Monday, February 27

Genesis 3:1-7

(vv. 6-7 printed below)

The woman saw that the tree was beautiful with delicious food and that the tree would provide wisdom, so she took some of its fruit and ate it, and also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. Then they both saw clearly and knew that they were naked. So they sewed fig leaves together and made garments for themselves.

When the first humans eat the fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, they discover it lives up to its name. Their eyes are opened, the text says, and they realize that they are naked. The first loss from eating the forbidden fruit is the loss of innocence and unreserved vulnerability. This new knowing causes them to fear being judged by the other (that’s the whole good and evil part). They respond by cobbling together a makeshift covering out of fig leaves, but even that isn’t sufficient. So they hide from one another, and eventually even God. It doesn’t take a lot of effort for me to have empathy for these first humans. After all, I know exactly what it feels like to fear vulnerability (and I bet you do too), to wonder what others are thinking about me, or if they’d even still like me if they knew the real me. That fear that we know all too well in our own experience is the same fear that sends these first humans into hiding.

Take time today to reflect on how you feel when you think about vulnerability. With whom can you be your most authentic, vulnerable self? What are some barriers to vulnerability that you feel in yourself? How does a lack of vulnerability harm us?