By Msgr. Ray East
Genesis 3:9-15, 20 | Ephesians 1:3-6, 11-12 | Luke 1:26-38
God destined us for adoption (Ephesians 1:5),
Contrast this possibility of a “Paradise regained” with the Genesis 3:9-15 tableau of Paradise Lost. If you can, go online and see Michelangelo’s “Creation” painted on the ceiling of the Sistine chapel. Envision Adam and Eve, naked except for fig leaves, being banished by angelic guards from Eden.
Dr. David Allen, a Christian psychotherapist, calls this the starting point of eveil and violence in our world. We inherit Adam and Eve’s original shame (a term used nine times in Blessed John Paul II’s “Theology of the Body”) as they are driven from the garden of Eden. Dr. Allen’s work with people struggling with drug and alcohol addictions has led him to believe that this birthright of original shame is to blame for much of the violent dysfunction in our lives and in society. He uses God’s Word and psychotherapy in a powerful remedy for the effects of original shame in our lives. Like Luke in today’s gospel, he helps wounded women see themselves as Mary of the Magnificat, humble inheritors of the promises of God. Addicts, rediscovering their true nature before the Fall, exchange pain and shame for their adoption as God’s chosen through Jesus Christ (Ephesians 1:3-12). Today, let us dry our tears and sing with Advent hope: “Sing to God a new song, for God has done marvelous deeds!”
REFLECTION: 1) What hidden shame weighs me down?
2) As a peacemaker, will I call others from shame into new life?
This reflection is from this year’s booklet, Unshakeable Belief: Advent 2013 and is available online here. Msgr. Ray East is pastor of St. Teresa of Avila parish in Washington, D.C. He was named Pax Christi USA Teacher of Peace in 2005.