This is a reflection on the Mass readings of the day.
Imagine the writer of the first reading from the book of Genesis, who penned his work centuries before the birth of Christ. At first he seems so different from you and me–no electronics, no convenient transportation, no media.
But as we read his description of creation, we see that his experiences are not so different–in some ways, perhaps better than ours. We dream of spending time outdoors, in the fields among flowers, in the sea–these are the things of which this author writes, the things of his experience. In some senses, it would appear that the stuff of his day-to-day is the stuff of our dreams.
And in his description of these elements, we hear about things intimate and familiar to us, things that we experience with the same perception of beauty and sense of awe that he did.
And because it is the moment of creation that he describes, everything appears so fresh, so untainted, so innocent. We almost wonder: Would God have gone to all this trouble, if he had known what was coming–if he had known, for example, of the people we see in today’s gospel, utterly desperate with infirmity? If He had foreseen the full misery caused by sin?
And yet, the Lord and origin of this immensely beautiful creation did in fact foresee; He did know how sin and evil would twist, contort, and putrefy the beauty that He had created. And yet, He did not hesitate.
For as much as we appreciate the beauty of creation, there is one reality that we do not fully appreciate in all its splendor and crowning glory: The beauty, and transforming power, of Redemption. It is because of Redemption that He moved forward.
Ideas for conversation with the Lord: Ask Jesus for faith in the restorative power of His Redemption, even though we do not yet see that power fully play out here on earth. Ask Him to see all with such acute eyes of faith that His redemptive work appears to your heart as vividly as the physical world appears to your eyes.
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