Still not understanding

The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today invite us to probe into the natural history and psychology that may be in the background of these passages.

Care of Creation

In the Book of Genesis we read of the warning about the Great Flood and the preparations that God asks of Noah.

* [6:7] Human beings are an essential part of their environment, which includes all living things. In the new beginning after the flood, God makes a covenant with human beings and every living creature (9:9–10). The same close link between human beings and nature is found elsewhere in the Bible; e.g., in Is 35, God’s healing transforms human beings along with their physical environment, and in Rom 8:19–23, all creation, not merely human beings, groans in labor pains awaiting the salvation of God.1 

In the Gospel from Mark, Jesus connects the apparent psychological thickness of the disciples to the Leaven of the Pharisees.

* [8:15] The leaven of the Pharisees…of Herod: the corruptive action of leaven (1 Cor 5:6–8; Gal 5:9) was an apt symbol of the evil dispositions both of the Pharisees (Mk 8:11–13; 7:5–13) and of Herod (Mk 6:14–29) toward Jesus. The disciples of Jesus are warned against sharing such rebellious attitudes toward Jesus; cf. Mk 8:17, 21.2 

Cindy Murphy McMahon believes God can pierce through the messiness of life.

 That’s how much God values acting justly. So, when we are weary and burdened by the messiness of our own sinfulness, mistakes and lack of concern for others, we can have faith that God gives second chances. Jesus' whole mission was a huge second chance for us. We can remember that one person acting justly is enough to change the course of history. So, let us take stock of ourselves and act justly.
The conversation in the boat in the Gospel greatly amuses me. Again, the messiness of life. The disciples relished in that mess – worrying about where their next meal is coming from, who forgot to bring bread, why did they forget to bring bread – and Jesus lived there in the messiness right along with them.3

 Don Schwager quotes “Heed the truth of the Gospel,” by Hilary of Poitiers (315-367 AD).

"The apostles are ordered to watch out for the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees. They are warned not to be involved in the disputes of the Jews. The works of the law are now to be viewed in the light of faith. They are forewarned that they, into whose time and age the truth had appeared incarnate, should judge nothing except which lies within the position of hope in likeness of the truth that is revealed. They are warned against allowing the doctrine of the Pharisees, who are unaware of Christ, to corrupt the effectiveness of the truth of the gospel." (excerpt from commentary ON MATTHEW 16.3)4 

The Word Among Us Meditation on Mark 8:14-21 comments on when Jesus told them, “Guard against the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod,” He was talking about corrupt teaching that imposes burdensome laws, employs a double standard, and seeks for personal gain (Mark 8:15).

First, don’t reduce your faith to a matter of obeying laws and commandments. If you do, you risk falling into the trap of feeling good about yourself if you succeed and feeling miserable if you feel you have failed. There is so much more to the life of faith than upholding God’s laws.
Second, let Jesus’ multiplication of the loaves and fishes build up your faith in his love for you. He knows how difficult it can be to believe in something that seems illogical at first—something like a miracle. But this is exactly what Jesus asks us to do every day. He asks us to put our whole hope in him even though we can’t see him. He asks us to believe that he will provide for us. He asks us to believe that he can lead us to heaven.
If we trust only in what we see, we will limit what Jesus can do in us. Instead, let the miracle of the loaves help you see that Jesus is both willing and able to meet your needs.5 

Friar Jude Winkler identifies the chaos that humans had evolved into and the rabbinic justice that God should use chaos of the Flood to restart our journey. The Great Deluge as recorded in Mesopotamian literature too may correspond to an actual geological event involving the Mediterranean and Black Sea about 1200 BCE. Friar Jude comments on the thickness of Jesus disciples and family in the Gospel of Mark that clears up at the Cross.

Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, considers that the implications of our selective seeing have been massively destructive for history and humanity. Creation was deemed profane, a pretty accident, a mere backdrop for the real drama of God’s concern—which we narcissistically assumed is always and only us humans. It is impossible to make individuals feel sacred inside of a profane, empty, or accidental universe. This way of seeing makes us feel separate and competitive, striving to be superior instead of deeply connected and in search of ever-larger circles of union.

I believe God loves things by becoming them. God loves things by uniting with them, not by excluding them. Through the act of creation, God manifested the eternally out-flowing Divine Presence into the physical and material world. Ordinary matter is the hiding place for Spirit and thus the very Body of God. Honestly, what else could it be, if we believe—as orthodox Jews, Christians, and Muslims do—that “one God created all things”? Since the very beginning of time, God’s Spirit has been revealing its glory and goodness through the physical creation. So many of the Psalms assert this, speaking of “rivers clapping their hands” and “mountains singing for joy.” When Paul wrote, “There is only Christ. He is everything and he is in everything” (Colossians 3:11), was he a naïve pantheist or did he really understand the full implication of the Gospel of Incarnation?6 

Our lack of understanding of our relationship to God and nature is bringing us towards chaos again in Creation.

References

1	(n.d.). Genesis chapter 6 - United States Conference of Catholic Bishops Retrieved February 19, 2019, from http://www.usccb.org/bible/genesis/6
2	(n.d.). Mark chapter 8 - United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. Retrieved February 19, 2019, from http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/bible/mark/8:14
3	(n.d.). Creighton U Daily Reflections .... Retrieved February 19, 2019, from http://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/daily.html
4	(n.d.). Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved February 19, 2019, from https://dailyscripture.servantsoftheword.org/
5	(n.d.). 6th Week in Ordinary Time - Mass Readings and Catholic Daily .... Retrieved February 19, 2019, from https://wau.org/meditations/2019/02/19
6	(n.d.). Daily Meditations Archives — Center for Action and Contemplation. Retrieved February 19, 2019, from https://cac.org/category/daily-meditations/2019/02/