Our first reading from Sirach goes through the qualities of man as God intended him to be. He was created from the earth, made in God’s own image, and will return to the earth. His time on Earth is limited, but all other creatures serve him and he reigns over them in wisdom. God has even extended to man an everlasting covenant, giving him access to His thoughts and counsels. The Lord is always watching and guiding them.
This is a revealing description of God’s providence for man. At one and the same time, we are made in God’s deathless image and have a limited time on Earth. At one and the same time, we are given dominion over creation and are to return to its dust. We are made from the earth, yet are made for union with God, sharing in an everlasting covenant with Him. Our potential is limitless, but we begin from nothing.
Christ acknowledges this dichotomy in the Gospel. He tells His disciples to let the children come to Him because their acceptance of the Kingdom of God is a model for all people. In setting the faith of a child as the model, Jesus is emphasizing the divine image in man and his original innocence. This is in contrast to a mature but skeptical man, who leans into the dominion given him over creation while ignoring the offer of an eternal relationship with the Creator.
To experience the fullness of what God had intended for us in creation, we must pay heed to His intention and His commands and act accordingly. If we lean into the image of God and exercise our dominion over creation with a respect for God’s precepts and within the context of His covenant, we will follow Him to eternal life, transcending our dust. If we refuse to acknowledge this image and refuse to exercise our wisdom with reference to the Creator’s life and law, we will remain in dust.
The psalmist contrasts these two states of man. Some have days “like those of grass”; “The wind sweeps over him and he is gone” (Psalm 103:15, 16). For those who fear the Lord, “The kindness of the Lord is from eternity to eternity” (Psalm 103:17). Those who fear God experience eternal kindness from Him, lasting beyond earthly life. Those who do not are swept away, never to return.
Man is created uniquely among all other creatures. He can identify with the animals, the angels, and with God but is inherently different – only he is created in God’s image. In this unique space between heaven and earth, man stands ready to make his home in one or the other. If he follows the way of darkness, he goes back to the earth and to hell. If he follows the way of the Lord, he rises beyond the dust to his heavenly home.
Daily Reading
Second Sunday of Lent
Reading I Genesis 15:5-12, 17-18 The Lord God took Abram outside and said, “Look up at the sky and count the stars, if you can. Just so,” he added, “shall…
Saint of the Day
Second Sunday of Lent
Reading I Genesis 15:5-12, 17-18 The Lord God took Abram outside and said, “Look up at the sky and count the stars, if you can. Just so,” he added, “shall…