Tag: <span>Creation</span>

May 27, 2021May 14, 2021

The “Who” Behind The “How”

This is a reflection on the Mass readings of the day.

Science, in all its aspects, is wonderful. Human eyes have found a way penetrate into the minute subtleties of reality and discover, not only how they function, but how to combine and adjust them for healing and for technological breakthroughs.

Science has told us much about our micro-reality, and much also about our macro-reality, including the positioning of the earth in the midst of a vast solar system and a universe that is much vaster still.

It has revealed to us secrets about the code defining all life, DNA, and the processes by which the miraculous biological phenomenon/process sustains itself without external drivers.

Science tells us the “how” of nature, but it does not tell us the “who.” It is not just the existence of the material world that begs the question, “who made it.” Nor is it just the complex variability. It is the intelligibility of the universe, especially such incredibly harmonious and impossibly coordinated elements as the self-sustaining process of life, that begs the question, “who.” Far from there existing any conflict between this question and science, the very foundation of science–the wondrous intelligibility of the universe–is precisely what bids us seek out the Mastermind.

As it happens, given that we have a personal God who in various ways has reached out to us, the investigation of this “who” is not itself properly speaking a scientific one. Rather, we have the luxury of its being a relational investigation: a “getting to know you,” so to speak.

The author of today’s first reading has enjoyed some form of this interpersonal connection. He speaks of God in the most personal tones, as he praises the work of His hands. In all of the daunting complexity and splendor of nature, he recognizes the craft of this Person.

In today’s gospel, this encounter becomes much more intimate, as Bartimaeus receives from the hands of Jesus the healing of his blindness. He who formed the very concept of the eyeball and its function of apprehending nature so marvelously restores, person to person, the sight of this blind man.

Ideas for conversation with the Lord: In today’s meditation, consider for a moment that you have the opportunity to meet and interact personally with the Creator of the universe. Pick an element of creation that particularly inspires awe for you, and think, that the One who came up with the very idea for that awe-inspiring creation–and the way to make it a reality–wants to engage in friendship with you. Praise Him for His work.

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February 8, 2021March 4, 2021

Why Create for Spoilage?

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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October 2, 2020September 14, 2020

God is Big, We are Little

This is a reflection on the Mass readings of the day.

Now, perhaps, we can challenge God, even though Job had no right to do so. Where is the home of the light? In the sun, we say, and we can say with some precision how far off it is. The abode of darkness? Outer space, where unlit by a burning ball of gas. Etc.

Perhaps we now have every right to challenge Him, for we know so much, and we are able to manipulate matter and energy as suits us.

To the contrary, on two counts:

1. Imagine living in a world like Job’s where the cause of everything is unknown and virtually unexplored. With all the evil and chaos in the natural world and the human world, an almost inescapable conclusion is that evil powers are as strongly at work as good in the course of the cosmos. And indeed, such was the rational conclusion of many primitive peoples. It took immense faith to believe in a good, providential, loving God as sole sovereign of the universe. Or rather, it took revelation–God’s personal revelation of Himself to humans–and then the faith of others in the word of those receivers of revelation.

Today, even though chaos remains very present to our perception, we have plumbed the depths of biological, geological, physical reality. We see the intricate and awe-inspiring interplay down to the cellular and molecular level of balanced, complementary forces that constitute a universe of order and design. We see the very fingerprints of God.

All the more, then, should we humble ourselves before Him as Job did, and place our destiny with all our hearts in the hands of this good God, who ordered creation so majestically, and who continues providing despite our sin.

2. The more honest scientists discover about reality, the more they realize they don’t know. The more honest engineers manipulate matter and energy, the more they realize how powerless they are before it, and how mysterious and mighty these natural forces are. The more doctors are able to heal, the more they realize that they are not the masters of life and death. God could well challenge us as He challenged Job: Have you ever traversed the sun, or traveled the expanse of the universe? Do you know what drives the smallest of material particles? Can you cure every disease or stop the advent of new maladies? Tiny man on earth, are you master of the vast universe?

And we would need to respond, like Job: “Behold, I am of little account; what can I answer you? I put my hand over my mouth. Though I have spoken once, I will not do so again; though twice, I will do so no more.”

Today is the memorial of the Guardian Angels. In today’s gospel, Jesus makes an argument for the need to hold children in high regard: “Their angels in heaven always look upon the face of my heavenly Father.” Perhaps a child seems of little importance, but each has been assigned one of the noblest creatures, an angel, to look after his/her every step. We must be humble before the Almighty. But it is comforting to know what Job knew: As tiny and insignificant as we are, God places all the focus of His loving Providence upon us, and we can rest in the palm of His hand.

Ideas for conversation with the Lord: Dialogue with Jesus about the awesomeness of creation, and how little we humans really have our heads wrapped around it. Ask Him why we earthlings are of such account to God–consider with Him our beautiful biology, and our unique attribute as free, intelligent beings. Ask Him why He Himself became man, and why He died for us. Pledge again your trust in Him; abandon your life into His hands. For despite our technology, when we take a step back, we realize we were never meant to solve the puzzle of our welfare and destiny on our own.

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