Today’s First Reading, a recap of the creation of man and the Lord’s first counsel to him, is in stark contrast to the debates regarding ritual purity in today’s Gospel. At the beginning of history man enjoyed a paradise of God’s design, filled with a life that came from God himself, and the only request in return was to not eat of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. From its phrasing it is more of a warning of what would happen if Adam did: the Lord was counseling him.
Centuries later man had come up with hundreds of ways to wash himself clean of what we know comes after the story in today’s First Reading. Our Lord makes them remember the garden, the beginning, when everything was good; if Creation made them impure it was because they used Creation impurely. In the wisdom literature of the Old Testament we’re reminded, and Our Lord reiterates in today’s Gospel, that God didn’t create anything evil (Wisdom 1:14–15). Our Lord encourages us to remember that it is in our hands to turn evil back toward good.
We may not restore the beauty of Eden in our earthly lifetime, but we can morally beautify our world. Let’s ask Our Lord today to help us turn back the clock on sin through using his Creation to do good.
Readings: Genesis 2:4b–9, 15–17; Psalm 104:1–2a, 27–28, 29b–30; Mark 7:14–23.