Adam & Eve's First Sunset: God's New Day

Lutheran, The, Jan 2004 by Brussat, Frederic, Brussat, Mary Ann

BOOK Adam & Eve's First Sunset: God's New Day by Sandy

Eisenberg Sasso will give parents a chance to talk with children about fear of the dark and other anxieties brought on by the terrifying realities of the post- 9/11 world. Sasso, an award-wining children's author, and illustrator Joani Keller Rothenberg offer enchanting and remarkably astute story about the importance of faith in God and the power of hope in the face of the unknown.

In the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve have never experienced the setting of the sun. As it begins to sink, he offers to have it rest on his shoulders. Eve wants to comfort it with a song. When they realize that the sun isn't responding, they command it to obey them. They grow fearful, and they accuse each other of causing the sun to go away. Adam and Eve lament what the loss of light could mean for the plants and the animals. They then create a prayer: "God Creator of the Great Light, do not let your world grow dark. Help us bring back the sun. Make morning again." Afterward, they make a fire and eventually fall asleep next to each other. In the morning, Adam and Eve awake and rejoice in the reappearance of the light "wrapped around them like a robe of gold." Now they bless the sun and realize they can bless the night as well.

We all need to believe in a new day and God's continuing blessings. Now more than ever, young and old need to see the divine in the dark. Adam & Eve's First Sunset lifts our spirit with the message that all is well and in God's hands (Jewish Lights, 2003; 800-962-4544).