SUGGESTED READING: WISDOM 1: 13-15 2:23-24
MARK 5: 21-43
It is good to remember that
this world was created with perfection. God’s vision was that of beauty,
goodness, and love. This has never changed. Instead, it is our clouded vision
and broken relationship with God that brought about a distortion of God’s
intention. Our Holy Father Pope Francis just recently finished an Encyclical focusing
on the abuse of the Earth and its natural resources. He observed that we were
given the responsibility of being stewards of this planet and that we have
failed in the task. He then linked our treatment of God’s Creation to our
treatment of each other and the decline of morality in society. Ultimately,
these are not separate issues but reveal a pattern of behavior that develops
when God is not put first in our lives or when God is removed from his creation
by the actions and thoughts of society and its peoples.
We are broken. We are lost.
We are hopeless without the mercy and love of God. For most of our existence we
have struggled to become closer to God and understand him while, at the same
time, cherished our individuality so much that we ran away from the very thing
that created us and loves us so much. There is no sin that is greater than
another. All lead to the same result which is a separation from God and an
absence of his love. Even though this is the case, the sin of Pride has many consequences
beyond the basic results of sin. Pride is actually a gateway to sin. It enables
us to put our thoughts and emotions above God’s and drives us to pursue that
which is not healthy for us in the first place. Pride allows us to self-justify
our actions and take command of our destinies; enabling us to exercise our free
will incorrectly. Instead of recognizing ourselves as Children of God, we then
claim to be gods ourselves. The results of these actions are clear in the way
we have abused this planet and each other continuously throughout our long and
sordid history.
A continuous and fundamental
change is what is needed to reverse this trend. Faith in Jesus Christ as our
redeemer, lover, and friend must be embraced so as to deepen our understanding
of God and his love for us. When we experience this love we will naturally be
transformed by his presence. The darkness that we encounter, along with the
pain and suffering that appears to engulf this world and us will dissipate.
What will remain are the Light of Christ and a loving presence. What was
incorrect will be corrected and a new understanding of God and what he wants
for us will develop.
The capabilities and
abilities of God in our lives are endless. Through faith and trust in God we
can come to a realization of this. It is through this revelation that things
can and will get better. A complete trust and love of God is necessary. This
might not occur immediately. As in most relationships, things like this take time.
Take a moment to contemplate how long we have taken God for granted in our
lives. A reversal of this trend will take possibly just as long in many ways.
But in other ways, there will be immediate results and it is through the
discovery of these results that we may obtain a strengthening of our faith that
will allow us to continue forward.
We all have an investment in
the future of this creation. This includes all of us. We are God’s Children and
he loves us all.
Deacon Tom
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