The Saving of Adam and Eve

Jesus looked over at Mary, “Woman, behold, your son.”

John couldn’t catch his breath. The voice of a man he loved, that loved him, was faint but packed with a conviction John had never known. His first instinct was to pull the cloak further over his head, hiding his face perhaps like Adam did in the garden. “Behold,” Jesus said, eyes fixed on John, “your mother.” He turned leaving his mother with a smile that did little to comfort.

She stood tall but yearned to trade places with her son and would do so without the slightest hesitation. She was heartbroken and finally did understand the pierced heart she pondered 33 years before. Yet at some level she realized the gift. The gift of following the will of God and becoming the handmaiden she had promised to the angel. Her yes to the Father had come with many heartbreaking moments in the task garden of earth. But now realized how it had opened the door to the playground of heaven. She stood. Convicted by Love. Prepared because of the prayers she had offered. And now her son had given her a home in his final moments before death. And not just a physical home to live with the disciple whom he loved, but a home in the heart of all his followers. Of all those that believed before, that believed now, and that will believe.

“I thirst,” his voice trembled. A sponge on hyssop dipped in wine was lifted up to the Son of Man’s mouth. It was the fourth cup.

     Mary closed her eyes and pondered once more. ‘Bring them into your glory,’ she silently prayed within her heart.

“It is finished.” And he drew his last breath.

The world grew dark as the curtain ripped in two. The earth shook, and hope was lost. The great military leader was not to come. The day had ended, not like any other, but certainly filled with more grief, more loss of innocence, a terrible reality had settled in. The apostles had lost the promised Messiah. Had they been at fault? Was Jerimiah’s promise broken once more by the Israelites? They had failed. They knew it. And Peter wept once more.   

Little did they know that the fight had been won. The terrible stillness on the earth was no more than a brief waiting period for the Son of Man to complete the meaning behind that fourth cup he had sipped on the cross. The one that screamed in defeat from the depths of Dante’s hell. The three-headed dragon had stopped chomping long enough to realize he had been defeated. While Peter and the others sat behind a closed door in the upper room, Jesus made his journey to the very tip of the underworld. He knew where he was to start, and that, my friends, was at the beginning.

Adam sat with Eve at the edge of a great chasm. It was deeper than the Grand Canyon and they could peek over the edge. They had but a glimmer of hope. A terrible ache in their hearts with every beat. They saw what the world had become. It had started with their disobedience. They prayed asking for their Creator to send a savior. To give one enough strength to erase they damage they had done. It was a lonely place they lived in, trapped in their own suffering yet with a hint of a promise that one day they would walk again in the garden with their Maker. The suffering was painful, but not eternal. And so they prayed. In the distance they could see a glimmer, perhaps a small candle lit and flickering in the wind.

Jesus started his mission into the depths of the dead without hesitation. A light filled the state of grace of those waiting for his return. His first stop was with Daniel, “You are greatly loved,” he told the prophet with a smile. And with those words the man who told of the Son’s coming was assumed into heaven and experienced joy at a level unknown on earth.

The Lord came upon Ezekiel. He was pleased. The darkness and the suffering were over not only for the great prophet, but for all the wicked he had convinced to turn away. They were to live. They made their up, on no power of their own, to the gates of the true promised land.

Zechariah had suffered in this state as all did but would be comforted by the words of His Lord and the vision he had of the guilt being removed in a single day. And he saw Jesus and knew that that day had come. He smiled. A feeling of total peace and a strong sense of how much he was loved covered every inch of his soul.

Habakkuk was shown those that listened to his woes about idol makers and evildoers and others that had listened to his warnings. Micah and Nahum were touched by the light of Christ. Amos now saw and experienced the mercy of God as Joel realized how powerful God’s mercy and kindness were to those who repented. And many in his time had done so and were being carried away with him to heaven above. Hosea now had the fullness of what was meant by the Father desiring mercy and not sacrifice. Jesus presented himself to Zephaniah and they talked of how the people were now restored.

The light made its way to this purgatory so many had waited in hope of forgiveness for the marks left by their sinful nature. It was Jonah’s turn, and his disobedience still lingered in his heart. Jesus touched him on the shoulder. Jonah dropped to his knees and began to weep. “Depart from me,” he said.

Jesus bent down and lifted the chin of Jonah. “Look behind you,” he said in a voice that sounded like a perfect symphony of Beethoven’s “Ode to Joy” theme in number 9. Jonah didn’t want to look away now that he was caught in the gaze of a Love beyond his comprehension. Jesus assured him he would still be there, and that his joy would increase if he but turned to see the beauty behind him. His sins seemed to wash away with a mighty tempest. As he turned to see what was behind him a strong smell of salted sea invaded his nose. A memory he had lost. There stood the men on the ship. Converted because of his willingness to die so they may be saved. And over to their right stood the people of the great city of Nineveh, clothed in the white of righteousness. A tear fell from Jonah’s eye as his heart softened. And he looked towards leaven and could see his plant waving in the light breeze in a patch of grass covered in a shade created by the light of Christ. “God always gives us more than we ask for,” Jonah said as he and the shipmates and the city dwellers were captured and carried to the heavenly world as trumpets and harps played the most beautiful music never heard on earth.

And the Lord sprinkled water onto Ezekiel, and he was cleansed. The Holy Spirit settled in his now natural heart and lit it on fire, so it lifted upwards like a hot air ballon. The prophet saw on earth how the dry bones had been pumped with new life. A pleasing aroma filled his nose as he couldn’t stop gazing at the Father in heaven.  

“God is with us,” Isaiah said as the Son of Man entered his part of the realm. Next to the great prophet stood the Lord’s cousin, John the Baptist. The people on the other side of the chasm had all turned away from the light. They cowered onto their knees in chains they had designed watching the shadows on the jagged mountains they stood on the edge of. Frightening images danced in an eerie doom without rhythm and absent of beauty. They refused to turn lost in their lust for what they wanted, for what they didn’t get, for what they said they deserved. The wretched smell of rotting carcasses and burning human flesh swirled in a never-ending tornado that kept them from any memory of actual reality.

Suddenly, Isaiah no longer saw the valley of the great chasm nor the bumpy hills of what he could only describe as hell. And he looked at the feet of Christ who had brought good tidings and knew that his wait was over. He had watched as darkness had covered the earth and knew that his Savior was coming to get him. No longer would it be necessary to grope for the wall like the blind or stumble in the twilight. “Us dead men,” he started, “and alive once more.” Jesus extended his hand, Isaiah filled it with his, and gently he was lifted up and away towards the Father.

Jesus waved as he passed and watched Judas Maccabee and all his troops make their way up. Those that purified themselves, those that had fallen in battle and prayed for, where they waited for the day that now had come. They had fallen asleep in godliness and atonement had been made all those years before.

A mother sat with her seven brothers no longer needing to wait. She looked at all her sons that had shown mercy on her so that they would live in harmony together for all of eternity. She was comforted by the blinding light of Jesus. He stopped to offer her his heart, and she accepted it like a repented man receives absolution. Together with the seven brothers her renewed heart beat with perfect timing as they climbed the ladder of Jacob.

David bowed to the true king. He was introduced to the child he never met. He brought so much joy to him. And he experienced the overwhelming forgiveness of Uriah and Bathsheba as the Lord absolved him because of his repentant ways. “My God, my God, you have not forsaken me!” and he sang in the most angelic of voices the Psalms as he entered through the gates.

“You knew when to fight, you knew when to stand, and you knew when to speak. You endured the disobedience of my chosen people and are rewarded with the heavenly promised land,” Jesus told Moses. “Elijah, with your chariot, bring my beloved lawgiver up to the heavenly world.” And Moses was comforted with the fullness found in the everlasting Covenant that allowed his laws to now reside in the heart of the people.

Abraham, so willing to sacrifice his only son, sat with a man’s head in his bosom. The open wounds of his earthly life no longer left even a scar as he took comfort with his faith filled father of Abraham. For his part, Abraham remembered his covenant and had seen on earth the perfect fulfillment of God’s promise to him. Sarah walked over and took her husband’s hand knowing now that their marriage would be consumed into the heavenly banquet they yearned to taste. Hagar and Ismael and Isaac came and all of them embraced shedding all fear and hatred and envy they once carried. They saw at last that God had put together what they had torn apart. And Isaac gave thanks to Jesus for doing what he was willing but unable to accomplish by being the sacrificial lamb his own father had promised up on that mountain.

Off in the distance Noah saw again the rainbow in the sky. The time had come, and he was once again filled with the Spirit that led him on his righteous path. The sign of his covenant came after the waters of his baptism by Christ was performed in the depths of the dead. The Ark appeared and his family and their families and a new set of two of every kind filled the great boat that now flew to the upper world of his final destination.

If you sat perfectly still and remained silent one could hear from earth the angels standing side by side with Abraham, Issac, David, Jacob, Judah and his brothers, Perez and Zerah, Tamar, Hezron, Amminadab, Nahshon, Salmon, Obed, Ruth, Jesse, Solomon, Esther, Manasseh, Hezekiah, and many more as they worshiped the Father with the Son by his side and the Holy Spirit present to all. Yet Jesus still had work to do, and his journey was not complete. The time had come to visit the father and mother of all mankind. It would not be easy as they still carried a burden that can only be lifted by the grace of a radical love. They struggled with the weight of the world on their shoulders like they were Atlas condemned by Zeus. It was a burden they simply could not bear.

On the very edge of what Dante called the first belt circling the abyss sat a lonely couple. Abel walked over to Jesus, “What sacrifice can I make for them, Lord?” he asked.

“Abel, your blood no longer needs to cry out. Justice has been done.” Jesus answered.

“Justice? They sit, back-to-back, no longer a word between them. They mourn my brother Cain, most, and then the rest of mankind because of their disobedience to you. They remain tied together but divided.”

“Do you still trust in me?”

“I do,” Abel said.

“And what of your brother?”

“He sits over in anger and envy over that great canyon between us here on the edge and those that have been rightfully judged. I forgive him but know that he has been given what he is due,” there still was a hint of pity for him. It was slight, but Jesus knew it enough to keep him from making the journey. At least not yet.

“My son,” Jesus started, “I am here for them. Why don’t you join us?”

“Oh, my Lord, I shouldn’t. I am not ready and need to pray to remove the pity I still have for the true justice of the Father,” suddenly Abel could no longer hear the screams of Cain. He was on his way, but still needed to be made pure, and from the earth he could finally hear the prayers of the people.

“The wound, Lord, the one that cuts through the center of my heart, can you heal it? If only you would speak the words – ” and he dropped to his knees and bowed his head.

“Look at me,” Jesus said. Abel looked up wearing a tired look.

“Your love has saved you,” and he touched him, and Abel was healed. The hint was no more, for the wound in his heart was not even a scar. Cain was sucked deeper to the depths of hell as Abel was light as a feather and floated to see the beatific vision promised by God before he was even born.

The Son of Man sat down next to Adam and Eve. The two turned and saw. Quickly they moved to look at him, then dropped their heads down in shame. “Depart from us,” and the two peered over the chasm to catch a glimpse of their damned son. Nothing. He was no longer visible from this side. And a dark smoke-filled in. Those on the wicked side could still see so they could continue their envy carried into eternity from their own lives on earth. It was a sweet smell for Adam and Eve, a scent that reminded them of the garden.

“What do you have to say for yourselves?” asked Jesus.

“Lord, what would you have us do?” Eve asked. Adam, again, remained silent. Jesus shook his head and figured this might take a while.

“Lord, I, I didn’t know,” Eve started to explain. And it fell so flat. “That’s not true,” she said as she bowed her head once more.

“Lift up your eyes to me, Eve,” Christ said, “who has revealed that to you?”

“The Father. The one I, I, well, I can’t say it. I am so ashamed. I—I—I” and she let out a sigh. It was useless in her eyes, once she admitted, she would join her son, the one in hell, and be damned for all eternity. She just knew it. Tears fell like a river and spilled over the abyss into the netherworld. The devil watched and waited. Today’s loss may not have been total. Imagine getting the couple he first tricked into questioning the enemy. What a prize!

“Adam?”

“Why didn’t she just listen to me?” he shouted out folding his arms, “I told her what God said, and she, well, look what He had to do, Eve. Did you see it? All because of—”

“You were going to say you, right? You blame me, always have.”

“Did you see it?” Adam asked once again. Eve slowly nodded.

Jesus pointed at the heart of Eve, “I did it for you,” and he turned and pointed at the heart of Adam, “and I did it for you.”

“Why?” asked Adam.

“Remember when I asked what have you done?”

“Yes,” Eve said.

“Did you think I didn’t already know? Like the time Cain stole the small trinket from Abel you had made him, Adam?” the Lord paused, “You knew, right? You had found it under his blanket.”

“I remember.”

“Eve, do you remember the clothes I made the two of you? How I wouldn’t let you leave without proper clothing?”

“Yes,” she said, “I remember.” And the devil grew restless.

“Why do you think I let you die?” Jesus asked. Adam shrugged.

“Well, you told us it would happen,” Eve answered. She lifted her head up a bit, and so did Adam. The two of them gazed at each other, and Adam’s words came crashing back. ‘This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh.’ The love between them was remembered for what it was always meant to be. Everlasting. Two people incomplete of themselves but one flesh when brought together.

“I know,” Adam stood and declared.

“Tell me,” Jesus smiled.

“I didn’t say anything to my bride when I had let the serpent in!”

Eve stood up and stared right into the eyes of Jesus, “My Lord, I wanted to be like You. I can’t deny it, and now I know the danger of that kind of power. It manifested itself in my son, whom I will see no longer.”

“And I blamed her, Lord, when I stood by and, yes, I ate of the tree. She did not make me, nor should she have had to talk to the Author of Lies. I am guilty, Lord. I am guilty.”

“I didn’t listen to my husband that carried your message to me, Lord. I did not listen,” she closed her eyes and shook her head, “I misused the gifts you gave me to convince my husband to eat the apple. And I also ate of the tree.”

“We ended up with the knowledge, and no way to wield it. We had no business having it, misusing it, and abusing the love of our Creator.”

The two of them came together and held hands. They gazed deeply into each other’s eyes and saw the good they once possessed. The innocence before the fall. The obedience that led to such happiness. They knew they could never have what they had in the garden, at least not in the same way. But seeing what the Son had done, yes for all humanity, but what he would have done for each of them had they been the only ones on the entire planet earth, love filled them once again like it did when Adam first spoke the words of matrimony. There was only one thing left for them to do.

They nodded to each other and said, “Forgive us, Father, for we have sinned.”