GLEANINGS from the Daily Office – Shame and Blame

GLEANINGS (from the Daily Office) – Shame and Blame – Year Two, Epiphany 1, Tuesday, January 12, 2016, Genesis 3

“and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”

Even a National Championship (Roll Tide!) can’t blunt the pain of that original rebellion. Frankly, I would rather be a little less like God. I would love to give back knowing the difference between good and evil. What followed for them and for us? Shame and blame!

“Who told you that you were naked?” Adam and Eve did not know before then. They only knew good. They only knew bliss. But knowing good and evil introduces shame. We are inclined to be embarrassed by our sins. We now realize God can see right through us. Not even heavy animal skins can prevent that.

So much so are we embarrassed that we blame others. Adam blamed Eve (and subtly God). Eve blamed the serpent. Unfortunately for the serpent, he is the end of the line. We are inclined to get out of our shame by saying always, “It is someone else’s fault.”  People in DC seem to have perfected this technique. Even when a person isn’t convenient, it’s the system.

Now we find some consolation in blaming Adam and Eve. The consolation is short lived. Alas, truth comes home. If it had been us, the outcome would have been the same.

–Frodo: “I wish none of this had happened.” Gandalf: “So do all who live to see such times, but that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us.”–