Wednesday of the Fifth Week in Ordinary Time

Window at MSF
representing the Roman Basilica
of the Twelve Apostles,
a Franciscan shrine

…a stream was welling up out of the earth

and was watering all the surface of the ground
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.

If an egg is a chicken’s way of reproducing itself, does it follow that a chicken is an egg’s way of reproducing itself? Is life dirt’s way of reproducing itself? Ashes to ashes, dust to dust; and in the end there's a lot more dirt. 

But Genesis finds purpose and meaning in the history of dirt. The authors see God raising up the human species to be self-aware – something dirt never needed – and to praise God. That self-awareness comes with a heavy cost. It requires discipline and the consciousness of God’s authoritative presence.

By this point in the Bible we have already experienced God’s majesty, creativity and power with his words, “Let there be….” His finishing touch was placing the creature created in his own image and likeness on the earth with the twofold task of naming the creatures and husbanding the earth.

Though godlike, we cannot be God. His commands make it clear we are stewards:

• “Be fertile and multiply and fill the earth”;
• “Have dominion over the fish of the sea, the birds of the air, and all the living things that move on the earth;” and
• “You are free to eat from any of the trees of the garden except the tree of knowledge of good and evil. From that tree you shall not eat….”

So long as Adam -- whose names means dirt -- remains obedient to the Lord he enjoys complete freedom. He and Eve see beauty all around them and holiness within them. Their relationship is peaceful and their work is fruitful.

Human beings enjoy the privilege of God’s playfulness. Isn’t creativity playful? Don’t we play the piano, the guitar and the radio? And we put on plays. Our hobbies and pastimes are adult forms of playfulness. With playful creativity Adam and Eve made a garden in the wilderness. They shared God’s dominion and creativity as they named the creatures, assigning positions to each creature according to its relationship to them.

There are pessimists who suppose this experiment of allowing earthlings to have dominion over the earth is doomed. The Earth may soon give it up, recycling the carbon that goes into human beings into more compliant forms of life.

Our faith, however, gives us hope. Despite the catastrophe which we’re seeing now, God’s spirit will finally teach us to husband the Earth.