Celebración de la palabra

Responsible for the earth

Ben Sirach reflects at length and with warmth on the first chapters of the Bible dealing with creation. He stresses particularly the role of people as masters and the center of creation. People, who organize creation, are or should be responsible for creation and are the voice of all creation to praise God.
With human progress in subduing the earth and traveling in space, we need today not merely to glorify our conquests, but also refocus our attention in our role as humanizers, which we have forgotten much.

Reading: Sirach 17:1-13

God created the first human being, a man, out of earth. He styled him along his own lines and then deposited him back onto earth. He outfitted him with characteristics very much like his
own. He gave him a long life span. He put him in charge of the whole earthly enterprise. He demanded that the second human being, a woman, respect the man and vice versa. He commanded all beasts and birds to respect the first couple. God gave the two human beings wisdom and language, with eyes and ears to figure out how to use them. He filled them with intellectual knowl- edge and curiosity. He introduced them to the life of the spirit. He filled their hearts with sensations.
God taught the first couple the difference between good and evil; he made it clear to them that he meant business. He gave them the grand tour of his wonderful garden, allowing them time to absorb and admire its wonderful features. The first couple praised to the sky this holy place; both would pass the word about it to the next generation.
God instructed them on how to get the most out of the various won- ders; he told them the secrets of how to live righteously. Theirs would be an arrangement that would last forever. He showed them justice and how it worked.

Gospel: Mark 10:13-16

The people brought children to Jesus, hoping he might touch them. The disciples shooed them off. But Jesus was irate and let them know it: “Don’t push these children away. Don’t ever get between them and me. These children are at the very center of life in the kingdom. Mark this: Unless you accept God’s kingdom in the simplicity of a child, you’ll never get in.” Then, gathering the children up in his arms, he laid his hands of blessing on them.

Prayer

Almighty God and Father,
creator of all that is,
you have entrusted this earth
and the entire universe to us
to develop and humanize it.
Help us to take up our responsibility
of conserving and protecting nature,
that you and our earth may remain a place
where people can breathe and live
and let it be a foretaste of the happiness
of your eternal home.
We ask you this through Christ, our Lord. Amen.