The "You-Don't-Really-Believe-That,-Do-You?" Trap

In today’s first reading, Gen. 3: 1-8, we are given the story of the fall of Adam and Eve.  The serpent, “the  most cunning of all the animals that the Lord God had made, asked the woman, “did God really tell you not to eat from any of the trees in the garden?”  How often does Satan not say to us: “Is that really true that…?” We can fill in the blank easily!  “Does the Church really say that?” “Are you sure that that is what the commandment means?” “You don’t really believe that, do you?” And on and on.  It is so easy to get trapped or to be the one setting a trap for another.  Satan is cunning, no doubt at all!  Imagine, Satan telling Eve and Adam, who was also present, that God lied to you, telling you that you shall die if you eat of the fruit of the tree in the middle of the garden. “No, God knows well that the moment you eat of it your eyes will be opened and you will be like gods who know what is good and what is evil.”   How clever! Whenever we go contrary to God’s will, whenever we sin, our eyes are opened but not in the way that Satan suggest. No, we become aware of our nakedness, our shame.  Satan’s play on words is phenomenal and how often do we not fall for his trickery!

Adam and Eve fell into a hole from which they could not climb out by themselves.  “The woman saw that the tree was good for food, pleasing to the eyes, and desirable for gaining wisdom. So she…ate it; and …gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he [also] ate it.”  How many times are we not lured by that which appears “pleasing to the eyes, and desirable for gaining wisdom.” In that deception, humans kill babies in the womb, the Supreme Court legalizes abortion and gay marriages, the Congress passes bills that make the rich richer and the poor poorer without enough money to support their families, government deficits are reduced by cutting education and healthcare access for the minorities, and on and on and on! Yes, Satan, “the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour” (1 Peter 5:8).

By God’ grace may we not be that someone! May we remain alert and recognize our dependence upon the Lord’s mercy and unconditional love. Left to ourselves we cannot climb out of the holes into which we fall. How gracious of our God to have saved us by the death of His only begotten Son.