One of the great benefits of attending daily Mass is to hear the scriptural readings for the day. God is always speaking to us in various ways but the passages from the Bible that are read at the Holy Mass have a privileged place for that particular day. It is as if The Lord is underlining something for us to focus on at this moment. Even if a person is unable to go to Mass, it is a powerful practice to meditate each day on the readings. There are many apps that offer this or one can buy a personal missal or get a subscription to Magnificat, The Word Among Us or other such publication.
The creation of Adam, by Michelangelo – Public Domain, Link.
From February 6th through the 17th, we hear from the beginning chapters of the book of Genesis. This book is extremely important in so many ways, not the least of which is that it gives us the basic truths of who we are and where we come from. I would like to reflect briefly on the key verses of Gen 1:26-28 where we are told that God created us in His image and likeness. No other creature, besides the holy angels, has this dignity. We will look at three important and related realities that are implied here.
First, in Gen 5:3, the same terms “image and likeness” are used to describe the relationship of Seth to his father Adam. Therefore, the human person also has a relationship of sonship with his Creator, since he is made in His image and likeness. But this can only be an adopted sonship because a creature cannot become divine. Hence, in the act of creating Adam and Eve and their descendants, God has made a covenant of adoption with them. It is the first of the many covenants of the Old Testament.
Secondly, rulers in the ancient Near East used to put images of themselves throughout their empire to represent their authority. This implies that Adam is a visible sign of the authority of the King of All, the Creator. And since God gave the human race dominion over the world (Gen 1:28), the adopted children of the royal family have the delegated authority of the King over His other creatures.
Finally, the Bible begins with “in the beginning“, which means the beginning of time, but also refers to Jesus Himself who is “the beginning” (Col 1:18). And so it is that in Jesus Christ, the only Son of God (Jn 1:18) and the King of Kings (Rev 17:14, 19:16), we are the adopted children of the Father and heirs to the Heavenly Kingdom.
Let us live according to this great dignity that has been given to us!
God bless you.
— Fr. Peter