RCIA January 8
Original Sin
Temptation lies in front of us every day, and what we choose to do is our free will, which has been given to us by God. Original Sin entered the world when Adam and Eve ate from the tree of knowledge. Some say it was an apple, others say a pomegranate, but regardless of the fruit, they knowingly turned away from God's Commandments and ate the fruit. This is where original sin was born.
After God told Adam and Eve that He still loved and cared for them, but they had to leave the Garden of Eden, everyone has been born with original sin since then. Because Adam and Eve were our first parents, we are descendants of them and are still part of God's plan, His holiness, and love.
While doing further background research on Original Sin, I came across this note in Genesis Interpretation by Walter Brueggemann; he says, "A variety of responses to the reality of death are offered, most often assuming that while certain forms of death may be punishment, death in and of itself belong properly to the human life God wills for humankind. It is especially worth noting that no one dies in this text. This is not a reflection on death but on troubled, anxiety-ridden life. That is a greater problem than death, both in our context and in the world of this narrative" (42 d). When Adam and Eve ate from the tree of knowledge, they blamed others. Eve said it was the snake's fault, and Adam said it was Eve's fault, and Eve is probably blaming God for putting the tree there in the first place (little joke, haha), but God does not put death on anyone, He does give punishments, which for women seem a little unfair, but He does not kill anyone.
From this section, God wants us to understand that He gave Adam and Eve responsibility and trust, and they broke that. When you tell a friend a secret and they blab it to everyone, it breaks your faith. The same thing with Original Sin, Adam and Eve talked about God's secret to everyone, and there had to be a punishment fitting for it. Unfortunately for us, it affected the human race as a whole. Still, we can learn from other's mistakes and take comfort in knowing that we can also come back to being in union with God by asking for forgiveness, which Adam and Eve did not do; they blamed others.
When we look at original sin in the modern day, we can look at pride. Many of us are very proud of our accomplishments and what we do day to day. However, we can become possessive of what we have accomplished and often forget to give God the thanks and blessings that He deserves for our many accomplishments. It is not so much that Adam and Eve ate the fruit when God told them not to, but rather that they became almost entitled to taste it because it was among them.
Sin, in general, is not there to make us feel guilty for what we have done but instead to make us look inward and see how we are treating God when we outwardly do things. Are we continuing to eat from the tree of knowledge and do it pridefully, or are we abstaining from it and respecting that God will grant us the knowledge we need when it is our time? It is common in older traditions to look at guilt and sinning together. Sure Adam and Eve probably felt some shame when they ate from the tree, and God was upset with them, but that does not mean He loved them any differently.
You might wonder what steps you can take once you have sinned or even question how to 'wash away the original sin (the one we are born with). Baptism is our answer to Original Sin. Through Baptism, we are becoming one with God again, after Adam and Eve's misstep of eating from the tree. Through Baptism, we are pouring not only Holy Water but also grace upon the person receiving Baptism. We pray over them, we put oil on them to protect them from further evil, and we cleanse their soul with the water of Baptism. After Baptism, Reconciliation is a healing Sacrament for when we have sinned against God and are looking to be in union with Him again.
We know that God lives in each of us, and the beauty of the Sacraments, which we will dive further into in the next few weeks and months, is that grace is poured within our souls. Grace is given to us after each time we receive a Sacrament. Whether through the Sacrament of the Eucharist or Reconciliation, God's grace is showered upon us when we return to Him and all of His glory.
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