The 'Blame Game'

~~~Saints Cyril, Monk, and Methodius~~~

~~~Genesis 3:9-24 ~~~ Psalm 90 ~~~ Mark 8:1-10 ~~~

When you are in the presence of God the 'blame game' does not work...

You have eaten, then,

from the tree of which I had forbidden you to eat!

God is speaking to Adam,

 who excuses his action by blaming the woman

 for giving him the fruit to eat...the woman 

blames the serpent for tricking her with an irresistible deal.

The justice of God was dealt to each in accordance to their offense.

The most severe punishment was banishment from the garden of Eden.

Adam and Eve were sent out of the beautiful garden

 where God provided all they would ever need.

The magnificent goodness of God in the garden

 was taken away from them by one bite of the forbidden fruit.

One seemingly minor disobedience.

God, however consistently acts from his loving compassionate heart.

God wants each of us to gain 

wisdom of the heart by listening to his words.

His words bring spirit and life.

Jesus feeds the crowd, because his heart was moved with pity.

We may not know the fullness of what God created

 in the garden of Eden,

but we do have a choice.

We can chose not to eat the forbidden fruit.

We have a choice to recreate 

God's heart of love within our own heart.

Today, Valentine's Day, let us remember God's love

 for us by sharing it with others.

We are Blessed with God's justice and goodness.

We do not need to play the 'Blame Game'

we only need to let God in his wisdom teach us

 to listen to his words

and keep his commands.

The forbidden fruit is not confined to hanging on a tree.

May your heart be filled with his Peace.

Hide and Seek

~~~ Feast of the Immaculate Conception ~~~

 

~~~Genesis 3:9-15, 20~~~Psalm 98~~~Ephesians 1:3-6, 11-12~~~Luke 1:26-38~~~

 

"Where are you?"

Here we are naked and hiding in the Garden of Eden... 

 

God is looking for you just as he looked for Adam and Eve that day in the garden.

He has chosen us to be his own.

Why would we feel the need to hide from him?

We would be foolish to even think that we could hide from God,

but nonetheless he calls out to us.

 

He wants us to come to him.

He want us to understand that even in our nakedness

we have no reason to hide from him.

 

Typical of our weak human nature Adam tries to give God excuses.

He tries to shift the blame from himself.

I have come to the realization in my old age...

no one else is to blame for our poor decisions.

 

Adam was the first to play the blame game...

the woman made me...

"The woman whom you put here with me--
she gave me fruit from the tree, and so I ate it."

 

The woman quickly catches on to this game...

"The serpent tricked me into it, so I ate it."

We frequently try to escape the consequences of our behavior.

 

It is impossible to win playing hide and seek with God.

He always wins...he can always find you no matter where you

try to hide.

 

He asks the question

"Where are you?"

hoping that you will come forward and come to him yourself.

 

God has given us everything that we could imagine to ask him for

including every spiritual blessing.

He chose us to be holy without flaws,

but our pride gets us into trouble.

It is pride that causes us to eat from the forbidden tree.

Once we have eaten the fruit we discover how silly it was for us

to think that what we wanted was more important than

what God desires for us.

 

Only nakedness before God can heal the soul from the

torment of pride.

In order to come out of hiding we must strip ourselves of pride

and stand before God as he created us to be in the Garden of Eden.

 

 

We have been adopted through Jesus

"...in accord with the favor of his will,
for the praise of the glory of his grace
that he granted us in the beloved."

 

Wherever you are  hiding; come back into the garden.

Join in the celebration...

dance around the tree of life singing his praises.

 

The light of the Lord shines down on the tree it bears fruit for the Lord.

There is no reason to hide...

You have been given unconditional love.

With this unconditional love comes mercy and forgiveness.

 

Nakedness before God reminds us of our need

to trust in his providential care.

Will you come out of hiding when God asks,

"Where are you?"