The Book of Genesis, particularly its beginning, has inspired many artists to convey the beauty of that mysterious garden of Paradise. Although those pieces of art capture something of that original beauty they usually overlook the essence of Paradise which is the profound communion of the first people with God and the subsequent communion with each other.
My Dear Sisters and Brothers! These days ecology is a popular topic. It is also an urgent topic, as because of unteachable hearts of people they have failed seeing goodness and beauty of creation which, as the Book of Genesis tells us, God saw when he created it all. The failure to see goodness and beauty of creation led to exploitation of our common home instead of caring for the Earth as the inheritance we were entrusted by our Heavenly Father.
That one side of the coin called ecology and as with any coin there is another side. The Holy Father reminds us about it when in a prophetic way he speaks about human ecology. It includes the truth of being crated as man or woman, dignity of every person from the moment of conception until natural death, the complementarity of sexes based on their difference and uniqueness, the sacredness of marriage between man and woman, necessity of father and mother for the upbringing of children. Pope Francis said that we have failed to appreciate these fragile human and social conditions. His message is drawn from what our Blessed Lord said in the Gospel when he was questioned about divorce which was allowed by Moses. Jesus’ reply was: ‘It was because you were so unteachable that he wrote this commandment for you.’ Before ecology became a hot topic Jesus stood his ground as an ecologist defending human ecology. Before people began reacting to the pollution of the planet Jesus reacted to the pollution which occurred to human relationships and resulted in introducing divorce. Our Savior responding to the question on divorce brought up the image of Paradise. However Jesus didn’t focus on the untarnished flora and fauna. He focused on the untarnished relationship of the first people: ‘From the beginning of creation God made them male and female. This is why a man must leave father and mother and the two become one body. They are no longer two, therefore but one body.’ This is a great mystery of the power not only of human love but also human word. The words of the wedding vows exchanged by bride and groom transform two people into one. When the Bible speaks about becoming one body it uses the word which means joining so closely, profoundly and deeply that there is no way anyone could separate it without harming or even destroying the two who were joined together. That’s why to appreciate marriage mathematics will not help, as in the marriage situation one plus one doesn’t make two but one. In order to appreciate marriage one needs trusting faith of a little child. The Gospel message of the inseparability of wife and husband is followed by the situation describing Jesus’ interaction with children. It is not an episode softening the previous message but the continuation of it. Being a little child is embracing the childlike attitude of the first people towards God, the attitude which characterized them before the tragedy of the fall.
My Dear fellow believers! In a short while, when I speak the words of the consecration and bread and wine are transformed into Jesus’ Body and Blood I will also think of those of you who by the words of your wedding vows have transformed the two individuals into one. This is the mystery of faith like the Eucharist is. I thank you dear wives and husbands for living this mystery. By your commitment and perseverance you tell us more about the Paradise than the most impressive painting.
My Dear Sisters and Brothers! These days ecology is a popular topic. It is also an urgent topic, as because of unteachable hearts of people they have failed seeing goodness and beauty of creation which, as the Book of Genesis tells us, God saw when he created it all. The failure to see goodness and beauty of creation led to exploitation of our common home instead of caring for the Earth as the inheritance we were entrusted by our Heavenly Father.
That one side of the coin called ecology and as with any coin there is another side. The Holy Father reminds us about it when in a prophetic way he speaks about human ecology. It includes the truth of being crated as man or woman, dignity of every person from the moment of conception until natural death, the complementarity of sexes based on their difference and uniqueness, the sacredness of marriage between man and woman, necessity of father and mother for the upbringing of children. Pope Francis said that we have failed to appreciate these fragile human and social conditions. His message is drawn from what our Blessed Lord said in the Gospel when he was questioned about divorce which was allowed by Moses. Jesus’ reply was: ‘It was because you were so unteachable that he wrote this commandment for you.’ Before ecology became a hot topic Jesus stood his ground as an ecologist defending human ecology. Before people began reacting to the pollution of the planet Jesus reacted to the pollution which occurred to human relationships and resulted in introducing divorce. Our Savior responding to the question on divorce brought up the image of Paradise. However Jesus didn’t focus on the untarnished flora and fauna. He focused on the untarnished relationship of the first people: ‘From the beginning of creation God made them male and female. This is why a man must leave father and mother and the two become one body. They are no longer two, therefore but one body.’ This is a great mystery of the power not only of human love but also human word. The words of the wedding vows exchanged by bride and groom transform two people into one. When the Bible speaks about becoming one body it uses the word which means joining so closely, profoundly and deeply that there is no way anyone could separate it without harming or even destroying the two who were joined together. That’s why to appreciate marriage mathematics will not help, as in the marriage situation one plus one doesn’t make two but one. In order to appreciate marriage one needs trusting faith of a little child. The Gospel message of the inseparability of wife and husband is followed by the situation describing Jesus’ interaction with children. It is not an episode softening the previous message but the continuation of it. Being a little child is embracing the childlike attitude of the first people towards God, the attitude which characterized them before the tragedy of the fall.
My Dear fellow believers! In a short while, when I speak the words of the consecration and bread and wine are transformed into Jesus’ Body and Blood I will also think of those of you who by the words of your wedding vows have transformed the two individuals into one. This is the mystery of faith like the Eucharist is. I thank you dear wives and husbands for living this mystery. By your commitment and perseverance you tell us more about the Paradise than the most impressive painting.
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