We care about Salvation History because the entire history of mankind is at stake... our very lives depend on this.

How so?

WELL, sit right back and you'll hear a tale (you guys probably don't even get that reference).

Salvation History begins way back in the GARDEN of EDEN... Think of the most dense area of trees that you know... have any of you ever been to a densely wooded forest? How about a real live jungle?? THINK of THAT...

Everything is lush and green and animals abound.

One day, Adam and Eve, the first people (we learned about them earlier this year), were hungry. So, they were tooling around the Garden looking for a snack (remember - no PICK AND SAVE or McDonald's back in those days). They have food all around them to eat but...

God had strictly warned them of WHAT? You can eat ANYTHING you want throughout this entire garden except .... do not eat of this one tree. Just ONE TREE they could not touch. Why? Because God said so...

However, on this particular day, Eve encountered the evil one - what do we call the evil one? That's RIGHT - the devil. Eve encounters the Devil and what does the DEVIL do? He tells Eve the ONLY reason God doesn't want them to eat of this tree is because if they do, they will become like God and HE does not want that.

See what's happening here? Evil has entered the world and is tempting Eve with something she does not have.

Anyway, we know the story from here - Eve eats the apple and then hands it over to Adam who also eats it. God, of course, KNOWS this is what happened. Adam tries to throw Eve under the bus (and God too) when he says, "This women YOU gave to me... she made me do it... " Yeah, THANKS, Adam!

So fun fact... sin enters the world through FOOD.

Eve is tempted and does what the Devil tells her to do... as does Adam. And sin has now become a thing. Sin, and ultimate DEATH is now the reality Adam and Eve face.


BUT... who knows the word REDEMPTION??? It means restoring to the whole.

Salvation also enters the world through a type of food. What is this a picture of? That's right - the Last Supper. Did you know this was the VERY FIRST MASS?

When the priest is Consecrating the Host at Mass - what words does he say?

Take and eat, this is my body, given for you.... do this in memory of me."

And, when he holds up the chalice of wine he says, "Take and drink, this is my blood, shed for you and all people, do this in memory of me.."

So, Jesus, brings salvation back to us through a meal - salvation that was lost to us because of a forbidden fruit (which, by the way, we do NOT know it was an apple but... tradition has told us that).

So, back to the book of Genesis, long before Jesus walked on the planet...

Now we are talking about ABRAHAM (or as he was originally named - ABRAM).

Abraham and his wife were quite elderly. They had no children but God had made Abraham a promise - He told Abram that his descendants would be as numerous as the stars in the sky! Abram and Sarai had a difficult time believing this. In fact, one day they had three visitors. The couple put together food for a meal for the three men who had stopped to see them. Then men told Abram and Sarai that Sarai would have a baby. BUT, Sarai was so old she didn't think it was possible. And... she laughed.

The following year Sarah DID have a son named Isaac - they named him Isaac because it means, "One who laughs."

Even though things didn't always go as Abraham and Sarah planned, they did work out for them.

So, Abraham was told he would be given the Promised Land. When Adam and Eve sinned, they were driven out of the Garden of Eden (which is also known as paradise) and now, through Abraham, The Promised Land would be delivered.

Isaac grew to be one of the patriarchs of the Old Testament - the male ancestors of Israel (Isaac's son, Jacob, was renamed Israel which we know still to this day).

Yes, there was a lot of renaming back in those days...

You might be familiar with the term 12 Tribes of Israel - those were because of Jacob's (Israel's) twelve sons. Can you imagine having ELEVEN brothers? YIKES!

So, some not good things happened as time unfolded and the Israelites were being forced to work as slaves under the Pharaoh. Who knows what a Pharaoh is? Yep - like an Egyptian King.

So, one day, one of the people (named Moses) who was in the Pharaoh's household (long story about how THAT happened), saw one of the slaves being hurt by one of the Pharaoh's men and Moses was pretty upset. He did NOT treat the man kindly (actually to save the person being hurt, he killed the Egyptian), and he was afraid he would be punished so he ran off into the desert and became a shepherd. But then one day...

... there was this BUSH and it was ON FIRE!!!!

No lie - but the funny thing was - it didn't burn up. Through that bush and in that Fire, GOD spoke to Moses. He sent Moses on a journey to free the slaves from under Pharaoh's rule.

Some of you may know this story - there were ten plagues, there was a big chase scene and the freed slaves thought they were goners when they were facing Pharaoh's army on one side and the Red Sea on the other...

BUT - who knows what happened?????

Moses called upon God and God opened up the sea so the Israelites could pass.

Pharaoh's army attempted pursuit but the seas closed up again (and well, it didn't end great for them).

But, God brought his people out of slavery.

So, it wasn't over for the Israelites yet because why? Well, people complain. First, they were hungry and thirsty... So God sent them water from a rock (yep - a ROCK) and manna (a bread like substance every day) to provide for their nutritional needs.

SO... GOD sent BREAD for them to eat (sound a little familiar at ALL)???

Moses went up to the mountain to talk with God - and - came back with ten rules (what are they called?) to help us live good and holy lives.

People always seem to get in their own way... they kinda made a mess of things over the years because, well, they kinda forgot they were God's people and needed to follow his rules.

Let's fast forward to a certain Christmas Day...

It was a dark and stormy night...

Oh wait - that's a DIFFERENT story.

God sends Jesus into the world to SAVE his People... So, all of the things promised throughout the Prophets (people like Abraham, Isaac, Moses and MORE) is about to come together in the middle of a dirty stable in a town called Bethlehem...

Jesus is the NEW ADAM
Jesus is the NEW ABRAHAM
Jesus is the NEW MOSES

Jesus is the NEW ADAM because he paid the price of the first sin with his life. Adam and Eve brought sin into the world through eating a certain food and Jesus provided us with the ULTIMATE food in the Eucharist, buying our salvation with his death.

Jesus is the NEW ABRAHAM because while Abraham gave us the PROMISED LAND in which to live, Jesus is where we dwell NOW.

Jesus is the NEW MOSES because Moses delivered his people from slavery under Pharaoh and Jesus delivers us from slavery to SIN, thereby assuring us of eternal life in heaven with God when we die....