Word to the Wise
Tuesday, February 12, 2019 - Tuesday in the 5th Week in Ordinary Time
[Gen 1:20—2:4a and Mark 7:1-13]Then God said: "Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. Let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, the birds of the air, and the cattle, and over all the wild animals, and all the creatures that crawl on the ground.." God created man in his image; in the divine image he created him; male and female he created them. [Genesis]
It has been said that God has given us three fundamental gifts: life, other people to love, and a place to live in. These gifts spring from our being created in the "image and likeness of God." As we will see further on, this image and likeness is subject to the freedom we have in making decisions about all the fundamental gifts. We can do great harm to ourselves, to other people and to our common home. Three examples from current events show this.
We do great harm to ourselves when we get involved with drugs, pornography or any other addictive activity. We do great harm to other people when we engage in war, crime or any kind of violence. We do great harm to our common home when we exploit nature or the environment. The dominion given in Genesis is a stewardship of the three fundamental gifts.
The next chapter of Genesis will give us further insight into the trouble that can result when we distort the divine image. AMEN