Years ago a woman I worked with said, "you know, we read the Bible backward; we're living through Armageddon and we end up in the Garden of Eden." It's a fascinating idea, and I've pondered it many times. Especially now, when it appears that the world - that is this culture of acquisition-and-control, is coming to an end, falling apart all around us.
Recently I drove a few thousand miles and, as I often do, sampled the various sermons being broadcast along the way. The consistent theme was that we were living in a world of constant temptation to deviate from the path of loving wisdom into the world's foolishness and distress. And one of the preachers reminded his listeners of the story of what was in place before the creation of the world/universe. He spoke of the bright angel, the being who was so close to God that it bore the name Luci-fere: Light-maker. I listened intently as the voice on the radio reminded us all that here was a being who became aware of how wonderful it was and declared that it was no less than the Creator of All - for which it was "pushed" (and the preacher reiterated -"pushed, not fell" from Heaven. Then the preacher told of how the serpent in the Garden of Eden was the same being, taking physical form, and, having first questioned what God's instructions were concerning the Tree of Knowledge, stated a lie: "you will not die but will be like God" and to Adam and Eve were expelled - not fell - from Eden.
For several hundred miles I considered these words. I reflected on the thoughts I'd had a couple weeks back when I realized that it's not that anyone is prevented from entering, or staying, in that state of being we call Heaven, but that some patterns of thought-feeling simply cannot support being in that state. Pride, fear, anger, and shame are some of the states of thought-feeling that can't be experienced while experiencing Heaven, so if we remain attached to those thought-feelings we are unable to be in that state we call Heaven.
From that state of reference I could immediately understand how Lucifer, with that pride, would no longer be able to experience the heavenly state of being. And, reflecting on the fig leaves Adam and Eve thought they now needed, I could see how their shame would prevent them from being able to maintain the close relationship with their Creator that was the defining characteristic of Eden. Feeling shameful, they would have to leave, and experience what a life based on duplicity and shame is like.
Not too surprisingly, when I returned home and got online, one of my favorite online teachers had just posted a YouTube on the subject of the Tree of Knowledge...
Recently I drove a few thousand miles and, as I often do, sampled the various sermons being broadcast along the way. The consistent theme was that we were living in a world of constant temptation to deviate from the path of loving wisdom into the world's foolishness and distress. And one of the preachers reminded his listeners of the story of what was in place before the creation of the world/universe. He spoke of the bright angel, the being who was so close to God that it bore the name Luci-fere: Light-maker. I listened intently as the voice on the radio reminded us all that here was a being who became aware of how wonderful it was and declared that it was no less than the Creator of All - for which it was "pushed" (and the preacher reiterated -"pushed, not fell" from Heaven. Then the preacher told of how the serpent in the Garden of Eden was the same being, taking physical form, and, having first questioned what God's instructions were concerning the Tree of Knowledge, stated a lie: "you will not die but will be like God" and to Adam and Eve were expelled - not fell - from Eden.
For several hundred miles I considered these words. I reflected on the thoughts I'd had a couple weeks back when I realized that it's not that anyone is prevented from entering, or staying, in that state of being we call Heaven, but that some patterns of thought-feeling simply cannot support being in that state. Pride, fear, anger, and shame are some of the states of thought-feeling that can't be experienced while experiencing Heaven, so if we remain attached to those thought-feelings we are unable to be in that state we call Heaven.
From that state of reference I could immediately understand how Lucifer, with that pride, would no longer be able to experience the heavenly state of being. And, reflecting on the fig leaves Adam and Eve thought they now needed, I could see how their shame would prevent them from being able to maintain the close relationship with their Creator that was the defining characteristic of Eden. Feeling shameful, they would have to leave, and experience what a life based on duplicity and shame is like.
Not too surprisingly, when I returned home and got online, one of my favorite online teachers had just posted a YouTube on the subject of the Tree of Knowledge...
Here, then, is yet another interpretation and understanding of the nature of Eden - and the "sin" that decided the fate of Adam and Eve. Isn't it wonderful? The fundamental Jewish principle, that the work of being human (tikkun) is to fix what is broken in the universe, is explained in a way that allows us to let go of the idea that we were born into shame and lies. Thank you, Rabbi, so much, for this insight!
So, as I look around me at the broken world that we are living in today, I see, not more shame and lies, but more ways in which the old story is beginning to break down and a new one, based on the fundamental beauty and lovingness of humanity is beginning to replace it.
What we are seeing today is the possibility of living in our greatness, rather than a story of our poverty of spirit and character. What we are learning today is how powerful our light is to burn away the dark shadows we've been afraid of - when we let it shine.
So, as I look around me at the broken world that we are living in today, I see, not more shame and lies, but more ways in which the old story is beginning to break down and a new one, based on the fundamental beauty and lovingness of humanity is beginning to replace it.
What we are seeing today is the possibility of living in our greatness, rather than a story of our poverty of spirit and character. What we are learning today is how powerful our light is to burn away the dark shadows we've been afraid of - when we let it shine.
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