Homily: Fifth Wednesday of Ordinary Time
Fifth Wednesday of Ordinary Time (Genesis 2: 4b-9, 15-17) “Walking in the Garden”
Most people do not read the Bible too often, so they are unaware that there are two stories of creation. We read from the first story of creation at our Masses yesterday. In that version God is very distant. God has no interaction with human beings other than to create them. We are told in the first version of creation that God makes human beings in his image.
The second story of creation God is presented in an anthropomorphic way. This means God is presented as human characteristics. God, for instance, forms man out of the mud. We can imagine God at a potter’s wheel working with his hands molding and shaping the human being before blowing into his nostrils. God also walks with the first humans in the garden talking and sharing with them.
This version of creation stimulates our imagination. We hear how God has interactions with the human beings he creates, and we get a sense of what a close relationship God had with Adam and Eve. There was a friendship, a relationship of trust.
In the Garden, God plants not one tree, but two trees. One tree is the “tree of life.” The other tree is the “tree of knowledge of good and evil.” God orders the humans he has created not to eat of the tree of good and evil. God does not say anything about the tree of life. Somehow it seems strange that death entered the world when Adam and Eve ate from the tree of good and evil.
Somehow it also seems odd that God does not want Adam and Eve to know the difference between good and evil. Is God trying to keep human beings from maturing? Or is God trying to protect humanity from unhappiness? These are interesting questions to ponder. When we start to label things as good and evil does that lead to things like fear and violence? Perhaps that is the case.
Reflection Questions:
1. When I was young did the world seem like a kinder place? When was I first aware that there was evil in the world?
2. Did I realize there are two stories of creation in the Bible? Could I take time to read both?
Dear Parishioners,
This Saturday after the 4 p.m. Mass there will be a fund raiser for the Scouts. This will be their Chili Cook off. This is aways a nice social event for our parish. Chefs will bring many different types of chilies and there will be a vote to see who has the best recipe.
The Scouts have been an important part of our parish for the last 100 years. Scouting, like so many organizations, is facing new challenges in our changing society. If you would like to show support for scouting this is a wonderful opportunity to do so. If you are not attending Mass, you can come to the cook off and Culemans Hall at 5 p.m.
May Our Lady Watch over our world today.
Fr. Mark