Word to the Wise
Monday, February 6, 2017 - Monday in the 5th Week in Ordinary Time
[Gen 1:1-19 and Mark 6:53-56]In the beginning, when God created the heavens and the earth, the earth was a formless wasteland, and darkness covered the abyss while a mighty wind swept over the waters. Then God said, "Let there be light," and there was light. God saw how good the light was. God then separated the light from the darkness. God called the light "day," and the darkness he called "night." Thus evening came, and morning followed - the first day. [Genesis]
FEBRUARY 6 ST. PAUL MIKI SJ AND COMPANIONS [martyrs]
Can there be a more majestic and theologically significant passage in the Bible than the first chapter of the Book of Genesis? It is magnificent in its scope and in its rhythm. As I write this, the distinction between day and night is transpiring outside my window! All around me today there will be connections with what is said in Genesis - so much of what God has called "good." All around me, too, and beyond will be examples of one part of this creation - literally the crown of it all - humanity, trying to destroy other parts of God's "good." Humans against humans and humans against nature - all in the name of "security" or "progress" or "dividends" - this secular "counter-narrative" is like a drumbeat threatening to drown out the great message from Genesis: "God created humanity and the rest of the universe to be good." How dare we try to destroy it?
When Pope Francis published his encyclical, Laudato si, the secular forces tried to dismiss him and the message as amateurish and uninformed! That took a lot of gall since the encyclical is filled with scientific reference and study. The most important notion in that encyclical is "our common home."
I have heard it said that God has given us three fundamental gifts: Life, a place to live, and others to love. The secular counter-narrative proclaims all three to be commodities to be used and thrown away. I would challenge the Beloved Congregation to read Genesis carefully and also Pope Francis' encyclical and consider those three gifts. There is more to come in the days ahead from Genesis, but sufficient for the day is the "beginning." AMEN
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