Genesis & Romans
I want to apologize in advance for this because I do not have my thoughts in order. I feel like my ideas haven’t quite come into focus, but I’m hoping that if I type them out, maybe I’ll find some clarity.
Here’s Romans 8:18-23 (USCCB)
I consider that the sufferings of this present time are as nothing compared with the glory to be revealed for us. For creation awaits with eager expectation the revelation of the children of God; for creation was made subject to futility, not of its own accord but because of the one who subjected it, in hope that creation itself would be set free from slavery to corruption and share in the glorious freedom of the children of God. We know that all creation is groaning in labor pains even until now; and not only that, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, we also groan within ourselves as we wait for adoption, the redemption of our bodies.
None of the footnotes in my Bible here refer to Genesis, but it seems obvious that Paul is referring to the “curses” that God gave to Adam and Eve after their disobedience in Eden. (It’s important to note that in Genesis, God doesn’t actually curse the people directly.)
Compare:
Romans 8:20: For creation was made subject to futility, not of its own accord but because of the one who subjected it…
Genesis 3:17: To the man he said: “…Cursed is the ground because of you! In toil you shall eat its yield all the days of your life.”
and
Romans 8:22: We know that all creation is groaning in labor pains even until now.
Genesis 3:16: To the woman he said: “I will intensify your toil in childbearing; in pain you shall bring forth children.”
I did an exegesis project on this passage of Genesis for a Pentateuch class last fall. Many of the commentators I read noted that before the Fall, God gave the command till and keep the garden, to both fill the earth (by having children) and to subdue it (by work, by tilling and keeping the garden). In Laborem Exercens, Pope John Paul II argues that our work is pro-creative (though I don’t know that he uses that word exactly) — that we are participating in God’s creative act by using our minds, hearts, and bodies to build up the world, whether we’re inventing things, repairing things, preserving things, working toward a better societal order, etc.
One commentator I read emphasized that the commands to work and to grow the human race were originally blessings — and that, even after the Fall, they remain blessings. God never revokes these commands/blessings. Just, now they’re hard. As one of the commentators I read said, “The earth is filled with thorns, but it will still give us bread.”
I wrote some more, but I wasn’t able to pull it together into anything cohesive, so I’m going to leave this here. I’m interested in your thoughts.