whose fruits have been soiled by infidelity, have become false prophets.
The slips can hit the best of us, and we thank God’s redeeming grace, for we find ourselves able to live again.
Here’s then a Merry Christmas wish to all, for Jesus Christ was indeed born more than 2000 years ago today, from whom we receive our daily invitation to give something of ourselves for others, to seek the Father more than we follow pleasure, and help us find our way back to the garden where it all began.
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