how nature became less cooperative - 16th Week Tuesday 1

In our first reading today we see the forces of nature coming into play – the pillar of cloud blocked the Egyptians as they race towards the Israelites, the strong east wind blew the seabed making it into dry land, and the waters of the Red Sea stopped flowing and divided into two thus allowing a passage for Israel. Origen in his homily commented on these miraculous events saying: “See the goodness of God the Creator: if you submit to his will and follow his Law, he will see to it that created things cooperate with you.”

Nature cooperates if only we submit to God’s will and follow his law.  This observation harps back to that beautiful relationship and cooperation between man and nature in the garden of Eden before sin entered the world.  But when man disobeyed God, the ground was cursed and only through painful toil, by the sweat of his brow can man eat of its produce.  When we disobey God’s commands nature also become less cooperative.  Pope Francis observed rightly that environmental problems today have ethical and spiritual roots.  There is just so much greed, we have become so individualistic, thinking only of ourselves and our own good, we have acquired a throwaway culture and have become wasteful of our resources.  Even our own Filipino Myths tell of that day when a grain of rice as big as a basketball would just roll over from the fields to the homes of people.  But one day because of the greed of man it stopped – the grains became smaller and it is only by going through so much hardships can we produce rice.  This may be a myth but it teaches the truth that our sins affect nature and make her less cooperative.  And because of this we suffer.