Tuesday of the 5th Week in Ordinary Time (B)

Gn 1:20-2:4; Mk 7:1-13

Today's first reading is a continuation of the creation account that we heard yesterday, a story that is quite familiar to us. God created the heavens and the earth in six days. In the beginning there was nothing. God created light and separated it from darkness. God created the waters and filled it with fish, the air and filled it with birds, the earth and filled it with plants and other living creatures. In the skies, God placed the moon, the sun and the stars. After creating these wonderful creatures, God saw everything and found them good.

Beautiful creation! Splendid! And God could have stopped there. But no, something more was lacking. On the sixth day, “God created man in his image; in the divine
image he created him; male and female he created them.” The human person was created in God’s image and likeness, with freedom and free choice. Then what happened? Boom – there was chaos!

And we ask: Why did God take the risk of creating the human being? Why did God take the risk of creating man and give him freedom, a freedom which we have abused. Why?

A respected theologian suggests that it is possible to imagine that God took the risks of creating us because He wanted someone who can establish a relationship with him, someone who will love him in return. The plants, animals, stars, and all of creation are beautiful, but they could not love God in return, they could not commune with God, unlike the human person. Human beings are the crowning glory of God’s creation because they are like Him, and they are free to love God in return.

Here, we can discern an important quality of authentic humanity. The true human being is the person who lives in intimate relationship with God. This is God’s will for humanity. He took the risk of creating us because He wanted us to establish a relationship with Him. Thus, a person is truly human when he or she shares deep friendship with God. It would be disastrous for one to neglect God or place Him second in his priorities. It is wrong for one to call on God only in times of emergency, in times of necessity. And it is sad if one doesn't take serious efforts to maintain and nourish friendship with God.

Look at the face of Jesus and what do we see? We see someone who is always in deep communion with his Father. The face of Jesus is so beautiful, so attractively human because he had lived his life in friendship with his Father. Not only that he spent much time praying, but that his whole life was spent in union with the Father. Even during the times when he did not understand, when his followers deserted him, when he was deeply troubled, Jesus remained with his Father. In the garden of Gethsemane, Jesus said, “Father, if possible take this cup away from me, but not my will be done but yours.” When he was deeply hurting, he said, “Father, Father, why have you abandoned me?” And yet, in the end, he still managed to say: “Father, into your hands I commend my spirit.”

When we look at the face of Jesus, it’s so beautiful. It’s the face of one who lived his life in full communion with God the Father. What about ours?