WHO ATE THE APPLE?
by Kristen West McGuire
Part 4 of our series on Mulieris Dignitatem
Let’s be clear. Eve ate the apple, and so did Adam. Even though God specifically told Adam not to eat the fruit of that tree. Based on her conversation with the serpent, Eve did know it was prohibited. Still, they did it. According to the Bible, Eve ate first. But it’s not like Adam tried to stop her.
And men point to women, citing Eve as the first sinner. Oh, sure. Blame the woman. I look at these Bible verses and I see men being passive and stupid. I ask, “Adam, are you just a pansy?”
Ahem. This is not the question that Pope John Paul II asked when he read this scripture. In Mulieris Dignitatem, he points out that Adam and Eve are created in the image and likeness of God—together. United, they image God.
So, in a way that we should meditate upon, Eve and Adam are also united in their rejection of God’s command. They both wanted to be like God, to decide what is good and what is evil. This is known as the “original sin.” It is a rejection of God’s plan, a questioning of God’s will. And it opens us up to questions…of each other. Together, men and women question the goodness of God. And the goodness of each person.
The “finger-pointing” game began in the garden, when God noticed that Adam and Eve had started the fashion industry. Adam points to the woman, and back at God who gave the woman to him. Then, Eve points to the serpent. God skips over the blame game.
Most cultures have some variation on the story of original sin. Why do men and women tend to treat one another poorly? The situation begs for a decent explanation. What is wrong with us?
God created us to be united to Him. But that union is not found by grasping for it, but by imitating Jesus in love, service, and humility. Sin obscures the essential goodness of the Lord.
And sin limits our ability to find the goodness of God in one another. It causes us to have a lack of reverence and gratitude for our God-given gifts, and to make light of the fruitfulness found in giving ourselves as gifts to one another.
Yet, we are created in God’s likeness. Sin warps our view of our own goodness; it cannot change our essential being. Men’s domination of women in history also deforms men. It darkens consciences and blocks our ability to freely choose the good. When men and women sin and hurt one another, they offend God, but also diminish their own humanity.
We are hard-wired for union, not solitude. The Trinity is a communion of Persons. The Holy Spirit flows from the love between God the Father and God the Son. So, men and women, Adams and Eves, must love to image God. And because Jesus is true God and true Man, this includes both spiritual and physical unions.
Mary is the Mother of God in the physical sense, and yet also spiritually the Mother of the Church. From her union with God, a physical being was formed who was the Son of God. From her spiritual union with her Son in His Passion, the Church was born. Just by being members of this Body of Christ, we are her sons and daughters. Her fruitfulness is the sign of her sanctity.
“Ye shall know them by their fruits.” (Mt. 7:20) When men and women work together to practice virtue, good fruit results.
Can a woman force a man to practice virtue? Love implies a gift of self that cannot be forced. Mary brought forth the Messiah of her own free will, in union with a loving God she could trust. She didn’t bring forth the Messiah alone, but with God’s help. God is the source of our fruitfulness.
Sometimes all Christians must call one another to repentance. And, if the sinner refuses to take responsibility, the other is left to try to image the Trinity of God alone. This is very difficult. Only in relation to one another can we participate in that joyful gift of self that is “like God.”
The exact order of who ate what and when is a moot point with God. The fig leaf and the apple core are proof enough that we are wounded. We need a Savior. Jesus promises to be our Savior, and He promises to help us model love and self-sacrifice that does NOT make us into doormats, but into disciples who are choosing to bring forth spiritual fruit.
The little Child shall indeed lead them. When we experience the sins of others, Jesus can step in as our one, true love. We can welcome His gift to us. The cross mattered. And, in fact, the Messiah sets us back on the path to our heavenly home.
