Climax — The curtain rises and the scene is unexpected. A small backwater town of perhaps people called Nazareth. An Angel, dispatched from God greets a humble virgin named Mary. God has a plan to save his people, and to begin its unfolding he goes not to any King or army commander, but to Mary of Nazareth.
A great paradox but a fitting one as well. He is named Jesus for he would save his people from their sins! Matt After thirty hidden years in Nazareth he steps forth in public ministry of three years where he announces the Gospel and summons the human family to faith and trust.
Then in a crucial and epic battle between God and the devil, Jesus mounts a cross and defeats the devil at his own game. By dying he destroys death! The climax is now reached. The devil seems victorious but on the third day our Savior and God Hero Jesus casts off death like a garment. Ascending forty days later he reopens the gates of paradise. Falling Action - Now that the epic battle is won, Jesus sends out Apostles to announce the Good News of His victory over sin and death.
His apostles go forth with the message that the long reign of sin is over and that, through grace it is increasingly possible to live a transformed life, a life no longer dominated by sin, anger, resentment, fear, bitterness, greed, lust, hatred and the like but rather a life dominated by love, mercy, joy, serenity, confidence, holiness, chastity, self control and more.
A new world has been opened. Up ahead lie open the gates of paradise. Resolution — God has resolved the terrible consequences of the rebellion of Adam and Eve just as he promised. But things do not merely return to normal, they return to super-normal for the paradise that God now offers is not an earthly one, it is a heavenly one.
And we the reader experience the catharsis of knowing that God is faithful and he has saved us from this present evil age. But the plot has been lost by many — What a story and what a ride. But notice that the plot hinges on a key and negative development: SIN. Without that development there is no plot. And here is where the Church lost the ability to hand on the narrative: we lost the plot, and in particular the negative development that is necessary for a plot and makes it interesting. About fifty years ago there seems to have been a conscious effort to move away from talking vigorously about sin.
Suddenly our narrative no longer made a lot sense. Everything is basically OK, everyone is really fine, just about everyone will go to heaven. And all along we thought we would be more relevant and inviting to people. As a result we in the Church have increasingly become irrelevant.
Who needs Jesus, God or religion? In fact, if it is poorly developed enough I might just stop reading the story or walk out of the movie. And that is just what people have done. Only 25 percent of Catholics go to Church anymore. To over 70 percent, our story is irrelevant and uncompelling.
Without a rich understanding of sin, salvation makes little sense. People no longer remember a story that makes little sense to them. And so it is that I found myself in a class of Catholic seventh graders who had never heard of Adam and Eve.
In so doing we will once again set forth a plot that is compelling and interesting and help people rediscover the greatest story ever told. B I originally published this article about nine years ago in Homiletic and Pastoral Review. Sales Managers and Sales Contacts. Ordering From Brill. LibLynx for Selected Online Resources.
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Because of this disobedience, God banishes Adam and Eve from the Garden. As mentioned, this story in Genesis contains the seeds of several subplots that together comprise the main plot of the Bible. One major theme found within Genesis, and repeated throughout the Bible, is the theme of creation.
This theme repeats at major intervals in the main storyline of the Bible. However in Gen. Because of this, God pronounces curses on the serpent, humanity, and the earth. Yet God promises that redemption for humanity will come through a descendant of Eve. The theme of creation often accompanied with a fall, judgment, and promise of redemption occurs at least two more times in the Bible.
After God floods the earth, He causes the waters to recede and starts over with Noah and his family creation. God commands them to multiply and spread across the earth, but almost immediately, Noah falls short by getting drunk on wine and getting naked in his tent fall. As a result, God confuses the language of humanity and scatters humans across the earth judgment.
This theme is seen a third time when God calls the Jews out of Egypt. In fact, before they even enter their promised land, they grumble against God and worship a golden calf. As a result, the Israelites are ultimately removed from the land, and their temple is destroyed judgment.
Throughout this process, God promises David that he will have a descendant who will sit on the throne of Israel forever, and God gives His prophets visions of a restored Israel that will last forever promise of redemption. The theme of creation is seen again in the New Testament. With Jesus as its head, the Church never falls, but it continues the struggle that began in Genesis between the followers of the serpent and the followers of the promised descendant of Eve.
This struggle is prophesied to end when the earth, humanity, and the serpent will all be judged. At this time, it is said that God will create one last time when He brings down heaven and creates a new heaven and new earth.
Beginning with Adam and Eve, God makes and reconfirms covenants many times throughout the Bible.
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