20190211 THE FOUNDATIONAL
QUESTION OF ORIGIN
11 FEBRUARY,
2019, Monday, 5th Week, Ordinary Time
Readings at Mass
Liturgical Colour:
Green.
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First reading
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Genesis 1:1-19 ©
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God saw that it was good
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In the beginning God created the heavens
and the earth. Now the earth was a formless void, there was darkness over the
deep, and God’s spirit hovered over the water.
God
said, ‘Let there be light’, and there was light. God saw that light was good,
and God divided light from darkness. God called light ‘day’, and darkness he
called ‘night.’ Evening came and morning came: the first day.
God
said, ‘Let there be a vault in the waters to divide the waters in two.’ And so
it was. God made the vault, and it divided the waters above the vault from the
waters under the vault. God called the vault ‘heaven.’ Evening came and morning
came: the second day.
God
said, ‘Let the waters under heaven come together into a single mass, and let
dry land appear.’ And so it was. God called the dry land ‘earth’ and the mass
of waters ‘seas’, and God saw that it was good.
God
said, ‘Let the earth produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants, and fruit trees
bearing fruit with their seed inside, on the earth.’ And so it was. The earth
produced vegetation: plants bearing seed in their several kinds, and trees
bearing fruit with their seed inside in their several kinds. God saw that it
was good. Evening came and morning came: the third day.
God
said, ‘Let there be lights in the vault of heaven to divide day from night, and
let them indicate festivals, days and years. Let them be lights in the vault of
heaven to shine on the earth.’ And so it was. God made the two great lights:
the greater light to govern the day, the smaller light to govern the night, and
the stars. God set them in the vault of heaven to shine on the earth, to govern
the day and the night and to divide light from darkness. God saw that it was
good. Evening came and morning came: the fourth day.
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Responsorial Psalm
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Psalm 103(104):1-2,5-6,10,12,24,35 ©
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May the Lord rejoice in
his works!
Bless the Lord, my soul!
Lord God, how great you are,
clothed in majesty and glory,
wrapped in light as in a robe!
May the Lord rejoice in
his works!
You founded the earth on its base,
to stand firm from age to age.
You wrapped it with the ocean like a
cloak:
the waters stood higher than
the mountains.
May the Lord rejoice in
his works!
You make springs gush forth in the
valleys;
they flow in between the
hills.
On their banks dwell the birds of heaven;
from the branches they sing
their song.
May the Lord rejoice in
his works!
How many are your works, O Lord!
In wisdom you have made them
all.
The earth is full of your
riches.
Bless the Lord, my soul!
May the Lord rejoice in
his works!
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Gospel Acclamation
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Jn8:12
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Alleluia, alleluia!
I am the light of the world, says the
Lord;
anyone who follows me will have the light
of life.
Alleluia!
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Or:
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cf.Mt4:23
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Alleluia, alleluia!
Jesus proclaimed the Good News of the
kingdom
and cured all kinds of sickness among the
people.
Alleluia!
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Gospel
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Mark 6:53-56 ©
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All those who touched him were cured
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Having made the crossing, Jesus and his
disciples came to land at Gennesaret and tied up. No sooner had they stepped
out of the boat than people recognised him, and started hurrying all through
the countryside and brought the sick on stretchers to wherever they heard he
was. And wherever he went, to village, or town, or farm, they laid down the
sick in the open spaces, begging him to let them touch even the fringe of his
cloak. And all those who touched him were cured.
THE FOUNDATIONAL
QUESTION OF ORIGIN
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ GEN 1:1-19; PS
104:1-2,5-6,10,12,24,35; MARK 6:53-56 ]
There is so much
division in the world today,
with everyone having different views of the world, the identity of the human
person, the question of sexuality and marriage, the purpose of life and the
future of the universe and humanity. What is the root of all our
disagreements? Namely, because we cannot agree on the most fundamental of
all questions about life: our origin. So long as we cannot agree on our
origin, we cannot agree on our destiny and therefore the purpose of life on
earth. If we have no ultimate goal in life beyond this earth, then this
life has no meaning because it is lived without any finality.
However, to know our destiny, we must know where and whom we came from.
The biblical answer to
the question of origin is the doctrine of creation. It is the Christian belief that God
created this world out of His goodness and bounty. The world came into
being in time, unlike God who is eternal. God created the world and
the universe through His Word. St John wrote, “In the beginning was the
Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He
was in the beginning with God; all things were made through him, and without
him was not anything made that was made.” (Jn 1:1-3) The world did
not exist by chance but through God who in His divine plan created the world so
that we could share in His goodness and life. Clearly, in the doctrine of
creation, the bible states emphatically, that God is our creator, distinct from
us who are His creatures. We are called to share in the life of God but
we are not God. We have a beginning, unlike God who has no beginning.
However, today, science
questions the doctrine of creation. Science refutes that God created us, and has
reduced the story of creation to a myth. Instead, science proposes in
place of the creation story, the Big Bang theory to explain how the universe
began. According to this so called scientific explanation, the universe began
with a small atom, which then grew over 14 billion years to the cosmos that we
are now in. However, there is no way to measure this fact except through
hypothesis based on mathematical formulas and models. But there are other
explanations other than the Big Bang theory, such as the eternal inflation or
an oscillating universe.
In the final analysis,
whether it is the Big Bang theory or the doctrine of creation, both require
faith, because no one was at the birth of the universe. The question we are confronted with is
whether we want to believe in the Big Bang hypothesis, which speaks of an atom
which, through cosmic microwave, grew into a universe by itself, or to believe
in a Universal Mind whom we call God who created and directed creation.
Even if one were to believe that the world began with an atom, we need to ask
where the atom came from. The answer is that it just was. However,
this is ironically the same explanation offered to those who ask us the
question, “where did God come from?” We say, God simply is. He has no
beginning. He is the “I am.” When we think of the universe with so
many galaxies, more than 200 billion galaxies and still counting, we cannot but
conclude that there must be an Ultimate Mind or Being. It is immaterial
whether we call this Ultimate Ground of life “God” or by any other name.
The truth is that if the universe and the galaxies could be arranged in such a
manner, then there must be someone who ordered the universe as such.
Consequently, for
Christians, the answer to the question of origin is not an impersonal force
that exists and forms the world without any sense of direction or destiny. The world could not have come into
being just like that and could still function in an orderly manner without
someone guiding the universe. Only a creator God, a personal God who
shares with us His mind and heart could create such a universe with all its
galaxies, and direct them in a way that fulfils His divine plan for creation,
humanity and the universe.
In truth with regard to
the origin of the Universe, the answer is clear as far as believers in God is
concerned; not just for Christians but Jews and Muslims alike, and those other
religions that are monotheistic or even polytheistic. The universe could not have come into being
by itself. It must have a cause and a beginning. Underlying this
cause, even if one could subscribe it to the Big Bang Theory, it presupposes a
Mind that orders the universe in that manner. What does not have a
beginning is whom we call God.
It is important to
clarify from the outset, that the bible only answers the question of origin of
the universe. It does not specify the process of the creation of the
universe. In
other words, whilst Catholics do not believe that the world came to its being
by itself, we can hold on to the Big Bang Theory or even the evolution theory
so long as we do not refute that behind the process of creation is God who is
the Ultimate Mind that created the universe. Pope Pius XII clarified that
“the Teaching Authority of the Church does not forbid that, in conformity with
the present state of human sciences and sacred theology, research and
discussions, on the part of men experienced in both fields, take place with
regard to the doctrine of evolution, in as far as it inquires into the origin
of the human body as coming from pre-existent and living matter – for the
Catholic faith obliges us to hold that souls are immediately created by
God.” (Human Generis, 36)
In other words, how the
process took place with regard to the creation of man and the universe is the
work of science to explain, so long as it does not contradict the doctrines of
the Church. “This must
be done in such a way that the reasons for both opinions, that is, those
favorable and those unfavorable to evolution, be weighed and judged with the
necessary seriousness, moderation and measure, and provided that all are
prepared to submit to the judgment of the Church, to whom Christ has given the
mission of interpreting authentically the Sacred Scriptures and of defending
the dogmas of faith.” (Ibid)
For a Christian, it is
not even enough to subscribe to the fact of a Great Mind that created the
world. This mind is a personal God, one who has intellect and will, and
from whom we derive our intellect and will. It is a reasonable claim for us that we are
created in the image and likeness of God because we know that human beings are
the summit of creation. The psalmist declares, “When I look at thy
heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars which thou hast
established; what is man that thou art mindful of him, and the son of man that
thou dost care for him? Yet thou hast made him little less than God, and
dost crown him with glory and honor. Thou hast given him dominion over the
works of thy hands; thou hast put all things under his feet.” (Ps 8:3-6)
Only because our Creator
is a personal God, can we speak of our destiny as an invitation to share in His
life and love.
We all know that for a human being to live, he needs love and knowledge.
He is more than an animal that could be satisfied with just physical and
material things. He desires to grow in understanding and in love.
As such, only in God, can his thirst for love and knowledge be fulfilled.
As St Augustine says, “My soul is restless until it rests in God.” Only
in the knowledge of God as our Father and embraced by His love, can we find
true security and fulfillment, joy and happiness.
Realizing this destiny
of ours, our purpose of life on this earth is to shape ourselves to become what
we are called to be.
Our life on earth therefore is a pilgrimage and a journey of growing to become
more like God in love, in understanding, so that we share in His life here and
now as a foretaste. St John wrote, “See what love the Father has given
us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the
world does not know us is that it did not know him. Beloved, we are God’s
children now; it does not yet appear what we shall be, but we know that when he
appears we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. And everyone
who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure.” (1 Jn 3:1-3)
Drawing from this text, it is because of sin that man has become ignorant, and
forgot his origin and who God is. Without knowledge of God, he does not
know himself or his purpose and destiny in life.
In the gospel, we have
Jesus who came to restore us to wholeness because of sin. He came to heal us and to show us the
mercy and love of God. Jesus was the compassion of God in person.
We read “no sooner had they stepped out of the boat than people recognised him,
and started hurrying all through the countryside and brought the sick on
stretchers to wherever they heard he was. And wherever he went, to
village, or town, or farm, they laid down the sick in the open spaces, begging
to let them touch even the fringe of his cloak. And all those who touched
him were cured.” Through His love for us, we too might come to know the
Father’s love and mercy, and our dignity as His sons and daughters. In
this way, through Christ, we regain our adopted sonship and daughtership.
Filled with His Holy Spirit, we share once again the fullness of life and love
in God by loving God and others as He did through a life of self-emptying in
humble service.
Written
by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All
Rights Reserved
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