Breaking the Word

5^th Week in Ord. Time, Wednesday – 8^th February 2023 — Genesis 2, 4b-9.15-17; Mark 7,14-23

Divine Providence

The first reading gives a second story of creation, beginning with the creation of Adam and the command for him to enjoy the garden, but to refrain from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. This account is much more anthropomorphic, i.e., using human terms for God’s action. It pictures God as the potter who takes a piece of clay (adama), forms it and then breathes the divine Spirit (ruah) into the clay and it becomes human (Adam). After the creation of the first human being, God creates food sources for Adam. The food is vegetation. God provides him with fruit trees. Finally, God invites Adam to eat of any of the trees, except one.

God provides the best for everyone: both food for our bodies and food for our minds and souls. God has made us and formed us. God has breathed the divine Spirit within us so that we are not just made of clay, but creatures who have God’s very life within.  What ruins our nature is not eating the food which God has provided but going against the Spirit which God has breathed into our very being. We are called to reflect more on the Spirit received and to be grateful for the life we enjoy and for all ways God sustains by providing for our well-being. Let us focus on God’s providence as we pray along with today’s responsorial Psalm, “All creatures look to you to give them food in due time. When You give it to them, they gather it; when You open Your hand, they are filled with good things. If You take away their breath, they perish and return to their dust. When You send forth your Spirit, they are created, and You renew the face of the earth.” (Ps 104,27-30).

5^th Week in Ord. Time, Tuesday – 7^th February 2023 — Gospel: Genesis 1,10-2,4;  Mark 7,1-13

Becoming Worthy Care Takers

In the first reading, we are reminded of the special role of humans. God created everything and nothing has come to be without God’s willing it. Human beings are the epitome of creation. They have the privilege of having control over the lesser parts of God’s creation. Men and women are made caretakers of creation. They are always to do what God would want them to do, not just what they wish to do. Being mindful of all creation has always been a response to the God given relationship that we have with all of what God has created. Believing in God as the Creator and Giver of all, humans have a responsibility to care for all of God’s creation, especially as they are the most conscious and thought-enabled creatures on this planet. In reducing, re-using, and recycling they show appreciation for all that God has created, especially for the benefit of those who will come after.

When mortals start thinking that they take the primary place of God and can dictate rules and regulations over creatures, then things start to fall apart. In the Gospel, Jesus reprimands the religious leaders who have taken on too much authority in hand and caused problems for others by lording it over others. These leaders upheld their human traditions over the truth. Yet Jesus reminds the religious leaders that the relationship between God and humans is most important than the human laws and regulations. Humans are called to be images and likenesses of God. They must use their intellectual ability, emotional concerns, and their physical strength to demonstrate to the world that they are privileged to live in God’s creation and provide the same feelings for others.