Did you happen to notice how beautiful the first reading for Mass was today? It was about the creation story in the book of Genesis. These verses in scripture are so beautiful and peaceful, and they paint such awesome images in our mind, of the masterpiece of creation, formed with love by God’s own hand. He is like a painter, a sculpture, a Master Artist, like no one else that mankind has ever known, or will ever know.
Creation is like a love letter that God put His whole heart into. He left it for all of mankind to experience, and to come to know Him, through His work, and the love that He put into His work. It’s complexity and beauty never ceases to amaze us, to this day.
Haven’t you ever noticed the beautiful designs in nature? Have you ever examined a flower up close, or looked at the colorful, exotic fish and other creatures that live in the sea? There are so many beautiful birds like parrots and red cardinals, butterflies, baby kittens and puppies, and well … the list could go on forever.
The beauty of creation is everywhere around us. It is in the sunsets, the stars, and the warm summer nights filled with gentle breezes and the sound of crickets chirping. In the US, we have fireflies that light up the early evening in the summer, and grass that smells so good when it is freshly cut. The sunshine lingers in freshly laundered sheets that were hanging on a clothesline, in the sunshine and fresh breezes all day. When the sun first rises in the early mornings, it seems like all of the birds wake up at the same time, to sing their songs of praise for their creator.
The ocean is so vast and timeless, with its endless ebb and flow of waves, and our lakes are sometimes still enough to be as smooth as a looking-glass that reflects the beauty all around them. The mountains are majestic in their sheer height and almost seem to reach the heavens. And in the winter, the snow sparkles like a million diamonds in the moonlight late at night, with the stars and the moon so close you feel like you could almost reach out and touch them in the dark sky. Almost touch the essence of God, in the traces that linger throughout the universe.
Human beings were created to be just as beautiful as the rest of God’s creation. We look at ourselves and do not think so, but we are. Our fingerprints, our eyes, the intricate and complex way our body is put together, is a masterpiece in itself. We are each and every one, a masterpiece of God’s creation. Our bodies may age and lose its original beauty someday, but the beauty of our soul will remain forever. A single soul is more precious to God than all of creation, and He loves each and every one of us deeply, and personally. We are His beloved children, and we always will be.
Unless, that is, we become like the Pharisees in today’s gospel. Do we really need to go there? Do we have to think about them? Wouldn’t you rather think about beauty, goodness, purity, peace, and love?
That’s really the point of the readings for Mass today. The Pharisees perverted and deformed the image of God, that they were created to be, when they failed to love those around them. They lost the ability to see the beauty of their own soul, and the dignity that God gave each human being, when He created them out of love. God’s own heart lives within His people. By failing to love their own people, they failed to love God, and that was the point of their entire religion. Their faith had become so complicated, that they lost the entire reason for what they were doing.
What was really more important? Unwashed hands, negativity and hurt feelings? Or the companionship of new-found friends, and the enjoyment of a good meal eaten together?
The simple things in life are also what we have forgotten how to enjoy, to one degree or another. Spending quality time with our spouse, children, grandchildren and friends. Or how wonderful a hot meal, a nice bath and a good night’s sleep is. The beauty of nature that surrounds us. God’s deep and abiding love for us, and Jesus’s life long companionship and friendship.
Today, let us try to remember this love and beauty that we have taken for granted or almost forgotten. It need not be a memory. It can be experienced anew each and every day, and today is a new day.
