AN ORIGINAL EXPERIENCE

I know it is very early in the morning, but I ask you humor me in participating in a word association exercise.   You know how it works, I say a word and you reply back with an appropriate companion word.  So, I say: “Jesus”, you say? “Christ”; I say: “Holy”, you say? “Spirit”; I say: “Original”, you say? “SIN”.

This is our Christian educated response, right to Original Sin.  Saint Pope John Paul II’s response is radically different in his writings on The Theology of the Body.  He talks of 4 “original” experiences in the garden: Original Solitude; Original Unity; Original Nakedness; and then Original Sin.

In Original Solitude the man is alone with God and enjoys a unique relationship with God.  Yet in this solitude God notices something is lacking. “It is not good that the man should be alone.”

In Original Unity God remedies what is lacking by creating Eve.  Not only is Adam alone with God, he is alone with a unique being he freely gives himself to as a life partner.

Original Nakedness is a symbol of freedom in communication.  For love to be real, it must be freely given and freely accepted. Adam and Eve experienced no barriers or difficulties in their life together, until we find them in scripture today. 

Original Sin is an act of mistrust and pride. People in society today find it hard to get along with each other, to accept each other, to be generous, and to give of themselves. It is sin that takes away our experience of freedom.  To restore the experiences of original solitude, unity, and nakedness, we must be open to God’s ever-present action in our everyday lives.  We cannot hide from Him.  We also need to be open one another in community.  We can’t do it in solitude and by ourselves.

The deaf man’s friends brought him to Jesus because they believed Jesus could restore the man, to give him what he needed: hearing and clear speech.  By bringing their friend to Jesus, the friends do for him what they could not do themselves.

In our time, we must speak up for those who have no voice. I’m not talking about those with a speech impediment. I’m thinking of those invisible people who no one pays attention to or responds to their needs. The unborn, the orphan, the poor, the powerless, the immigrant—all who need someone to plead the cause for justice. They need people whose voices have power and will be heard. THEY NEED US.

What keeps us from fighting for right and justice? Is it fear of criticism and rejection? Regardless of our fears, through this Eucharist feast, God gives us the strength we need to act justly and non-violently to fight for what is right and just.