These reflections are a result of more than 40 years of ministry as a Roman Catholic priest. Most of these years I spent in the Diocese of Charlotte which covers Western North Carolina. Now I am retired, and live in Medellín, Colombia where I continue to serve as a priest in the Archdiocese of Medellín.
Brothers and sisters: Do you not know that you are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? (1 Cor 3:16-23)
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/021923.cfm
Sometimes we forget that the early church did not have buildings . . . we met in one another’s homes. So when Saint Paul says to the Corinthians ´You are the temple of God´ he was actually talking seriously and joking at the same time. While the ancient city of Corinth had a magnificent temple of the god Apollo, the tiny Christian community had to gather at home, but as the Apostle tells them, ´the Spirit of God dwells in you.´
Faith is the realization of what is hoped for and evidence of things not seen. By faith Noah, warned about what was not yet seen, with reverence built an ark for the salvation of his household. Through this, he condemned the world and inherited the righteousness that comes through faith. (Heb 11:1-7)
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/021823.cfm
This selection from the praise of the ancestors in the faith ends with the praise of Noah and the building of the Ark. Faith is not so much about propositions to be believed, but rather faith is centered on actions. Like Noah, we are called to action. As the Mother of Jesus reminds the waiters at the Wedding Feast of Cana: “Do whatever my Son tells you to do.”
Then they said, "Come, let us build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the sky, and so make a name for ourselves; otherwise we shall be scattered all over the earth." Then the LORD said: Let us then go down and there confuse their language, so that one will not understand what another says." Thus the LORD scattered them from there all over the earth, and they stopped building the city. That is why it was called Babel, because there the LORD confused the speech of all the world. (Gen 11:1-9)
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/021723.cfm
The story of the Tower of Babel is not an invective against urbanism . . . rather it is a story about those who want to make a name for themselves rather than accepting the name God has given them, “My people.”
God said to Noah and to his sons with him: “This is the sign that I am giving for all ages to come, of the covenant between me and you and every living creature with you: I set my bow in the clouds to serve as a sign of the covenant between me and the earth.” (Gen 9:1-13)
Jesus began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer greatly and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed, and rise after three days. (Mk 8:27-33)
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/021623.cfm
A friend once commented, “Sometimes a rainbow is just a rainbow” . . . but then at other times a rainbow is so much more. The sign of the covenant: the Cross and the Rainbow.
The LORD said to himself, “Never again will I doom the earth because of man since the desires of man’s heart are evil from the start; nor will I ever again strike down all living beings, as I have done. As long as the earth lasts, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, Summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease.” (Gen 8:6-13, 20-22)
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/021523.cfm
The Lord’s covenant with creation is a poetic promise of salvation. Unfortunately, the human race seems bent on destroying the very home where we live. Maybe we need to re-read and appreciate the promise of Genesis and God’s covenant love.
