SermonStudio

"Either she's not gotten around to getting her wardrobe or she's so naive it hasn't occurred to her that she needs one," Mr. S. wisecracked to himself as he spied on Eve from behind one of the many green bushes in the garden. "I'll wager she is naive. She doesn't seem the least bit embarrassed sitting there sipping tea, naked as a newborn babe except for that silly garden hat she's wearing," he observed. "Hmmmm ... I'll bet Mr. G. would like to keep her an infant too. It would be far too messy for him if she and her husband woke up from their dream of innocence. Then he'd really have his hands full."

"For starters, she'd want a wardrobe. That would lead to agonizing over what to buy, getting Adam upset over her spending sprees, being dissatisfied with what she'd bought, going out to purchase more clothes, complaining to Mr. G. about her problems, ta-da, ta-da, ta-da, ta-da! Yes, he'd like to keep matters simple. But I, for one, don't think that's fair. Why should she have it so easy, enjoying life without any questions or doubts while I find life so complicated? I think I'll pay her a little visit."

Mr. S. slunk over to Eve's garden table where she was nibbling on a chocolate chip cookie. Tipping his straw hat, he asked, "Ssssay, would you mind a little company?"

Not startled in the least, Eve smiled and said, "Oh, no, not at all. Could I fix you some tea, Mr. ... ah?"

"Mr. S.," he whispered seductively. "I happen to be a neighbor. And, yes, I would like a cup." As Eve prepared the tea with just a little sugar, he continued, "What a sssplendid sssanctuary you have here."

"Thank you. My husband and I think it's a bit of heaven on earth."

"Sssss," Mr. S. hissed as his face contorted at the word heaven. Then, regaining his composure he gushed enthusiastically, "Those are mighty nice fruit trees. The fruit looks sssimply sssumptuous! I bet you've sssampled them all?"

"Not quite," she answered. Rising to her full height, the graceful curves of her body now highlighted in the morning sun, she pointed to a tree at a spot where the inscription, "Middle of the Garden," was carved on a marble slab. "Mr. G. told us we may not eat the fruit of that tree," she dutifully observed.

"Wha...?" Worldly-wise as he was, even Mr. S. blushed as she stood there, completely unaware that being naked had implications for onlookers.

"Why are you looking at me?" she asked innocently. "The tree is over there."

Perspiring, Mr. S. murmured, "Oh, yesss, yesss, over there," as he strove to focus on the one tree whose fruit the couple were ordered never to eat. "Why that's the topbanana tree!" he noted approvingly. "Topbanana sends me up a tree. It's marvelous!"

"Topbanana?" The name was news to Eve. "Mr. G. never mentioned its name. Only that we had better not eat it if we didn't want to become topa ... topa?"

"Topbananas."

"Yes. Topbananas."

"Really? Becoming topbananas? What's so bad about that? I'm surprised at Mr. G.," he exclaimed, affecting a disappointed tone. "I never dreamed Mr. G. would forbid anyone from eating topbananas."

"Why?" Eve's curiosity was aroused.

"Well, confidentially, Eve...." Sliding a finger slowly down Eve's back, Mr. S. continued in a hushed voice, "Topbanana has got twice as many vitamins as other fruit; it's high in potassium and iron, low in cholesterol, reduces chances for cancer, heart failure, arthritis, and lung disease, takes care of irregularity, and ..." he paused as he prepared himself to deliver the winning line, "... just one bite of a topbanana will put you in complete control of your life."

"Gee, does it really do all that?" Eve marveled.

"Most certainly," he reassured her, dancing the fingers of his right hand on the nape of her neck.

"But Mr. G. said we'd die if we ate it."

"Die? Oh never, never. You solve all your problems with sssucculent, sssavory topbananasss. You wouldn't need anything or anybody to tell you how to run your life. Yes, you'd really be topbanana. In fact, you'd be able to tell others what to do."

"Wow! We'd become like, like ... Mr. G!" Eve danced spritely over to the tree in the middle of the garden and fell on her knees. "To think it would take care of irregularity! Adam would like that. He hasn't been himself lately. If topbanana is all that you say it is, then Adam and I would be pretty much on our own. I'm fond of Mr. G. but...," she paused, then added resentfully, "it unnerves Adam and me to have someone always telling us what's good and what's bad for us."

Eve could no longer contain herself. She rose and plucked a topbanana while Mr. S. looked on triumphantly.

"Good, good, go ahead! You'll love it!" he urged.

Eve sunk her teeth into the fruit. "Weeee! Really bitter!" Her lips puckered up. "It looks better than it tastes. I hope there's no aftertaste."

"Oh, no, no," Mr. S. assured her, crossing his fingers behind his back.

At that moment Adam appeared from the other end of the garden. "What are you doing?"

"I'm eating a topbanana, Adam."

"Topbanana?"

"Yes, it's the fruit Mr. G. told us never to eat."

"What?" he cried.

"Oh, don't worry, dear! This gentleman, Mr. S., has been enlightening me about its value. One bite and you're in charge of your life. It's your show and you call the shots. You're topbanana all the way."

"Really?" Adam's eyes widened.

Eve strolled over to Adam and dangled the fruit in front of him. "What's more," she whispered confidentially, "it will take care of your irregularity."

That did it! He devoured it greedily, though his face registered the same sour displeasure.

"I know, I know. It's bitter. But Mr. S. assures us there's no aftertaste."

"Ha! Ha! Ha!" Mr. S. laughed ominously. "No aftertaste! Ha! Ha! Ha! Wait and see if there's no aftertaste!"

"What are you laughing at, Mr. S.?" Eve puzzled.

"Look at yourselves!" he sneered.

"Adam, turn around! Don't look at me," Eve pleaded as she attempted to cover her whole body with her hands. Since this was impossible, Eve ran off to find anything available to hide her nakedness. Adam stood there dumbfounded.

"Ha! Ha!" Mr. S. pointed to Adam's body.

Adam's face flushed. "What's the matter? Don't you think my equipment is adequate?" he asked defensively.

Mr. S. rubbed his hands together. "Now I know you've digested the topbanana. Your question sssmacks of the ssour aftertaste you and your sssons will always know. You'll never feel adequate again. Ever!" he shouted. Abruptly, he resumed a chatty tone. "Well, I have to be on my way. I'm sure we will be seeing one another again, Adam." He slithered into the foliage as Adam puzzled over what Mr. S. meant about the aftertaste.

Adam began to feel more and more uneasy. The garden which moments earlier had been home now appeared strange and ominous. He wanted to run away, but every direction he turned seemed equally hostile.

Spotting a vine climbing a nearby tree, he grabbed several of its shoots, tied them together, and draped them over his body. No sooner had Adam finished than he spied Eve several feet away. She had covered herself similarly. For a moment they stared at one another, two persons not only aliens on their own land but also to one another.

"Adam?" Eve called softly as if she were speaking a stranger's name.

"Eve?" He found her name foreign too. Warily, as if meeting for the first time, they inched towards one another until they were standing face to face. There was an awkward silence. Finally, Adam spoke. "Why, why did you make me eat the topbanana?"

"Make you eat? I didn't make you do anything," Eve said, folding her arms, ready to stand her ground.

"You practically shoved it down my throat," Adam persisted.

"I did not. Mr. S. was behind it all. He kept telling me how great it was."

"Oh, come on ... don't pass the buck! I...." Adam stopped, waited, and checked himself, sensing things were escalating into a huge argument. "See what's happening? We're arguing and acting horribly. I thought the topbanana was supposed to do away with all our problems. We...."

"It will! It will! We'll manage! We'll call the shots ... oh...." Eve remembered promising Adam that eating the fruit would enable them to "call the shots." Then the words seemed liberating; now they appeared to be charged with responsibility.

"We can manage?" Adam laughed bitterly. "If Mr. S. is correct, I for one am never going to feel adequate again. I'll be trying forever to prove I'm adequate. Isn't that what being topbanana is all about?" Then, looking directly into Eve's eyes, he continued somberly, "We are on our own all right! But I'm not sure this is what we had in mind."

"What are we going to do, Adam?" Eve asked fearfully.

"What are we going to do?" Adam repeated slowly. "We're supposed to know the answer, aren't we?" He paused and continued, "And all we really know is just how helpless we are without Mr. G. What do you say we go and share that bit of knowledge with him? And let him do what we could never do -- save us!"


Reflection


Are we satisfied to participate in the light or do we want to be the Light? There is a considerable difference between the two. This becomes apparent if we think of people who get carried away by "light" inflation. For example, a football team wins and the team members, cheerleaders, and fans all shout, "We're number One! We're the best!" Or we get a Ph.D. in Philosophy and lay claim to being The Philosopher. The expression, "A little knowledge is a dangerous thing," implies "light inflation" and all the problems it presents. We know a little but get inflated and think we know everything. We are all light and in us there is no darkness! We think we can make no mistakes, do no wrong, and never get hurt.

But these illusions are generated by light inflation. We aren't really the Light. One day we discover, through an accident or an egregious error or a bad choice, that we are not pure Light but contain quite a bit of darkness. If we are lucky, we might also be ready to call upon the one who is Light to save us from any future light-headed illusions.

Were there times when we felt giddy about our accomplishments? Did we ever think we had it made and could do no wrong? That we certainly knew more about whatever ... than the people around us? And how did this influence our behavior towards others?