The Priest and The Garden
“Then the Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to tend and keep it. And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, ‘Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.’
And the Lord God said, ‘It is not good that man should be alone; I will make him a helper comparable to him.’ Out of the ground the Lord God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the air, and brought them to Adam to see what he would call them. And whatever Adam called each living creature, that was its name.”
-Genesis 2:19-20
During the weekday liturgies in the first week of Lent, Byzantine Catholics hear the story of creation and the fall. Similarly, Roman Catholics will hear these readings during the Easter Vigil, as both traditions are teaching us about the entire trajectory of salvation history, from our creation, to our fall, and to our restoration to eternal life.
But what exactly is this life which we are given? Father Alexander Schmemann focuses on the garden of Eden as the key. Adam is a hungry being. He is given the fruit bearing trees of the world by God as food. The material world provides Adam and Eve with life, and so they are able to walk with God in the garden.
Adam is given the priestly task of naming the animals. To name something in a Biblical context means to reveal its true essence. This is why God changes the names of prophets when they are called. It’s why He called Simon “Peter”, revealing him to be the rock upon which the Church would be built. And finally, in Revelation 2:17, we are promised that we will receive a white stone with a new name written on it, that only we and God know—a name that would reveal the very essence of who we are. Through the naming of the animals, Adam reveals them as God’s, and thus offers them back to Him.
Thus, this life of Adam is eucharistic (the word literally meaning “thanksgiving”). He receives the material world and its food. He offers it back to God in thanksgiving. And the world sustains him with life—God walks with him.
This eucharistic life is the life that we lost through sin. But, as St Basil’s great eucharistic prayer reminds us, God did not turn away from His creature forever, nor forget the work of His hands. It is this life that Christ restores to us, but in fullness. When Adam offered the material creation that sustained him back to God, he received life with God. When we offer bread and wine to God, symbols of our very lives, we receive God Himself, and become that which we receive. In the Byzantine tradition, the parishioners bake the prosphora—the bread that will be consecrated on the altar to become the Eucharist—and bring it to the priest before the Divine Liturgy. The prayers said after the baking of the prosphora make this theology a tangible reality:
“Dear Lord, this bread that I have baked represents each one in my family and in my congregation. I am offering myself to You, my very life, in humble obedience and total commitment to You. I place myself on Your holy altar through this bread to be used by You in any way that You feel will help enlarge Your kingdom. Accept my gift and make me worthy to receive the greater gift that You will give me when You consecrate this bread and give it back to me as Your Precious Body.
For with my whole heart I offer You thanks; to the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, now and forever, and to the ages of ages. Amen.”
This constant rhythm of offering in thanksgiving and receiving is “real life”. It is what we are created for. And now through Christ we can have this life, and have it to the full.
A Parishinor of St Mary Byzantine Catholic Church - Hillsborough, NJ
