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| “Creation of Adam” by Michelangelo Buonarroti, 1510 |
Reading 1: Genesis
1:20—2:4a
God said,
"Let the water teem with
an abundance of living creatures,
and on the earth let birds
fly beneath the dome of the sky."
And so it happened:
God created the great sea
monsters
and all kinds of swimming
creatures with which the water teems,
and all kinds of winged
birds.
God saw how good it was, and
God blessed them, saying,
"Be fertile, multiply,
and fill the water of the seas;
and let the birds multiply on
the earth."
Evening came, and morning
followed—the fifth day.
Then God said,
"Let the earth bring
forth all kinds of living creatures:
cattle, creeping things, and
wild animals of all kinds."
And so it happened:
God made all kinds of wild
animals, all kinds of cattle,
and all kinds of creeping
things of the earth.
God saw how good it was.
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.
God blessed them, saying:
"Be fertile and
multiply;
fill the earth and subdue it.
Have dominion over the fish
of the sea, the birds of the air,
and all the living things
that move on the earth."
God also said:
"See, I give you every
seed-bearing plant all over the earth
and every tree that has
seed-bearing fruit on it to be your food;
and to all the animals of the
land, all the birds of the air,
and all the living creatures
that crawl on the ground,
I give all the green plants
for food."
And so it happened.
God looked at everything he
had made, and he found it very good.
Evening came, and morning
followed—the sixth day.
Thus the heavens and the
earth and all their array were completed.
Since on the seventh day God
was finished with the work he had been doing,
he rested on the seventh day
from all the work he had undertaken.
So God blessed the seventh
day and made it holy,
because on it he rested from
all the work he had done in creation.
Such is the story of the
heavens and the earth at their creation.
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Commentary on Gn 1:20—2:4a
This passage completes the Priestly
creation account in Genesis. It describes the creation of all life on earth and
concludes with the establishment of the Sabbath on the seventh day,
establishing the sacredness of that day. God’s creation of mankind in v. 26
represents the climax of his creative effort in that God give us dominion over
the rest of creation.
"The sacred text emphasizes the
special significance of this moment: God seems to stop to reflect and plan
every detail of his next creation--man. Ancient Jewish interpretation (followed
also by some Christian writers) saw the use of the plural ‘Let us make...’ as
meaning that God deliberated with his heavenly court, that is, with the angels
(implying that God had created them at the very start, when he ‘created the
heavens and the earth’). But the use of the plural should rather be taken as
reflecting the greatness and power of God. A considerable part of Christian
tradition has seen the ‘Let us make’ as reflecting the Holy Trinity, for New
Testament revelation has made the Christian reader more aware of the
unfathomable greatness of the divine mystery."[4]
CCC: Gn 1:21 299; Gn 1:26-29 2402; Gn 1:26-28 307; Gn 1:26-27 1602; Gn 1:26 36, 225, 299, 343, 2501, 2809; Gn
1:27 355, 383, 1604, 2331; Gn 1:28-31 2415; Gn 1:28 372, 373, 1604, 1607, 1652, 2331, 2427; Gn
1:31 299, 1604; Gn 2:1-3 345; Gn 2:2 314, 2184
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Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 8:4-5, 6-7,
8-9
R. (2ab) O Lord, our God, how wonderful your name in
all the earth!
When I behold your heavens,
the work of your fingers,
the moon and the stars which
you set in place—
What is man that you should
be mindful of him,
or the son of man that you
should care for him?
R. O Lord, our God, how wonderful your name in all the
earth!
You have made him little less
than the angels,
and crowned him with glory
and honor.
You have given him rule over
the works of your hands,
putting all things under his
feet.
R. O Lord, our God, how wonderful your name in all the
earth!
All sheep and oxen,
yes, and the beasts of the
field,
The birds of the air, the
fishes of the sea,
and whatever swims the paths
of the seas.
R. O Lord, our God, how wonderful your name in all the
earth!
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Commentary on Ps 8:4-5, 6-7, 8-9
Psalm 8 is a song of thanksgiving
for the creation event described in Genesis. The song marvels at God’s great
work, his creation, and the life he gave us. The singer expresses the humility
of a people who, through no merit of their own, God has made little less than
angels and given a place of honor. Having done all this, mankind accepts great
responsibility for stewardship.
CCC: Ps 8:6 2566, 2809
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Gospel: Mark 7:1-13
When the Pharisees with some
scribes who had come from Jerusalem
gathered around Jesus,
they observed that some of
his disciples ate their meals
with unclean, that is,
unwashed, hands.
(For the Pharisees and, in
fact, all Jews,
do not eat without carefully
washing their hands,
keeping the tradition of the
elders.
And on coming from the
marketplace
they do not eat without
purifying themselves.
And there are many other
things that they have traditionally observed,
the purification of cups and
jugs and kettles and beds.)
So the Pharisees and scribes
questioned him,
"Why do your disciples
not follow the tradition of the elders
but instead eat a meal with
unclean hands?"
He responded,
"Well did Isaiah
prophesy about you hypocrites,
as it is written:
This people honors me with
their lips,
but their hearts are far
from me;
in vain do they worship
me,
teaching as doctrines
human precepts.
You disregard God's
commandment but cling to human tradition."
He went on to say,
"How well you have set
aside the commandment of God
in order to uphold your
tradition!
For Moses said,
Honor your father and your
mother,
and Whoever curses father
or mother shall die.
Yet you say,
'If someone says to father or
mother,
"Any support you might
have had from me is qorban"'
(meaning, dedicated to God),
you allow him to do nothing
more for his father or mother.
You nullify the word of God
in favor of your tradition
that you have handed on.
And you do many such
things."
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Commentary on Mk 7:1-13
We begin the seventh chapter of
Mark’s Gospel with an encounter between Jesus and the Pharisees. Jesus’
disciples are not following strict pharisaic laws regarding ritual purification
and the Lord, who is their teacher, is taken to task for it. Jesus responds
indignantly, asserting that it is the Pharisees with their man-made laws who
are sinning against God. He points out that not only have they placed pharisaic
law above Mosaic Law (see also Galatians 1:14), but they
have violated the Law of Moses by doing so. He gives one example about children
who, under Mosaic Law, are to honor and support their parents. Instead of
supporting them directly, they satisfy their obligation by contributing it to
the Temple and count that as support, even though it gives the parents no
comfort.
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Reflection:
Today
I plagiarize myself. The following was
written ten years ago on Tuesday of the Fifth Week in Ordinary Time. The person described deserves to be
remembered.
“This week I was called to do
a vigil service for Dorothy H. Szyniszewski who died at 86 of cancer. As usual,
when I don’t know a person well, I first read the obituary notice and then
asked to speak with one of Dorothy’s daughters before the service. The picture
that was painted of this woman’s life was a text book image of a lived faith.
By all accounts, she lead an exemplary life, full of service, first to her
children and then to the community at large. She was known as a go-to person at
the retirement home where she spent the last years of her life, and was always
independent of her children.
The reason I think of her now
is that I did not know her. I have been at St. Thomas as parishioner and Deacon
for over forty years and I can’t recall having met her, even though her
children and one of the priests of our diocese who were present vouched for her
lively and lived faith.
Many people believe that in
order to be a good church member one must be known to be pious by the clergy,
and seen by other dedicated individuals as a person living a holy life by their
observance of the traditions of the Church. Yet there was a person who, at 86,
had a vigil on Super Bowl Sunday, during the game, and had over 30 people
present. Here is a woman who had hundreds file through the home during her
visitation period. Here is a woman who did not want to be a burden to her
children, so she took a part time job and worked until two weeks before she
died, while suffering the ravages of her cancer, never complaining.
When we think about the
Gospel today, and how Jesus challenged the Pharisees, he was not just talking
about his disciples, but about the Dorothy H. Szyniszewski’s of the world, who
live the spirit of God’s law in humility. Our prayer today is that we may do as
well as Dorothy when our time comes.
Pax
[1]
The picture is “Creation of Adam” by Michelangelo Buonarroti, 1510
[3]
The readings are taken from the New
American Bible, with the exception of the psalm and its response which were
developed by the International Committee for English in Liturgy (ICEL). This
republication is not authorized by USCCB and is for private use only.
[4]
The Navarre Bible: “Pentateuch”, Scepter Publishers, Princeton, NJ, © 2003, p.
40.
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