The Sex Shifting of Eve and Jesus
The passage below is Day 8 in the Our Gender-Full God section of Transfigured. It offers a concept for Advent contemplation; Jesus, forming himself in Mary's womb in order to be like all of us, in all ways.
The man gave names to all cattle, and to the birds of the air, and to every animal of the field; but for the man there was not found a helper as his partner. So the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and he slept; then he took one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh. And the rib that the Lord God had taken from the man he made into a woman and brought her to the man.
Then the man said, “This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; this one shall be called Woman, for out of Man this one was taken.”
(Genesis 2:20-23 NRSV)
The teaching of the church from ancient days is that Jesus received his fleshly self from Mary. Scripture also teaches that Jesus is the new Adam, born of the new Eve.
Now Eve is a fascinating creature for many reasons. If we take the Genesis account in its literal meaning, as fundamentalist Christians demand we do, Eve is the first instance of human cloning and also the first shifting of gender. God reached into Adam, pulled out a bit of bone, and grew Eve from Adam’s XY DNA so he could have a companion. Eve was created genetically male, and yet transformed into woman.
Then along comes Jesus and the whole pattern is both repeated and reversed. The first couple’s refusal to cooperate is turned around by Mary’s yes, and the second act of cloning occurs. The Holy Spirit comes upon the second Eve, and the child takes flesh from her and is conceived. Conceived of Mary’s flesh. Conceived with XX chromosome pairing. Conceived genetically female, and yet transformed into man.
We don’t know what physical miracles took place during the creation of humanity or the conception of Jesus. But we do know that they are extraordinary, miraculous, and potentially illustrate biological sex shifting. This doesn’t match the experience of today’s transgender people. But the concept of transition seems to have been in play.
A quick look at the dictionary for the prefix “trans” tells us that it means “across,” “beyond,” “through,” and “changing thoroughly,” all of which are great terms for the person of Christ. He cuts across all boundaries. He is beyond our understanding. He is through all and in all. He changes us thoroughly into new creations.
In his person, and in his salvific actions, Jesus is truly the first and forever trans man. There in the beginning with God, and with us to the very end.
Deep inside the universe lies the potential of the phenomena of consciousness. The mystery of “you” existed as a potential within the stuff of matter for billions of years, and before that within the infinite sea of consciousness that is God, of which you are a wave. Here you are, birthed out of the ecstatic merging of two others, you are consciousness that learns and grows. You are a child of the universe, a child of the stars, a child of the earth, a child of God, blossomed from love into an infinite love awakening. In all infinite time and possibilities, infinity gave way to you. Here you are.
Jacob. M. Wright
