Thursday, November 5, 2009

The Two Gardens

The fall began in the Garden of Eden; our redemption began in the Garden of Gethsemane. Adam and Eve fell through the sin of pride, "...you will be like gods". They went against God's will. In  the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus, in his humanity completely surrendered his will to the Father, bitter though this cup was. After Adam and Eve sinned, they hid from God. When the soldiers came to arrest Jesus, he did not hide. Rather, he handed himself over in complete conformity with God's will. Both gardens contained betrayals. In  Eden, Satan tempted Adam and Eve and they betrayed God. In Gethsemane, Judas betrayed Jesus [God] with a kiss. It is in  Eden that Jesus and Mary are mentioned for the first time in Gen. ch.3:15.
"I will put enmity between you and the woman,
and between your offspring and hers;
He will strike at your head,
while you strike at his heel."

In both gardens was a rejection of God by humans, but in the second garden was also the ultimate acceptance and abandonment to the will of the Father - the beginning of the atonement that ends on the cross, where Jesus, the new Adam,  returns the fruit stolen [an act of pride and rebellion] from the tree by giving his  human will to the Father in the greatest act of humility ever seen on this earth. It is  under the cross where Mary [the new Eve] unites herself intimately in this act of humility by giving the beloved Fruit of her womb to the Father, never asking why....just suffering with her Son.

To be continued...

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