Reflection on Mass Readings -- 14 Feb 2015

The Readings  from Mass this morning (14 Feb 2015), the Memorial of Saints Cyril, Monk, and Methodius, Bishop include a portion of Psalm 90:

Return, O LORD! How long?

The first reading describes the consequences of the Fall of Adam and Eve.  God addresses Adam:

“Because you listened to your wife
and ate from the tree of which I had forbidden you to eat,

“Cursed be the ground because of you!
In toil shall you eat its yield
all the days of your life.
Thorns and thistles shall it bring forth to you,
as you eat of the plants of the field.
By the sweat of your face
shall you get bread to eat,
Until you return to the ground,
from which you were taken;
For you are dirt,
and to dirt you shall return.”

In the Gospel Jesus feeds the crowds with seven loaves and a few fish.

There is a counterpoint here between the lot of man following his loss of innocence during the original disobedience, and how the lambs of Christ are fed, not by the sweat of their brows, but the gracious gift of Christ.

Indeed, in Christ the cry from psalm 90 is answered.  "Return oh Lord, How long?" is finally answered by God in the person of Christ who came into the world that we might be saved.  Not merely restored to the original innocence of Adam and Eve, but called into an even more intimate union, an eternal union with God who loves and has prepared a place for us in his Kingdom.



As a final point, this reading from Genesis is like a preview of next Wednesday, Ash Wednesday, when Lent begins and we pray:

Remember man you are dust, and to dust you shall return.