Temptation Trials in the Middle of the Garden
'All have sinned and are deprived of the glory of God'
The plot thickened. Why were they even near that tree, which God prohibited them from eating, cautioning that they would die if they did? (See Gen 2:17) The devil waited to bait them only after their curiosity was stirred and they possessed a fascination.
Temptation Trials in the Middle of the Garden, by Margit McCarthy, is inspired by Lou Occhi’s theological reflection on the Two Trees in the Garden of Eden.
Reflecting upon the tragic Fall of Man can nurture essential appreciation for the rugged path of salvation won for us in Christ alone. Here in this great season of post-resurrection glory, paving the gateway for Pentecost, is the perpetual birthing of the Church, that Baptism in the Spirit which only Jesus Christ can grant. The Holy Spirit sanctifies with transforming power, abounding with pure LIFE itself. Why, then, after each liturgical celebration of Pentecost, scores of individual believers and large swatches of the institutional Church seem muted by the mundane?
Nothing is withheld in the Spirit’s immense graces, but such lavish outpouring of Divine Love demands reciprocity from men. Individuals and ecclesial platforms are saddled with distractions and idolatrous obstacles, hindering both human receptivity and cooperative implementation of the graces offered.
The Middle of the Garden can be seen as a metaphor for the inner chamber of each man’s soul, the battleground of temptation. In Eden, there was the tree of life in the center of the garden and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (Gen 2:9, NAB)—two trees that signify divergent paths of human freedom to choose. Contemplation on the Genesis account yields questions designed to thrust us toward sober self-examination. It’s not another mythic story exploring the ground-zero moment of how mankind became a fallen creature in need of redemption. It profoundly expresses temporal reality and the ongoing trials of temptation each person faces.
In accumulative daily choices, both the subtle and those more significant, does one trod in the knowledge of good and evil like Adam and Eve? Or are we going to pick up our cross and follow the Way of Life, the trailblazed path by Our Lord Jesus Christ, in unity with the Holy Spirit?
Comparing these two Edenic trees illuminates our first parents’ Fall and our ratification of their poor choices. As St. Paul proclaims, “All have sinned and are deprived of the glory of God” (Rom 3:23). Let us admit that somehow the tree of knowledge of good and evil appeared more attractive than the tree of life!
Jesus warned, “Narrow is the gate and constricted the road that leads to life. And those who find it are few” (Mt 7:14). Critical to the action of this narrative is the raw fact that our first parents (Hebrew versions state Adam was with Eve) gravitated close enough to experiential knowledge of good and evil that they could hear the seductive whispers of the Prince of Rebellion. They were tricked by Satan’s arrogant lies in the form of twisted truths. Satan, motivated by envy (Wis 2:24), snared our parents through their misuse of human freedom as he promoted false claims of Life’s supreme good.
The plot thickened. Why were they even near that tree, which God prohibited them from eating, cautioning that they would die if they did? (See Gen 2:17) The devil waited to bait them only after their curiosity was stirred and they possessed a fascination.
Two trees in the middle of the garden, each offering divergent paths of pursuit. Picture both trees bearing one solitary fruit, unlike the rest of the trees in Eden laden with an abundance to eat. Seeking the splendid goods of creation in ways that prioritize self-promotion negates our primary vocation to love God with all our heart, soul, and mind, and to love our neighbor as ourselves (Mt 22:37-39). Isn’t the core issue of Man’s Fall always a form of self-exaltation? Every sin is a failure to love. Stark contrasts between Eden’s dual central trees known to God and to Satan come into high relief for man’s understanding through the unfolding of Salvation History and in our personal life journeys.
The climactic child in Creation’s grand sequence (Gen 1:26-31), man remains an evolving being who needs time to mature and to learn. Adam and Eve proved that we typically learn best in the school of hard knocks. We too reach for the wrong tree, lured by Satan’s lies and empty promises, until hammered by the horrific consequences of sin, which beckon a corrective straining for the tree of life (repentance and conversion). We too listen to slithery deception, “your eyes will be opened and you shall be like gods” (Gen 3:5).
The tragedy of suffering, sin and death brought into the world through Man’s Fall won for us the greatest display of self-giving love fueled by God’s pursuit of us as His adopted children beloved in Christ: the outpouring of Divine Merciful Compassion (Latin origins of com-passion mean “to suffer together with”) for the sake of man’s redemption and sanctification. “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do” (Lk 23:34).
Human sin radiates shades of ignorance, but as attributed to St. Ambrose, “Oh happy fault that won for us so great, so glorious, a savior!” The Sending of the Holy Spirit empowers man to conquer our mortal enemies of Temptation, Sin, Death, and Satan. The Holy Spirit carries us forward to Life with the seal of Christ along the adventurous paths and infinite riches of Divine Love.
Approach these great Mysteries of Salvation in Christ with joyful humility, which breaks the shackles of sin and death and transforms us into people who love generously as does Our Lord Jesus. The perpetual birthing of the Church, life in Christ with post-resurrection glory, and the gateway to everlasting Pentecost reveal why we desperately need to receive Jesus both in Holy Communion and seek Life in the Holy Spirit with gratitude and praise. Possession of the Tree of Life is impossible for fallen man apart from unity with God.
Consider an action plan, where you identify obvious distractions and obstacles in your life that keep you from a fuller reception of God’s Holy Spirit. Know that holiness and virtue remain His Great Work in us, for those who daily seek the Tree of Life. Expect great and mighty things to unfold this blessed season of Pentecostal graces in you, for you, and for others through you.
 | A guest post by
|