1st Sunday in Lent: A 2023

Today’s Old Testament reading, the infamous fall of man, the beginning of sin, the old Eve ruined everything, scripture is one of my favorites and also one I detest the most.  Why one I detest you ask: because it is so often misused by religion for purposes of fear mongering and control.  On the other hand, it is  a beautiful allegory on the difficulties of watching your children grow up, watching them make poor choices, knowing their innocence is slowly fading away.  After all, the Creator gave humanity free will, the gift of choosing right from wrong, of choosing our own paths as individual, cognizant creatures and yet, like any loving parent, wanted to extend our life in Eden and spare our loss of rose tinted glasses, the loss of our childhood innocence.