We continue the series of articles on the book of Genesis.

The existence of two different stories (not contrary, rather complementary) is due to the fact that they come from two different traditions. That of the first chapter belongs to the priestly tradition, and that of the second corresponds to the Yahwist tradition.

And I bring it up not so much to explain each one of them as to record a reality that is more than contrasted with the one we find when reading, studying and animating with the Bible: the final result of the texts is the product of different sources, many of them oral, which reduce the reading and statements made by literalists and fundamentalists to a simplistic level.

In this article we are going to focus on the second chapter of Genesis and, therefore, on the account of the Yahwist tradition, which despite being in second place is the oldest of the two (between the 10th and 9th centuries BC)

v.7 Then Yahweh God formed man with dust from the ground; then he breathed into his nose a breath of life, and the man had breath and life.

v.9 Yahweh God made all kinds of trees sprout from the ground, pleasing to the eye and good to eat.

This second story also shows God as creator. But there is some nuance that justifies the incorporation of the two stories. The first story, as we have already explained, presents us with an evolutionary key creation, which culminates in the creation of man as being created in the image and likeness of God. Instead, this second story pays more attention to man and less to the rest of creation, which, although it appears briefly, does so to put itself at the service of man.

So much so that if we look at verses 7 and 9, it narrates the creation of man before that of the trees that are created for man to use.

v.17 But you will not eat from the tree of the Knowledge of good and evil. The day you eat from it, rest assured that you will die.

We are only in chapter 2 of the first book of the Bible and the moral component already appears and, therefore, the moral dilemma, the struggle between good and evil. < / h4>

Of course it is more than evident that we are facing a catechesis (the Catechism of the Catholic Church calls it “catechesis of creation” ), but it is just as evident that precisely what this catechesis presents is a moral issue.

Morality has, sadly, too much prestige among some and, on the contrary, too little among others. It has been so frequent to present the moral issue exclusively circumscribed to sexual morality, that now to see who it is that fixes it. The famous “how many times” of the confessionals was never addressed to how many times you have mistreated your neighbor in the form of unfair wages, excessive work hours and many other sins of social morality.

In 2008 the Pontifical Biblical Commission published the document “Bible and Moral. Biblical roots of Christian behavior ”. Point 4 says: “To get to speak of revealed morality, it is convenient to free oneself from some current assumptions. As long as morality is reduced to a code of individual and collective behavior, to a set of vir tendencies to practice or also to the imperatives of a natural law considered universal, the whole of the law cannot be sufficiently perceived. specificity, goodness and permanent relevance of biblical morality ”.

Well, of all morality, without excluding one or the other, this catechesis of creation refers. God presents man with a plan of happiness and warns that evil ends that happiness. If it is understood as a threat, nothing has been understood.

If I meet someone who, because of the fog, approaches the precipice … will my warning be a threat or can it be understood as a lifeline?

But that lifeline is proposed, not imposed. Hence, man receives, together with the information, the freedom and space necessary for discernment. As the aforementioned document says, in point 4: “By reason of the freedom that is given to him, man is called to moral discernment, to choice, to decision.”

v.18 And Yahve said: It is not good for man to be alone

God in creation does not want man alone and, from the couple, creates the family. Later, with the alliance with Abraham, he promises a great family that is visualized, especially in Exodus, God’s people. Jesus will elevate him to Church and summon him to celebrate a feast.

And despite how clear the message is perceived, there are still those who would like to celebrate “Mass for him alone” , there are those who are always bothered by children or that the “Parish family greet each other” . If it were up to them we would not give ourselves peace. This is what Pope Francis, in his apostolic exhortation Evangelii Gaudium, calls “individualistic sadness” . That is to say, just the opposite of what God wanted and shows us in the catechesis of creation.

Quique Fernandez

School of Biblical Animation

Miracle Sound Radio