Acronyms are esoteric short cuts to discribe groups of people in a certain subset of a conversation. They could be political ( we are not going there) or social and in this case religious. I have made up an acronym for today’s Gospel. CINO or Catholic or Christian in name only.
The book of Wisdom says of nature, For from the greatness and the beauty of created things their original author,by analogy is seen……for they search busily among his works, but are distracted by what they see. Myself, I see God in a beautiful sunrise or sunset or the birth of a human baby. However, it is hard to see God in hurricanes, fires or floods.
Just like the people of Noah’s time I think most Catholics are distracted by the busy world we live. We become a CINO. I must say that it is easy for me to get too absorbed by all the talk and I fall into the trap.
As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be in the days of the Son of Man; they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage up to the day that Noah entered the ark, and the floods came and destroyed them all.
Pope Francis in his second encyclical ” Laudato Si” takes about, Integral ecology is a holistic perspective on reality which seeks not only to promote human flourishing, but also the flourishing of the natural world. … They suggest that human life is grounded in three fundamental and closely intertwined relationships: with God, with our neighbour and with the earth itself.” The area of the country that I live has a huge fossil fuel production. They are also huge cattle producers. It gives my neighbors employment and the product heats our homes and allows us to go to Church and school.
Our Gospel today talks about the” intertwined relationships: with God, with our neighbour and with the earth itself.” Everything that God created is good. However, there is a balance with our neighbors and the earth we live. Don’t be distracted by conversations and the cares of the planet. Our life is a balance between all these things. Noah knew from his relationship with God that he had to listen to God.
Folk Song by the Irish Rovers entiled the” Unicorn” song with the following chorus: ” You’ll see green alligators and long-necked geese, some humpty-backed camels and some chimpanzees, some cats and rats and elephants, but sure as you’re born, you’re never gonna see no unicorn.”
Our scriptural message today is simple. We cannot be distracted by the cares of the world. However we do have to listen to God. Our balancing act is our relationships with God, our neighbor and the earth we live. We will only be successful if we listen to God just as Noah did. Our ark is our souls. That is the only thing that we can say is ours.
God Love You Always
Bob Burford
Picture Credit :“Noah’s Ark Toy Skirball Cultural Center Los Angeles” by Al_HikesAZ is licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0
