Edible Words

What do rainbows and the bread and wine that we will share today have in common? From a biblical point of view, two things.

First, they are signs to us of God's covenants with his people. Rainbows are signs of God's promise never again to use water to destroy all living things. The bread and the wine are the sign of God's promise to forgive the sins of those who eat and drink trusting in Christ's death for their sin.

In the middle of the Garden of Eden were two trees; the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Each tree identified by name. Each name carrying with it a promise of God. God's will was for Adam and Eve to receive His gift of eternal life by trusting His word and so to eat the fruit of the tree to which that promise was attached. But they did not trust God. Adam and Eve chose to go their own way and disobey God, they ate from the tree from which God said "do not eat".

In the middle of the Garden of Eden were two trees; the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. God gave names to these two trees to reveal to Adam what would be his should he eat their fruit. Eat the fruit of the tree of life and eternal life was his. Eat the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and the knowledge of good and evil was his. By naming the trees, God formed the first sacrament, attaching his word, his promises, by naming the plain fruit of the trees.