God Saw How Good It Was February 5

Memorial of Saint Agatha, virgin and martyr

By Beth De Cristofaro

God saw how good it was. (Genesis 1:12)

How manifold are your works, O LORD! In wisdom you have wrought them all— the earth is full of your creatures; Bless the LORD, O my soul! Alleluia. (Ps 104: 24, 1)

Jesus and his disciples came to land at Gennesaret … they laid the sick in the marketplaces and begged him that they might touch only the tassel on his cloak; and as many as touched it were healed. (Mk 6: 53, 56)

Piety

Bless the LORD, O my soul! I today rejoice in the might of your works, the depths of your mercy. Just like a cat who pounces out of the core of her cat-ness, or the dolphin who leaps from the core of his dolphin-ness, their God-given true natures, may I act today out of the core of my true nature which is the image and likeness of You. I rejoice in the wisdom with which you created life. I give respect and love to each and every creature of yours. May all I do and say show my reverence for your mighty works. Amen


Study

http://www.usccb.org/nab/020507.shtml

Today’s reading from Genesis delights us with its beautiful poetry and its desire to give glory to the Creator who did something humans can never fully understand: create and sanctify life itself. In the debate whether the Creation story is literal, whether Creation was 6,000 years ago or evolved slowly over millennium, let us not lose sight over the important reality that life came into being and “it was good.” How it was done is a fascinating and interesting exercise.

Today is the feast of St Agatha. All we know of her is that she lived and she was martyred for her faith. Much of the rest of her story is legend, an attempt for the faithful to understand her witness of faith. Did Agatha understand her tortures and murder? Most likely not. Why this blameless girl?

It is much like us today. We don’t understand fully so many things. Cancer … why me? Depression …why me? Poor choices devastate my family …why me? Bombs destroyed my house …why me? I am stuck in this low-wage job. Why me?

What Agatha knew and believed, to the core of her being which remained unshaken in the midst of torture, was: “Jesus Christ, Lord of all, you see my heart. You know my desires. Possess all that I am. I am your sheep: make me worthy to overcome the devil.” (From www.Catholic.org -- http://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=14)

In today’s Gospel, Jesus continues to heal. People began to bring in the sick on mats to wherever they heard he was… they laid the sick in the marketplaces and begged him that they might touch only the tassel on his cloak; and as many as touched it were healed. (Mk 6:55-56)

Did the people fully understand? Probably not. But they believed and they hoped. Just before this passage, Jesus had fed the multitude and stilled the threatening waves. The disciples had not understood: On the contrary, their hearts were hardened (Mk 6:52). Yet Jesus did not give up on them.

God, creating, saw that it was good. So the Son was sent to model to us and return us to God’s enfolding love. Do we trust that it is good? That however distrustful, disobedient, hurtful, different or even non-believing we are that all peoples are part of Creation and therefore have potential good? Can we trust that God know their hearts and ours. Can we trust God alone to guide our God-given nature? Can we bring ourselves and others to touch only the tassel on his cloak (and be) healed?

Action

We are having cold weather here in the Metropolitan Washington, D.C. area. Local churches are stepping up to provide shelter for homeless men and women – many of whom don’t choose homelessness but have it thrust upon them though job loss or inadequate wages or perhaps mental health issues (Why me, Lord?). What can you do today to help level the playing field? How can you bring to your life the certainly that Life, all God’s Creation, is Good?

DeColores

Beth DeCristofaro