The Original Sin is Power

 

This is a detail of Masaccio's early Renaissance painting, The Expulsion from the Garden of Eden. It is found in the Brancacci Chapel in Florence. It's a very powerful painting, isn't it? We can almost hear Eve's screams and howls. I doubt we'd be able to pull Adam's hands away from his shamed face.

While teaching years ago, I had a Jewish colleague who was a Hebrew school teacher, a kind of director of religious education in her synagogue. She didn't use the term Original Sin but told me once, "A Jew would say that in the long story of humankind, something went terribly wrong very early on." We say, "Yes, God told them not to eat the fruit of the tree and they did anyway. They were disobedient." But that's not really the case. They ate the fruit because the liar told them that if they did, they'd be like God. So they took a bite of the false promise, and in that power quest they lost everything. Masaccio's painting depicts the moment of that awful awareness.

The original sin is our desire and search for power. It's seemingly everywhere. Sex abuse is power abuse. Pope Francis is on to this in the life of the Church when he talks about clericalism, which is about power. The pastor who is a kingdom builder, the bishop who bullies his priests, a religious superior who abuses the novices—the sin is power. Domestic violence, the corporal punishment of children, political parties that can't stand the idea of not being in power, a leader who can't abide losing, going into a neighboring nation and taking it by storm. The sin is the power quest. 

But Masaccio (1401-1428) has done an amazing thing. If we were to look at the entire painting we would see that as they walk, stripped of their glory, Adam and Eve cast shadows behind them. This suggests they are walking into the light! That's hopeful. Masaccio doesn't seem to despair of humankind. And in the next wall painting we find another, of even greater size—a massive depiction of Christ with the twelve apostles. We see Jesus sending Peter off to find the required tax in the mouth of a fish. (Mt. 17:27)  And even though this is a different scene—Jesus is looking towards and gesturing towards Adam and Eve in the previous scene. Masaccio's vast wall paintings are filled with light. They glow! 

This Wednesday we set out towards Easter, the feast of light, life and hope restored. It may be incredibly hard to feel this, seeing the news everyday, but there it is. The hundreds of priests, nuns and brothers (many non-Ukrainian) staying behind to help the internally displaced and the flood of refugees headed towards Poland must have a sense of this—that goodness wins, life and love prevail.

Holy Thursday: Jesus Forfeits Power

Ford Maddox Brown 1821-1893

Holy Thursday is many-themed: Jesus gives the gift of the Eucharist. Jesus gives the gift of the priesthood. Jesus gives the mandatum, the mandate to humble service.

But there is another theme I think goes un-noticed: that Jesus has forfeited all power in assuming the role of a slave. Though scholars say the custom of washing feet as a gesture of hospitality was not universally observed, here it seems that the servant who might have been there to welcome the guests, simply didn't show up. Or maybe the apostles forgot to arrange it.

At any rate, Jesus interrupts the meal to do the foot washing job, as if to say, "You know, if there wasn't anyone to do the foot washing when we came in tonight, by now I would have expected you'd have done it for each other. What don't you get, I've been talking about service for three years now." 

Ford Maddox Brown has painted the scene. Notice that Jesus is barefoot; only slaves went without shoes in the ancient world. And notice too that the artist has shown Jesus without his clothes, as he will appear when he dies the next day. "...and he got up from table, removed is outer garments and, taking a towel, wrapped it round his waist..." (John 13: 3,4)

Bottom line: Jesus forfeits all power; he's puts himself on the bottom rung of the ladder. The original sin is power: "No! You will not die! God knows in fact that the day you eat it your eyes will be opened and you will be like gods..."  (Genesis 3:4) Jesus will have none of it; only God has the power. 

Power is everywhere: in church, politics, business, schools, relationships and family. Of course, "the buck stops here" and someone has to be in charge to make things run smoothly, but we know when we've seen or heard power-abuse in ourselves or in others. And so much of what we experience as power could be made more palatable, less degrading, more helpful and productive if it was turned into service. 

So let's be done with loudness, threats, manipulation, curses, the silent treatment, blackmail, impressive displays, playing one-up and can-you-top-this, getting even and posturing. Jesus manages so well without power - it's his way.