Word to the Wise
Wednesday, December 15, 2021 - 3rd Week of Advent - Wed
[Isa 45:6c-8, 18, 21c-25 and Luke 7:18b-23]For thus says the Lord, the creator of the heavens, who is God, the designer and maker of the earth who established it, not creating it to be a waste, but designing it to be lived in. [Isaiah] "Go and tell John what you have seen and heard: The blind regain their sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, the poor have the good news proclaimed to them. And blessed is the one who takes no offense at me." [Luke]
Heaven and earth intersected when God began creation. Heaven and earth intersected again when God became human flesh and dwelt among us. In both instances the initiative was (and is) God's. As Genesis tells us again and again in the creation story, God saw all creation as good. This includes human persons as well as oceans and insects and stars and trees. The intersection of heaven and earth that occurred when Jesus was born was not simply a local event, it was a cosmic event. It was announced by angels and a star!
Isaiah speaks the word of God and says that God did not design the earth to be a waste but to be lived in. Pope Francis refers to it in his wonderful encyclical Laudato si' as our "'common home." The challenge from Jesus' life and death is not just to convert human sins against personal neighbors but also against God's very own creation! Those who debunk global warming or support the economic exploitation of natural resources for commerical profit seem unaware of all of this as a stewardship and not a consumer item. At least for Christians, the scriptures speak of this conversion but the almost daily extreme weather events should be witnesses as well. Human politics are a target for redemption as well.
The child in the manger is Lord of heaven and earth. We are merely his servants. AMEN