B
Belloc_Fan
Guest
*I’m trying to write a collection of homilies. This one is for the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, and the first reading is Genesis 3:15. Will you read it over, and let me know what you think? Constructive criticism would be wonderful.
*
There’s a verse in today’s reading which I’d like to draw your attention to. It’s Genesis 3:15, where God is talking to the serpent. Here’s what He says, in part: “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.” Let’s look at who the cast of characters are:
• The serpent is the devil. This has always been the traditional understanding, and the verse supports this. The end of 3:15 says that her seed will bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel. So the serpent will outlive Adam and Eve – this is obviously more than a reference to a mere snake.
• The seed of the woman is Christ. This verse is one of the earliest Christological prophesies, and it’s a prophesy of the Virgin Birth. Only one Man through all of history has a biological Mother and no biological father, and that Man is Jesus Christ, on account of the miracle of the Virgin Birth. And in the writings of Genesis, inspired by the Holy Spirit, we see the first hint of this. That’s why we find this strange concept, the seed of a woman. In Judaism, lineage is normally measured backwards through the father – look at St. Matthew’s and St. Luke’s lineage. And particularly, this term zera’ [zeh’-rah], or seed, can have some pretty masculine connotations. Genesis 38:8 uses the term to mean offspring, but in the very next verse, we’re told that Onan “spilled his seed on the ground,” and it’s the verse same word.
o This term offers an insight into how closely the Old Testament Jews tied sexuality and procreation together. Onan is destroying the future generations God desired, and God kills him as a result. The ancient Jewish, and modern Catholic, views on issues as divergent as birth control, masturbation, abortion, deviant sexuality, and all of the other lapses from God’s plan for sexuality can find their roots, in one way or another, to this concept.
Here, though, it’s the seed of Eve. Remember, Adam and Eve are both standing there, yet God says the seed of Eve. So why would He choose to say the seed of Eve? It’s because He’s talking about His own Son. Jesus is the offspring of a woman, Mary, but not the offspring of a man. So what we have here is probably the first Christological prophesy, and definitely the first prophesy of the Virgin Birth, and we’re not even out of Eden yet.
• God is punishing Adam and Eve. They ate of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. With knowledge that what you’re doing is wrong, you’re accountable for those wrong actions. Everyone, regardless of faith, understands this. You can’t punish a baby for misbehaving, it doesn’t know any better. But adults do know better. Elsewhere, in Luke 12:47-48, Christ warns us, “That servant who knew his master’s will but did not make preparations nor act in accord with his will shall be beaten severely; and the servant who was ignorant of his master’s will but acted in a way deserving of a severe beating shall be beaten only lightly.” So He’s saying that He considers things like ignorance. A person who has no idea what God desires can hardly be held accountable for following His Will, but those of us who are here, who have perpetual access to the word of God, we’re going to be accountable.
• But note that in the midst of punishing them, God is providing the escape hatch. He’s saying, ‘now, you’re going to be accountable for what you do,’ but He knows we’ll all fall short – Romans 3:23 tells us that “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” So here’s the escape hatch: a Woman will have a Child who is hated by the devil. He will bruise His heel, he’ll cause problems, but Her Offspring will strike the devil’s head. And sure enough, that’s just what happened. Because of the presence of sin in the world, the devil was allowed to torment and torture Christ, even to the point of death on a Cross. But none of that was more than a flesh wound, a bruised heel. Christ won out, and has delivered the crippling blow to the devil’s hold on the world. With the Passion and Resurrection of Christ, the escape hatch has been sprung. St. Paul calls Christ “the last Adam” in 1 Corinthians 15, because we no longer have to be bound by this curse of sin. Christ has freed us from this trap.
• So in a special, biological sense, the offspring of the woman is Christ. He is literally Mary’s Son, and He is literally the Son of God. But the term seed of the woman is gender-neutral in the original Hebrew, and this is important, because while it refers to Christ primarily, it refers to all of His Church as well. Romans 16:20 promises that “The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet.” So using our feet, God will deliver mortal blows to the devil’s grip of sin in the world. And that’s what happens when you come to Christ, when you reject Satan, and all his empty works, and all his empty promises. You say no where Adam and Eve said yes. And through the power of God, you foil the devil’s plan.
*
There’s a verse in today’s reading which I’d like to draw your attention to. It’s Genesis 3:15, where God is talking to the serpent. Here’s what He says, in part: “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.” Let’s look at who the cast of characters are:
• The serpent is the devil. This has always been the traditional understanding, and the verse supports this. The end of 3:15 says that her seed will bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel. So the serpent will outlive Adam and Eve – this is obviously more than a reference to a mere snake.
• The seed of the woman is Christ. This verse is one of the earliest Christological prophesies, and it’s a prophesy of the Virgin Birth. Only one Man through all of history has a biological Mother and no biological father, and that Man is Jesus Christ, on account of the miracle of the Virgin Birth. And in the writings of Genesis, inspired by the Holy Spirit, we see the first hint of this. That’s why we find this strange concept, the seed of a woman. In Judaism, lineage is normally measured backwards through the father – look at St. Matthew’s and St. Luke’s lineage. And particularly, this term zera’ [zeh’-rah], or seed, can have some pretty masculine connotations. Genesis 38:8 uses the term to mean offspring, but in the very next verse, we’re told that Onan “spilled his seed on the ground,” and it’s the verse same word.
o This term offers an insight into how closely the Old Testament Jews tied sexuality and procreation together. Onan is destroying the future generations God desired, and God kills him as a result. The ancient Jewish, and modern Catholic, views on issues as divergent as birth control, masturbation, abortion, deviant sexuality, and all of the other lapses from God’s plan for sexuality can find their roots, in one way or another, to this concept.
Here, though, it’s the seed of Eve. Remember, Adam and Eve are both standing there, yet God says the seed of Eve. So why would He choose to say the seed of Eve? It’s because He’s talking about His own Son. Jesus is the offspring of a woman, Mary, but not the offspring of a man. So what we have here is probably the first Christological prophesy, and definitely the first prophesy of the Virgin Birth, and we’re not even out of Eden yet.
• God is punishing Adam and Eve. They ate of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. With knowledge that what you’re doing is wrong, you’re accountable for those wrong actions. Everyone, regardless of faith, understands this. You can’t punish a baby for misbehaving, it doesn’t know any better. But adults do know better. Elsewhere, in Luke 12:47-48, Christ warns us, “That servant who knew his master’s will but did not make preparations nor act in accord with his will shall be beaten severely; and the servant who was ignorant of his master’s will but acted in a way deserving of a severe beating shall be beaten only lightly.” So He’s saying that He considers things like ignorance. A person who has no idea what God desires can hardly be held accountable for following His Will, but those of us who are here, who have perpetual access to the word of God, we’re going to be accountable.
• But note that in the midst of punishing them, God is providing the escape hatch. He’s saying, ‘now, you’re going to be accountable for what you do,’ but He knows we’ll all fall short – Romans 3:23 tells us that “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” So here’s the escape hatch: a Woman will have a Child who is hated by the devil. He will bruise His heel, he’ll cause problems, but Her Offspring will strike the devil’s head. And sure enough, that’s just what happened. Because of the presence of sin in the world, the devil was allowed to torment and torture Christ, even to the point of death on a Cross. But none of that was more than a flesh wound, a bruised heel. Christ won out, and has delivered the crippling blow to the devil’s hold on the world. With the Passion and Resurrection of Christ, the escape hatch has been sprung. St. Paul calls Christ “the last Adam” in 1 Corinthians 15, because we no longer have to be bound by this curse of sin. Christ has freed us from this trap.
• So in a special, biological sense, the offspring of the woman is Christ. He is literally Mary’s Son, and He is literally the Son of God. But the term seed of the woman is gender-neutral in the original Hebrew, and this is important, because while it refers to Christ primarily, it refers to all of His Church as well. Romans 16:20 promises that “The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet.” So using our feet, God will deliver mortal blows to the devil’s grip of sin in the world. And that’s what happens when you come to Christ, when you reject Satan, and all his empty works, and all his empty promises. You say no where Adam and Eve said yes. And through the power of God, you foil the devil’s plan.
