Today’s first reading is the end of the first creation narrative in Genesis. It’s the one with the long list of the six days of creation, which we usually hear at the Easter vigil. Genesis 1 always reminds me of a television show which was on a few years ago called Planet Earth. It presented all of the world’s ecosystems and showed so many creatures in great detail. It’s a beautiful series, and a great reminder of the beauty of the earth. It’s remarkable that the ancient peoples who composed Genesis had a similar imagination of their world! They knew that their world was beautiful and that it was created by God. More than that, they knew that God had given the world to humans to care for it.  

It’s a curious passage to pair with today’s Gospel text, which is another encounter between Jesus and the Pharisees. Trying to trip him up on the Law (Torah), the Pharisees chide Jesus because his disciples haven’t properly washed before eating. So many of the Jewish laws are about cleanliness, and this was a major affront to the leaders at the time. But Jesus quickly turns it around on them, calling them “hypocrites” (again) and saying that they only care about externals, not the state of their hearts.   

Taken together, these passages call us back to our purpose: to love God. Today’s memorial saint, St. Scholastica, was the sister of St. Benedict, the father of Western monasticism. Not much is known about Scholastica but there is an interesting story that might help us see the wisdom of our readings today. Benedict and Scholastica were having dinner and because she rarely saw her brother, she prayed for a storm to delay him so they’d have more time together…and the storm came! Benedict was very anxious about all this, eager to get back to his prayers and studies. But Scholastica knew that all of our feverish activity should have, at its heart, love for God and love for others. 

The Genesis passage and the Gospel reading remind us that all of our activity must be properly oriented. We are surrounded by creation, which is beautiful in itself but more than that, testifies to God’s love and care for us. We might accidentally become anxious about ultimately trivial things, failing like the Pharisees to appreciate God in our midst. St. Scholastica, pray for us, that we can recognize our loving Creator in the world and people around us.  

- Katherine Schimdt