The second window is of a fruit tree. It could have had a snake in it, and it is on display at the CoOp.
The Bible story referenced is chapter 3 of Genesis – ‘the fall’ where Adam and Eve eat the forbidden fruit and become aware of the difference between Good and Evil.
Learning from this story involves seeing the shape and existence of the wood rather than getting bogged down examining the bark of individual trees:
Human beings have intelligence to see individual actions in context, and thereby choice. In that choice lie the seeds of both our triumph and our downfall, individually and collectively. The possibility of both is shown in the ‘Fall’ story as the result of a root disobedience to the Creator. The blame culture sets in early – ‘the woman …’ ‘The snake…’
Whatever our faith stance, this story rings profoundly true of human nature. Christians understand the answer to our wrong choices to be in Jesus, who is God in human form. Advent is a season for re examining who we believe Jesus to be and how far we are able to let God ‘put us right’. Perhaps we might start with our tendency to feel finding someone to blame fixes things. We might go further and think about what wrongs we need to admit our part in and think about (and even make happen) actions to improve things.
RevHilaryinGamlingay 