Reflection for Sunday – September 29, 2024
Readings: Numbers 11: 25-29; James 5: 1-6; Mark 9: 38-43, 45, 47-48
Preacher: Marilyn Catherine
How appropriate that these Scripture passages are proclaimed on the last Sunday of the Season of Creation, whose theme this year is To Hope and Act With Creation.
Thomas Aquinas stated: “Sacred writings are bound in two volumes—that of creation and that of Holy Scripture…“Creation is the primary and most perfect revelation of the Divine.”
The first four verses of Psalm 19 say it too:
The heavens are telling the glory of God;
and the firmament proclaims his handiwork.
Day to day pours forth speech,
and night to night declares knowledge.
There is no speech, nor are there words;
their voice is not heard;
yet their voice goes out through all the earth,
and their words to the end of the world.
When I pray with the Book of Creation—when I give my attention tothe passage of a flock of geese, or reflect on a line of trees, or rest in the calm of the river’s flow— it is a practice of Lectio Divina.I am awestruck. I am humbled. I am made more deeply aware of Divine Presence, and my whole being echoes the psalmist’s response: The precepts of the Lord give joy to the heart.
But just as there are difficult passages in the written Word, there are difficult passages in the Book of Creation and we must give our attention to them too.
Again and again Pope Francis has urged us to listen and respond to the Cry of the Earth. The cry of the earth today is loud and clear and her voice is the voice of a prophet.
The Biblical prophet is the one who raises our consciousness—the one who is calling attention to behavior that is not aligned with God’s precepts, the one who is saying we need to examine how we are leading our lives, the one who asks, “Is your way of being in the likeness of God?” Is that not what the Earth is crying out to say?
The Word in all three readings, tell us more about what being in the likeness of God should look like. God expects us to help one another carry our burdens, to share our gifts and blessings, to practice justice. When we focus our attention and conviction on that responsibility, God enables us to do so. Jesus’ mission was not about hoarding power and privilege, it was about service. These Scripture passages proclaim the same message that is revealed in the Book of Nature. We are creatures belonging to an awesome communion where every part of this vast ecosystem we call Creation is in service to one another and God’s glory.
The Earth is crying out and this unexpected prophet is telling us we need to shift our perspective from pride of place to one of humility. We need to reimagine and relearn our role in the place of power. We need to take it to heart that we are to be in the likeness of our caring God.
The cry of the earth serves as a call to action, demanding a change in the attitudes, behaviors and systems that harm the environment, the poor, the communion of Creation, and our union with God.
Yet however bleak our future may be pictured, the prophet’s voice is never one of despair; it is one of hope. When we realize ourselves in right relationship, hoping and acting with Creation, we will know the true and everlasting joy and purpose God desires for all.
She is active in her parish and founded the Creation Stewards Ministry there in 2007.
She is a writer and storyteller with "Women of the Well."In her opinion some of the best homilies come to us through the arts.
- Reflection for Sunday – September 29, 2024 - September 25, 2024
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