10th Sunday Ordinary Time
Fr. Peter Robinson
Preached: June 9, 2024
Once upon a time there was a tree. It was a lovely-looking tree, well-shaped, strong, and stately. But appearances can be deceiving, and they were in this case. You see, the tree knew inwardly that its massive strength was beginning to wane. When the wind was strong it had felt itself shaking ominously; it had heard suspicious creaks.
So, wisely, the tree took itself in hand. With much effort it grew another branch or two, and then the tree looked stronger and safer than ever. But when the next storm came blowing through, there was a terrific snapping of roots. Save for the support of a friendly neighbouring tree, it would have fallen flat on the ground.
When the tree had recovered from the shock, it asked its neighbour, “How come you not only stood upright, but were even able to help me, too?” “Oh,” replied the neighbouring tree, “that’s easy. When you were busy growing new branches, I was strengthening my roots.”
Our reading from Genesis 3 today is designed to “strengthen our roots” of our Catholic Faith. It takes us right back to the beginning, from the Bible’s point of view.
1st. Genesis reminds us that the Old Testament is old. Did you realize that the New Testament was written in the space of something like sixty or seventy years? Whereas the OT story covers many centuries. Some scholars today think that the actual writing of the OT began in the time of King David or King Solomon — 1,000 years before the birth of Christ. And there were OT oral traditions stretching back centuries or millennia before that.
2nd. The people who wrote the OT were at home in the Ancient Near East (not today). By the time of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, great empires had already come and gone. Like the ancient peoples around them, the early Israelites were pre-scientific. They used symbols to explain the enigmas of the world that (for them) were un-explainable. In other words, ancient Israeli culture was formed by the nations and thought patterns surrounding them.
3rd. Genesis 3 describes humanity’s fundamental need. We read in the previous chapter (2:9), “The Lord God made all kinds of trees grow out of the ground … In the middle of the garden were the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.” Those two trees symbolize the two, fundamental options that all humans face. This is why today’s ancient story is completely relevant to us today.
The tree of life offers immortality — but on God’s terms. The tree of the knowledge of good and evil offers life – on human terms. This second tree offers human autonomy, independence of the creator. This second tree is incompatible with a trustful relationship between us humans and our divine maker.
So, here’s our takeaway from today’s OT Reading …
Our human lives need divine parameters. In all the goodness of the Garden of Eden, God places only one restriction on Adam and Eve’s freedom: they are forbidden to eat of the tree of knowledge. God forbids Adam and Eve from taking his place, from declaring themselves autonomous of all authority save their own. His only “ask” is that they let God, be God.
This is because we were made for a divine purpose (not ours). We were placed on this beautiful planet to care for it and to guard it, on behalf of God himself. You see, your labour on Earth (and mine) is a kind of divine service. When we choose to do what God created us for, we do it for God — and we do it in his presence.
In light of Genesis 3, sisters and brothers, let us strengthen our roots. Let us cleanse our hearts of all that is unholy and unworthy of God our creator. Let us choose (yet again) to let God, be God — to live our lives … his way.
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Paul Lee Tan, Encyclopedia of 7700 Illustrations: Signs of the Times (Garland, TX: Bible Communications, Inc., 1996), 1063.
