Take It Seriously, Not Literally

Feb 7: Tuesday of the Fifth Week in Ordinary Time

Feb 07, 2023

For all of living memory, there’s been a debate about whether or not to take Genesis literally. The thing is, “living memory” isn’t nearly as long as the history of the Church. Relative to Christianity, this debate is pretty new. And dumb, because the answer had been obvious for thousands of years.1

And yet, as typical with the lectionary, the Gospel presents a counter-point, with Jesus criticizing the over-reliance on tradition and ignorance of scriptural text.

Let’s see if we can resolve the contradiction.

Reading 1

Gn 1:20—2:4a

God said, "Let the water teem with an abundance of living creatures, and on the earth let birds fly beneath the dome of the sky." and so it happened: God created the great sea monsters and all kinds of swimming creatures with which the water teems, and all kinds of winged birds. God saw how good it was, and God blessed them, saying, "Be fertile, multiply, and fill the water of the seas; and let the birds multiply on the earth." Evening came, and morning followed–the fifth day.

Then God said, "Let the earth bring forth all kinds of living creatures: cattle, creeping things, and wild animals of all kinds." and so it happened: God made all kinds of wild animals, all kinds of cattle, and all kinds of creeping things of the earth. God saw how good it was. Then God said: "Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. Let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, the birds of the air, and the cattle, and over all the wild animals and all the creatures that crawl on the ground."

God created man in his image; in the divine image he created him; male and female he created them.

God blessed them, saying: "Be fertile and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it. Have dominion over the fish of the sea, the birds of the air, and all the living things that move on the earth." God also said: "See, I give you every seed-bearing plant all over the earth and every tree that has seed-bearing fruit on it to be your food; and to all the animals of the land, all the birds of the air, and all the living creatures that crawl on the ground, I give all the green plants for food." And so it happened. God looked at everything he had made, and he found it very good. Evening came, and morning followed–the sixth day.

Thus the heavens and the earth and all their array were completed. Since on the seventh day God was finished with the work he had been doing, he rested on the seventh day from all the work he had undertaken. So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work he had done in creation.

Such is the story of the heavens and the earth at their creation.

Young Earth Creationism is actually an invention of the mid-19th century Protestantism. Prior to that, most teachers understood Genesis to be figurative. Take Origen, for example, from around 225AD—

“For who that has understanding will suppose that the first and second and third day existed without a sun and moon and stars and that the first day was, as it were, also without a sky? . . . I do not suppose that anyone doubts that these things figuratively indicate certain mysteries, the history having taken place in appearance and not literally.”2

Jewish rabbis taught much the same thing before the birth of Christ.

So, if Genesis isn’t a science book, what are we to make of this? It’s a fable, to help us understand that not only did God create everything, He created it with a purpose.

Over the next week, we’ll learn, again through allegory and not history, how man subverted those purposes, and led to a fallen world.

Responsorial Psalm

Ps 8:4-5, 6-7, 8-9

R. O Lord, our God, how wonderful your name in all the earth!
When I behold your heavens, the work of your fingers,
the moon and the stars which you set in place—
What is man that you should be mindful of him,
or the son of man that you should care for him?
R. O Lord, our God, how wonderful your name in all the earth!
You have made him little less than the angels,
and crowned him with glory and honor.
You have given him rule over the works of your hands,
putting all things under his feet.
R. O Lord, our God, how wonderful your name in all the earth!
All sheep and oxen,
yes, and the beasts of the field,
The birds of the air, the fishes of the sea,
and whatever swims the paths of the seas.
R. O Lord, our God, how wonderful your name in all the earth!

We are such a small, insignificant part of creation. Why would God care about any one of us, much less all of us?

And yet, He does. He knows each one of us, and loves us. So much so that He not only gave us this beautiful creation, but His only Son.

Alleluia

Ps 119:36, 29b

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Incline my heart, O God, to your decrees;
And favor me with your law.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

We’re not necessarily inclined to follow God’s law. Sometimes we want to do things we ought not to. Ask God to help you want to want to do the right thing.

Gospel

Mk 7:1-13

When the Pharisees with some scribes who had come from Jerusalem gathered around Jesus, they observed that some of his disciples ate their meals with unclean, that is, unwashed, hands.
(For the Pharisees and, in fact, all Jews, do not eat without carefully washing their hands, keeping the tradition of the elders. And on coming from the marketplace they do not eat without purifying themselves. And there are many other things that they have traditionally observed, the purification of cups and jugs and kettles and beds.) So the Pharisees and scribes questioned him, "Why do your disciples not follow the tradition of the elders but instead eat a meal with unclean hands?" He responded, "Well did Isaiah prophesy about you hypocrites, as it is written:

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This people honors me with their lips,
but their hearts are far from me;
in vain do they worship me,
teaching as doctrines human precepts.

You disregard God's commandment but cling to human tradition." He went on to say, "How well you have set aside the commandment of God in order to uphold your tradition! For Moses said, Honor your father and your mother, and Whoever curses father or mother shall die. Yet you say, 'If someone says to father or mother, "Any support you might have had from me is qorban"' (meaning, dedicated to God), you allow him to do nothing more for his father or mother. You nullify the word of God in favor of your tradition that you have handed on. And you do many such things."

The Pharisees criticize Jesus for not following Jewish ritualistic cleaning. Jesus shoots right back that they pretend to worship God with these traditions, but ignore the most basic commands of the Mosaic law. An ignorant person might say that this applies to the Magisterium of the Catholic Church.

But that’s not what’s happening at all. The Pharisees are using their “tradition” to get out of actually following the letter or intent of the law. The example he uses is Qorban, which was a way of “dedicating” an offering to the temple, but still keeping it to use it for yourself. The “offering” didn’t give anything away to anyone, even their needy parents.

Our Church’s teaching never contradicts the Bible. It only interprets and passes it from generation to generation.

From the Catechism, paragraphs 80 & 81:

"Sacred Tradition and Sacred Scripture, then, are bound closely together, and communicate one with the other. For both of them, flowing out from the same divine well-spring, come together in some fashion to form one thing, and move towards the same goal."Each of them makes present and fruitful in the Church the mystery of Christ, who promised to remain with his own "always, to the close of the age".

"Sacred Scripture is the speech of God as it is put down in writing under the breath of the Holy Spirit."

"And [Holy] Tradition transmits in its entirety the Word of God which has been entrusted to the apostles by Christ the Lord and the Holy Spirit. It transmits it to the successors of the apostles so that, enlightened by the Spirit of truth, they may faithfully preserve, expound and spread it abroad by their preaching."

Doctrine should be taken as seriously as the Bible. If you ever think they’re in contradiction with each other, it’s time to consider if you’re misinterpreting one or the other.