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Daily Reflection

Green Shadow
The first reading begins a 10-week journey through the pre-history portion of Genesis, the first eleven books.

Today, we read the first half of the first of two creation accounts. This emphasizes God’s transcendence over all created things; the second, beginning at Genesis 2:4 includes the account of the Fall and expulsion from the Garden, taking an anthropomorphic approach.

The first two verses, the introduction begins with the well-known: “In the beginning…”. This can also be translated; “When God began to create…”, which emphasizes God’s existence before and separate from His creation. God is not merely the greatest creature, He exists before, above and outside His creation and creatures. As He will subsequently inform Moses, He simply is.

The New American Bible translation used in our Mass gives us “a mighty wind…” over the waters. In other translations, the more literal Revised Standard Version, CE, for example, translates the original Hebrew “ruah” as “the Spirit of God…”.  Fathers of the Church including Jerome and Athanasius recognize the second and third persons of the Trinity here.

While other primitive societies had their own accounts, creation invariably came from conflict and pre-existing material. The Hebrew account is unique in that God is the sole actor; there are no other “gods” involved, and God creates “ex nihilo”: from nothing.

The six days are meant to indicate the orderliness with which God went about His work. Included in the account is a day of rest, which was laid down as a specific day of worship, again, unique to the Hebrew culture. Other cultures would worship strictly ad hoc.

God begins His actions by separating and ordering the elements and His action of filling or adorning the spaces created. The creatures are introduced in an increasing order of dignity. It is worthwhile to note that the stars, sun, moon, and planets are not as other cultures thought, gods, but created things of the greatest, the sole, God.

Each of the steps; “days”, of creation had 5 steps: Announcement: “and God said…”, Command: “let there be…”, Report: “and it was so…”, Evaluation: “…it was good…”, Temporal framework: “it was evening…”.

February 10

Green Shadow
In today’s Gospel, the Pharisees complain to Jesus about his disciples not following the strict Jewish law regarding purity when eating.  Clearly, Jesus’ rising popularity was taken as a threat to their power over the Jewish people.

	The Pharisees, who advocated strict observance of the Law of Moses and total separation from the Gentiles, saw that Jesus’ disciples did not wash their hands before eating.  Here, Mark takes the time to explain the Jewish practice for his Gentile readers.  While the Law of Moses did have rules for the priests to wash their hands and feet before offering a sacrifice and eating their share of the sacrifice, there was no obligation for the people to do so before every meal.  This obligation was an oral tradition developed by the Pharisees and extended to every Jewish meal to make it a religious act and expression of Jewish identity.

	Jesus responds to the question of the Pharisees and scribes about why his disciples do not follow the tradition of the elders by calling them hypocrites and invoking a prophecy from Isaiah 29:13 that applies to them.  In its original context, the prophecy reprimanded Jerusalem for consulting its political leaders while rejecting the prophets.  “Because their leaders routinely exclude the Lord from foreign policy decisions and rely instead on their own wisdom, their worship of the Lord has become empty and vain.  No longer, says Isaiah, will Yahweh tolerate their lip service when their hearts are devoid of living faith.  The Pharisees have fallen into the same trap of rejecting God’s wisdom in favor of their own ideas.

	Unlike the Pharisees, we Catholics have the benefit of living within the New Covenant of love that Jesus established.  As we hear in our first reading, we are created in the image and likeness of God and given dominion over the entirety of creation.  Created out of divine love, we are given the Holy Spirit, the very love of the Father and Son, to dwell in our hearts and souls.  We are given the mission to share and spread the divine love to the whole world.  Yes, we are given commandments and traditions to guide us in our love for others.  But our life is meant to glorify God by our love, not be a slave to rules and regulations.

	The law we are bound by is the commandment to love God above all others and to love others as God loves us.  This is the life that shows the image and likeness of God to others.


Today’s Question for Prayer and Reflection
Am I projecting the image and likeness of God with my life?



Source for today’s reflection:  https://epriest.com/reflections/view/2971

February 11

Green Shadow
Today’s Gospel takes place immediately after the Pharisees from Jerusalem challenged Jesus about observing their traditions.  Jesus is teaching the Pharisees, his followers and disciples, and us, that He is ushering in a new “Law” that will render the “Old Law” unnecessary.

	The Law of Moses provided strict dietary rules that had several purposes.  First, they were a protection against foods that could be dangerous if not cooked or prepared properly.  Second, they had a penitential dimension.  The people of Israel had to make a sacrifice not eating certain foods, like shellfish, pork, and certain cuts of beef.  Third, the dietary laws protected the people of Israel from contact and table fellowship with the Gentile (pagan) nations.  A day was coming when the dietary restrictions, contained in the Law of Moses, would be rescinded.  This is because the blessing given first to the children of Israel would be extended to the Gentiles.  The cultural and social barrier between Israel and the Gentiles would no longer be necessary.

	The conflict with the Pharisees about their traditions takes place between two bread miracles – one for 5,000 in the territory of Israel and one for the 4,000 in Gentile territory.  Mark uses this to indicate that a transition will be happening – a transition between the Old Covenant and the New Covenant.  The Pharisees sought Old Covenant righteousness by increasing the number of rules and restrictions and adding their traditions to the Law of Moses.  They thought that they could be defiled by the food they ate or by their interactions with public sinners or Gentiles.  Jesus brought the Old Covenant to fulfillment in the New and taught that true righteousness is primarily a divine gift and not a human achievement.  He also taught that true defilement comes not from the food we eat but from within the human heart.

	In exposing the “unclean” hearts of the Pharisees, Jesus is teaching us to surrender our own selfish desires, self-serving beliefs and habits, and even that which is unclean in our hearts, to His loving mercy.  The true desire of our heart is the love and peace that only comes from God.  The Father, who sent His Son to rescue us and re-open to us the gates of heaven, placed the very love between Him and the Son, in the person of the Holy Spirit, to dwell within our hearts.  The Holy Spirit comes alive in us when we turn away from sin and seek to live according to the Divine Will of the Holy Trinity.

	Let us pray today, “Come Holy Spirit.”

Today’s Question for Prayer and Reflection
Do my works look like the works of the Spirit (love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control) or the works of the flesh (unchastity, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, licentiousness, envy, blasphemy, arrogance, folly)?



Source for today’s reflection:  https://epriest.com/reflections/view/2972

February 12

Green Shadow
Genesis 2:18-25
Psalm 128
Mark 7:24-30

Wow.  Jesus seems a little rough in today’s gospel.  Let’s put things into context though.  Jesus was in Tyre, an area in the north that was arid, a great place to grow vegetation, was a spot of significant trade, and also an area dominated by gentiles and pagans.  The woman is noted as a Syrophoenician, a Caananite.  

Jewish people would commonly refer to Non-Jews as dogs because just being in their presence could make a Jew unclean.  The Greek term for dog was kuon.  However, in the text of the gospel, the word used was kunarion, meaning small dog or puppy – a type of dog that would need to be cared for by its owner.
Jesus was not insulting the woman, but rather testing her faith.  He wanted her to know that He is more than a magician or one of the community’s wizards.  He was calling her to deeper faith, and she responds with perseverance.

Many times, we can fall into the trap that God is a vending machine.  We put our prayers in the slot and await our gift.  God looks to us to go deeper.  He calls us to live a thank-filled life and use what gifts we have for the glory of God.  And when those times of crisis come along, he wants us to trust that He is right there for us.  What prayer do you need to offer up to Him again today?  Persevere!

Go smile at God today!

February 13

Green Shadow
The stories of Jesus’ miraculous healings are more than just an account of a particular event in time.  These stories are not just offered as evidence that Jesus was indeed the Son of God.  These stories of physical healings also have a spiritual meaning meant for all people in all times.  

Today’s Gospel account of Jesus healing the deaf and mute man shows how Jesus wants to intercede in our lives in a very close and intimate way.  Jesus could have just used the power of his words to heal the man, like the healing of the hemorrhaging woman or the crippled man lowered through the roof.  In the healing of the deaf and mute man, Jesus is showing us how His love for us is personal.  He takes the man away from the crowd.  Jesus uses his very person, literally his finger and his own saliva, to enter the man’s ears and tongue.  The man is becoming one with Jesus.

We have the same opportunity to become one with Jesus through the sacraments.  When we are anointed at Baptism and Confirmation, we become one with Jesus as His beloved child, and as His disciple.  In the Sacrament of Anointing of the Sick, we are being purified and healed spiritually through the words of absolution and the anointing with oil.  But the most intimate way we can experience the power and love of God is through the Sacrament of the Eucharist, where we receive the very body, blood, soul and divinity of Jesus.

Do we fully understand and appreciate the intimate love and grace that Jesus gives us in these sacraments?  Unfortunately, sometimes it is we who are spiritually deaf and unable to hear those powerful and intimate words of love in the sacraments.  We may hear the words, “The Body of Christ” when receiving Holy Communion.  But do these words penetrate our hearts?  Do we feel a change taking place that makes us different than when we walked into church?  We may say the word “Amen” when receiving Jesus in our hand or mouth.  But are our tongues freed to speak to others about the love and power of Jesus that we just received?  Or are we spiritually mute and unable to tell others the message of love that Jesus has for us?
Let us resolve to fully appreciate what Jesus does for us in the sacraments.  Let us respond as those in today’s Gospel did and tell others that “Has done all things well.”

Today’s Question for Prayer and Reflection
How will you respond to the intimate love of Jesus through the reception of the sacraments, especially the Eucharist?

February 14

Green Shadow
Today is Saturday, February 15th. It is the Saturday of the Fifth Week in Ordinary Time. 

In pondering the readings for today. I saw parallels between the First Reading and the Gospel. Each passage involves food and eating – an apple from the Book of Genesis and bread and a few fish in the Gospel of Mark. However, my heart is telling me there is so much more to be unpacked here. 

The reading from the Book of Genesis is about disobedience, the Gospel is about obedience. Genesis is about earthly food, the Gospel is about the food of eternal life. The Book of Genesis is about hiding from God, the Gospel is about sitting in God’s presence. Genesis is about the “fall of man”, the Gospel is about man’s rescue.

Imagine for a moment being in a beautiful garden where all of your needs are provided for AND YOU ARE WITH GOD. It is simple – enjoy paradise, of being in union with God…. With one clear command: Don’t eat from the tree in the center. It seems simple, but Adam and Eve are tricked by their adversary, Satan. I used to think – What fools Adam and Eve were! However, here we sit (or at least I) facing the same temptations.  We are challenged by the choice – God’s way or mine; obedience or disobedience. It is amazing how often we eat of the “apples” of today’s modern, secular world.

The “apples” of the world are alluring, tempting. We are up against the same enemy Eve was. The fruit consumed by the parents of humanity provided instant pleasure and satisfaction. The apples of the world are just as appealing to our eyes; they often feed our need for carnal pleasure. However, look at what happens when we eat of world. We are often ashamed, embarrassed and disappointed with ourselves. We often seek to hide from God…. and how Satan loves that separation between the Creator and the created.

The Gospel of Mark is about obedience – The disciples search for food… and God provides loaves and fish; the crowd sits down. In their obedience, they are able to sit in the presence of God Himself. In, and through, their obedience they are fed until they are satisfied. No longer in hiding, they consume bread served to them by the Son of God. They consume bread that will be consecrated at the Last Supper into the living bread sent down from heaven.

The Book of Genesis is about man’s fallen nature. The Gospel is about the rescue of man and man’s path to be restored into full union with God and become, themselves, partakers in the Divine.

Obedience or disobedience; worldly food that will cause us to perish or the living bread from heaven; hiding in shame or sitting in Christ’s presence; still in need of rescue or actually rescued by Christ the Savior. That is the choice presented to us today.

February 15

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