Fruit of the Tree of Life

Many people think that Adam and Eve were kicked out of the Garden of Eden as punishment after they ate the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. But, if you read Genesis chapter 3 closely, that’s not entirely accurate.  

In Genesis 3:22-23, we read:

“Then the LORD God said: ‘See! The man has become like one of us, knowing good and evil! Now, what if he also reaches out his hand to take fruit from the Tree of Life, and eats of it and lives forever?’ The LORD God therefore banished him from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from which he had been taken.”

So, while I’m certain it was punishment to leave Eden, the ban seems to have a preventative nature, stopping us from living forever. Can we ever eat the fruit of this tree? I believe we can, but to find out we have to skip ahead to the very end of the Bible.

In Revelation 2:7, we read Jesus speaking to the Christians in Ephesus: 

“‘Whoever has ears ought to hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the victor I will give the right to eat from the tree of life that is in the garden of God.’”

The New American Bible, Revised Edition (NABRE), a Roman Catholic Bishop-approved translation of the Bible, has the following notes on this passage: 

“Victor: referring to any Christian individual who holds fast to the faith and does God’s will in the face of persecution. The tree of life that is in the garden of God: this is a reference to the tree in the primeval paradise (Gn 2:9); cf. Rev 22:2, 14, 19. The decree excluding humanity from the tree of life has been revoked by Christ.”

So, if I hold fast to the faith and do God’s will in the face of persecution, Christ will allow me to eat fruit from the Tree of Life referenced in Genesis 3:22. But, where can I find this fruit so that I can eat it? I believe that answer can also be found in the Bible.

John 6:51, Jesus is speaking what we know of as the ‘Bread of life discourse.” Here, he says:

“I am the living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world.”

So, if we eat this bread, we will live forever. But, bread isn’t fruit, is it? Looking closely, we see that Jesus said the bread is his flesh, and eating this bread brings eternal life - just like eating the fruit from the Tree. So, is Jesus’ flesh fruit? 

Well, fruit grows by hanging on a tree. We can read in Acts of the Apostles 5:30 that Peter describes Jesus’ death as “hanging on a tree,” a phrase again repeated in Acts 10:39 and Galatians 3:13. 

If Jesus said we had to eat his flesh to have eternal life, and His flesh hung from a tree like fruit hangs from the Tree of Life, it seems to me that if we can find a way to eat his flesh then we are eating the fruit from the Tree of Life. I’m certain that if we are granted entrance into heaven by God’s Grace, we will be able to eat from that tree there: see Revelation 22:2. But, before then? Here in Earth? 

Well, I believe that, during Mass, the veil separating heaven and earth is parted...we are spiritually in heaven with God, the choirs of angels, and the saints who have done God’s will throughout the ages (or, perhaps, they are down here with us).

In the early part of the Liturgy of the Eucharist, during the blessing but before the consecration, the priest at Mass says:

“Blest are you, Lord God of all creation, for through your goodness we have recieved the bread we offer you: fruit of the earth and work of human hands, it will become for us the bread of life.”

We offer bread and wine to our Lord Jesus Christ as sacrificial worship, and he in turn gives us his Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity in the form of the bread and wine we offered. 

So, there you have it. What was lost in Eden has been found in Jesus; we can receive that today, in any Catholic Mass across the globe, if we are worthy.