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“Saint Elizabeth of Hungary
Bringing Food for the Inmates of a Hospital”(detail)
by Adam Elsheimer c. 1600 |
Reading for Friday of the Thirty-second Week in Ordinary Time [1]
Readings from the Jerusalem Bible [2]
Readings and Commentary: [3]
Reading 1: Wisdom 13:1-9
All men were by nature foolish who were in ignorance of God,
and who from the good things seen did not succeed in knowing him who is,
and from studying the works did not discern the artisan;
But either fire, or wind, or the swift air,
or the circuit of the stars, or the mighty water,
or the luminaries of heaven, the governors of the world, they considered gods.
Now if out of joy in their beauty they thought them gods,
let them know how far more excellent is the Lord than these;
for the original source of beauty fashioned them.
Or if they were struck by their might and energy,
let them from these things realize how much more powerful is he who made them.
For from the greatness and the beauty of created things
their original author, by analogy, is seen.
But yet, for these the blame is less;
For they indeed have gone astray perhaps,
though they seek God and wish to find him.
For they search busily among his works,
but are distracted by what they see, because the things seen are fair.
But again, not even these are pardonable.
For if they so far succeeded in knowledge
that they could speculate about the world,
how did they not more quickly find its Lord?
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Commentary on Wis 13:1-9
In this selection, the author of the Book of Wisdom builds logic for an apologia for the one true God. He starts by saying the foolish (pagans) did not know there was an artist, even though they studied the art left behind. He then goes into detail saying that those who worship inanimate objects (fire, wind, stars, water) and call them beautiful, have missed the true wonder of the creator himself. Those who worship these things, in essence, cannot see the forest but instead see a single tree.
CCC: Wis 13:1-15, 19 2112; Wis 13:1-9 32, 216; Wis 13:1 1147; Wis 13:3 2129, 2500; Wis 13:5 41, 2500
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Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 19:2-3, 4-5ab
R. (2a) The heavens proclaim the glory of God.
The heavens declare the glory of God,
and the firmament proclaims his handiwork.
Day pours out the word to day,
and night to night imparts knowledge.
R. The heavens proclaim the glory of God.
Not a word nor a discourse
whose voice is not heard;
Through all the earth their voice resounds,
and to the ends of the world, their message.
R. The heavens proclaim the glory of God.
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Commentary on Ps 19:2-3, 4-5ab
Psalm 19 is a hymn of praise. In these opening strophes, the psalmist rejoices in God’s visible hand, revealed in all creation. It is the first of two themes expressed in the psalm (the other is in praise of the Law of Moses). While no word of God announces his presence, his glory is revealed in the creation of all things.
CCC: Ps 19:2-5 299; Ps 19:2 326
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Gospel: Luke 17:26-37
Jesus said to his disciples:
“As it was in the days of Noah,
so it will be in the days of the Son of Man;
they were eating and drinking,
marrying and giving in marriage up to the day
that Noah entered the ark,
and the flood came and destroyed them all.
Similarly, as it was in the days of Lot:
they were eating, drinking, buying,
selling, planting, building;
on the day when Lot left Sodom,
fire and brimstone rained from the sky to destroy them all.
So it will be on the day the Son of Man is revealed.
On that day, someone who is on the housetop
and whose belongings are in the house
must not go down to get them,
and likewise one in the field
must not return to what was left behind.
Remember the wife of Lot.
Whoever seeks to preserve his life will lose it,
but whoever loses it will save it.
I tell you, on that night there will be two people in one bed;
one will be taken, the other left.
And there will be two women grinding meal together;
one will be taken, the other left.”
They said to him in reply, “Where, Lord?”
He said to them, “Where the body is,
there also the vultures will gather.”
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Commentary on Lk 17:26-37
In this section of his discourse, Jesus speaks of the Eschaton (the end times). Relating the coming of the Son of Man (the Parousia) to the purges of evil and disbelief of the Great Flood (Genesis 6:5-8, 7:6-24) and the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah (Genesis 18:16-19:28), he tells his disciples that, in that time, the things of this world (including the physical body) do not matter. Using the example of Lot’s wife (cf. Genesis 19:26), he explains that any attempt to preserve physical reality will be disastrous. It is only important that one believes and has faith in Christ, for the soul is eternal, and the body must die. (“Where the body is, there also the vultures will gather.”)
CCC: Lk 17:19-31 2463; Lk 17:33 1889
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Reflection:
“All men were by nature foolish who were in ignorance of God, and who from the good things seen did not succeed in knowing him who is, and from studying the works did not discern the artisan.”
There has been a great deal of debate going on that relates to three different views of the creation of the universe and all contained in it. The three views include: 1.) The biblical Creationist view that proposes that God created everything in six twenty-four hour days; 2.) The Organic Evolutionist view based upon the Neo-Darwinian premise that all life evolved naturally with no evidence of a deity; 3.) Intelligent Design which attempted to synthesize the two, saying that there is evidence in creation that there was outside influence of a creative hand – a designer. Some Catholics might be surprised to learn that the Church’s view is most closely aligned to the Intelligent Design theory of creation. (See What We Believe – Intelligent Design vs. Evolution.)
Pope John Paul II spoke to this issue in a series of audiences in 1986 saying in part “the theory of natural evolution, understood in a sense that does not exclude divine causality, is not in principle opposed to the truth about creation . . . as presented in the Book of Genesis . . . It must, however, be added that this hypothesis proposes only a probability, not a scientific certainty . . . [But] it is possible that the human body, following the order impressed by the Creator on the energies of life, could have been gradually prepared in the forms of antecedent living beings.”
The teaching of the Church has continued with Pope Benedict XVI reaffirming this view in his address to the clergy in 2007.
“[H]e expressed impatience with the false polarities of 'creationism' and 'evolutionism.' The doctrine of creation and the theory of evolution, he said, are not 'mutually exclusive alternatives.' The world need not be divided between fideists who cram scientific data into a Biblical template never meant to receive them and materialists who think that soothing phrases like 'random fluctuation in the quantum void' dispense with the need for a Creator.”[4]
There are two reasons for considering these various positions. First, to find awe in a Creator who presented us with such a wondrous creation as the Book of Wisdom clearly states. Who indeed can look at the wonder of creation and think that what transpired in creation “statistically eliminated the possibility of the existence of God,” as stated by notable atheists who present their beliefs as science? We also recognize, ironically through Sacred Scripture, that we must not reduce our awe in God’s creation by attempting to place God in a box with human language and concepts. Yes. Genesis records (twice) that God created all that is in six days: but whose days? We need only look at Psalm 90 which says “Before the mountains were born, the earth and the world brought forth, from eternity to eternity you are God. A thousand years in your eyes are merely a yesterday,” (Psalm 90:2).
It is therefore rather surprising in the face of both scientific and biblical evidence that there are Catholics (and many other Christians) who cling stubbornly to the creationist views, rejecting scientific evidence completely. We must open our hearts to the Holy Spirit, recognizing that we may never know the will of God completely, nor the means with which it is implemented. We must also accept God’s gift of curiosity and intellect that allows us to, in a small way, understand the marvels he has created more deeply.
Today our prayer is for ourselves that we may focus most intensely on the important elements of our being – our life in the Spirit. Through our inward meditation may we find the peace of Christ and be prepared to meet him when he comes again.
Pax
[1] S.S. Commemoratio[2] The picture is “Saint Elizabeth of Hungary Bringing Food for the Inmates of a Hospital” by Adam Elsheimer c. 1600.
[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 Catholic Thing “Are Catholics Creationists” by George Sim Johnston, November 9, 2009.
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