Essay on Adam
By Robert BringhurstThere are five possibilities. One: Adam fell.
Two: he was pushed. Three: he jumped. Four:
he only looked over the edge, and one look silenced him.
Five: nothing worth mentioning happened to Adam.The first, that he fell, is too simple. The fourth,
fear, we have tried and found useless. The fifth,
nothing happened, is dull. The choice is between:
he jumped or was pushed. And the difference between theseis only an issue of whether the demons
work from the inside out or from the outside
in: the one
theological question.
If you are reading this poem, and your response to the theological question posed at the end of it is one, or the other, or both, then I invite you to join in our observance of Holy Week. We begin this Sunday, Palm Sunday, with services at 9 am and 11 am, and continue with the Maundy Thursday liturgy and foot washing on March 28 at 7 pm, the Good Friday Liturgy on March 29 at 12 noon, and the Great Vigil of Easter on Saturday, March 30 at 7 pm. The Vigil ushers in the Great Feast of Easter, but before we celebrate, we have a profound opportunity to acknowledge the evils of this world and wonder at God’s willingness to enter into our brokenness and stand in solidarity with us.
I hope to see you in church—and online, if you are not able to be physically present.
