The readings for today at first seemed unrelated. The point seemed obscure, going from the beautiful story of creation starting with the fifth day to praising God for creation, to Jesus chastising some Pharisees for their hypocrisy.It seemed jarring somehow. I struggled with the deeper meaning hidden within.

The more I reflected on the beauty of the first readings, the way God created humankind in his image – his divine image – and entrusted the abundance of his creation to humankind – seemed to elevate humankind. We are trusted by God!

God has made us little less than the angels and we are crowned with glory and honor.

Our awesome responsibility toward all creation may seem a heavy burden. Yet we are trusted by God. My response to this trust seemed to be “who, me?” and yet, yes, me.

The gospel reading where Pharisees called out some of Jesus’ disciples for not following the tradition of hand washing before meals gave Jesus an opportunity to shine a light on the deeper, wider issue: Do we follow laws, human tradition, and discard the heart of the matter? Do we listen to God with the ears of the heart? Do we respond with love and trust to his word, his creation, his trust in us?