Word to the Wise
Tuesday, October 13, 2009 - Tuesday in the Twenty-eighth Week in Ordinary Time
[Romans 1:16-25 and Luke 11:37-41]For what can be known about God is evident to them, because God had made it evident to them. Ever since the creation of the world, his invisible attributes of eternal power and divinity have been able to be understood and perceived in what he has made.
As I write this, I am beginning the second of two retreats for the clergy in the Diocese of Tucson, AZ, at a retreat center with a spectacular view of the valley and mountains in this area! The sheer scale of nature out here in the desert is inspiring, from mountain range to rattlesnake! There are other places like the Grand Canyon or Canyon De Chelly out here that offer similar vistas. I have a similar experience when I visit the Oregon Coast and experience the Pacific Ocean. The grand old Live Oaks in Louisiana or the endless rolling hills of the Midwestern plains - all of these are opportunities to experience what God has made in nature. If only we could see it in our fellow human beings from the child in the womb to the elderly in the nursing home, or in the poor, homeless or other suffering persons that fill our streets. St. Paul is speaking about the pagan society of his time. Is our secular, sex- and materialism-soaked society any different? The skeptical reply to my words above might be: "You can't eat scenery!" or "I've got a life to live and these others are in the way!" The human person is the only part of creation made in the image and likeness of God. If there is any place where we should be able to perceive the signs of "invisible attributes of eternal power and divinity," it should be in our human brothers and sisters. The tremendous and beautiful scale of God's creation is not simply a matter of size. All life comes from God and belongs to God! AMEN
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