less than perfect, more than flesh and bone

I'm super behind on where I should be with the daily readings, so it's likely I won't comment on all the days.

But I had to write about one of my favorite verses in the Old Testament. From today's first reading:

“This one, at last, is bone of my bones
and flesh of my flesh;
this one shall be called ‘woman,’
for out of ‘her man’ this one has been taken.”

I went to a Theology of the Body workshop in the early Fall, and one of the breakout session coordinators talked a little about this phrase. She really made me see the absolute beauty in this passage. First of all - TOB is a beautiful topic, based on a series of speeches by (soon to be BLESSED!) Pope John Paul II. It paints human sexuality in the beautiful light it was intended to be seen in.

This phrase comes after Adam sees his true mate for the first time. Imagine the relief, after being created in solitude, having a line of animals paraded by him - of course, none of them right for him - he find the perfect mate. Designed from the very moment of her creation, perfect for her mate. Imagine the feeling. Imagine the sigh of relief and delight. "At last, this one is bone of my bone and flesh of my flesh." She is mine. And not territorially, his. But perfectly equal and forever to be loved.

And people say the creation story is "outdated" and "useless"...this moment is so easily missed if you are not careful. What beauty you'd overlook!

We're less than perfect, more than flesh and bone.

daily readings Feb. 9th, 2011 (I guess I'm a day behind!)

Genesis 2:4-9, 15-17

Psalm 104:1-2, 27-30

Mark 7:14-23

Starting with the first reading...

"the LORD God formed man out of the clay of the ground
and blew into his nostrils the breath of life,
and so man became a living being."

SO beautiful. At the very beginning of our existence, God breathes into us. He breathes into us His spirit, His life, His holiness. We are not simply flesh and bone, but contain within us the very breath of God! The Holy Spirit dwells within us, raising us above the rest of creation. God does not breathe into plants, he does not breathe into any sort of animal - only into humans. We are set apart.

We must first recognize our own holiness, and act in a way that reflects that - both inwardly and outwardly. We must treat ourselves in a manner worthy of our creation, and must live our lives in a way that reflects God's spirit within us. Not a task to take lightly. When you recognize yourself as set apart, you reflect on what goes into your body, and what you do to uphold your dignity. BUT - like Jesus declares in the Gospel, it is not just what goes into our bodies that have the opportunity to defile us, but what comes from within.

Nothing that enters one from outside can defile that person;
but the things that come out from within are what defile.

We must be on guard against what comes from within us as well.

From within the man, from his heart,
come evil thoughts, unchastity, theft, murder,
adultery, greed, malice, deceit,
licentiousness, envy, blasphemy, arrogance, folly.

These things that come from within DO NOT reflect the holiness of God that has been breathed into us. We must not allow these tendencies to overpower our holiness. Be on guard! Do not let sin win over your heart. Seek God, seek goodness - call upon the Holy Spirit to help you to live a life of dignity and holiness!

You have to start with yourself. You can do nothing to help others if you yourself are not on track with God. You can try, and it might work at first, but you'll burn out. You need to be sustained by an inner holiness and peace only possible with God. THEN you can work for the dignity of others! You cannot give what you do not have.

That being said, once you are striving to live up to the dignity and holiness of your own creation, you have a responsibility to help others live up to theirs! We live in a negative and parasitic world. The evils of our society can and will bring us down - if we allow them to. That's why are created to live in community and help our brothers and sisters in Christ. Bring others to the Father. Help others to recognize how wonderfully they were made and loved into existence by the Father. Love those around you.

Just as you were set apart at your creation - so was your neighbor. Uphold their dignity, and you are more fully upholding your own.

Praise God for His creation. And praise God for loving humanity so immensely.

"God spoke earth into existence, no autotune" - Lecrae

Daily Readings Feb 7, 2011

Genesis 1:1-19

Psalm 104: 1-2a, 5-6, 10 and 12, 24, and 35

Mark 6:53-56

This year I taught Creation for the first time, to my 6th graders, which gave me an entirely new perspective on the story. I shouldn’t be surprised since you always seem to learn things better and get an entirely new understanding when you are the one teaching instead of learning.

I also had a conversation with a friend who is taking a class where they discussed the absolute awe that comes with our creator God. He spoke about how the teacher was discussing creation, how God created something out of nothing, and how that is often overlooked. We are so used to learning how to make things out of other things, that we take this for granted. (Think back to biology or science class - matter can neither be created nor destroyed, it just changes forms...)

“In the beginning, when God created the heavens and the earth, the earth was a formless wasteland.”

There was NOTHING, and God made SOMETHING.

Think about that for a second. Look at the air in front of you and then imagine something appearing, out of absolutely no where. Impossible, right? Not for God. Not only did he form Adam from clay, but he created out of nothing. God took the absence of everything and created the heavens and earth. It’s hard to wrap our heads around this fact. God spoke, and things were. “He manufactured light and darkness with His conversation.” (from “God” by Christian rapper - Pro)

It’s absolutely amazing. God is so glorious.

The other thing I find so beautiful in this Creation story is that God creates and then sees that His creation is good. God didn’t create the earth, or water, or us and say, “Eh, it looks decent.” No, he said that is was good. As a teacher, I usually use the word “good” to describe a student that has done well, but is capable of doing better. When God says “good,” it’s different.

“Then God said, ‘Let there light,” and there was light. God saw how good the light was.”

Don’t underrate the word “good.” Good is a lack of evil, good is life-giving, good works for the benefit of all. What God creates is good. The earth is good, the sea and sky are good, we are good.

Amen.

We need to live up to the reality of our creation.