“... then the LORD God formed the man out of the dust of the ground and blew into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.” (Genesis 2:7.)
Saint Gregory of Nyssa (part 2 of the background of Saint Gregory of Nyssa is found here) offers the following insight on this verses from today’s First Reading:
“God made the inner person; He molded the outer. “Molding” is suitable for clay, but “making” is [fitting] for an image. So on the one hand, he “molded” flesh, but on the other, he “made” the soul.
“God took of the dust of the earth and fashioned man.” In this world I have discovered the two affirmations that man is nothing and that man is great. If you consider nature alone, he is nothing and has no value; but if you regard the honor with which he has been treated, man is something great.
Others, on the contrary, marking the order of the making of man as stated by Moses, say that the soul is second to the body in order of time, since God first took dust from the earth and formed man, and then animated the being thus formed by his breath. By this argument they prove that the flesh is more noble than the soul, that which was previously formed [more noble] than that which was afterward infused into it…. Nor again are we in our doctrine to begin by making up man like a clay figure and to say that the soul came into being for the sake of this, for surely in that case the intellectual nature would be shown to be less precious than the clay figure. But as man is one, the being consisting of soul and body, we are to suppose that the beginning of his existence is one, common to both aspects, so that he should not be found to be antecedent and posterior to himself, as if the bodily element were first in point of time and the other were a later addition.” (On the Making of Man)
“God took of the dust of the earth and fashioned man.” In this world I have discovered the two affirmations that man is nothing and that man is great. If you consider nature alone, he is nothing and has no value; but if you regard the honor with which he has been treated, man is something great.
Others, on the contrary, marking the order of the making of man as stated by Moses, say that the soul is second to the body in order of time, since God first took dust from the earth and formed man, and then animated the being thus formed by his breath. By this argument they prove that the flesh is more noble than the soul, that which was previously formed [more noble] than that which was afterward infused into it…. Nor again are we in our doctrine to begin by making up man like a clay figure and to say that the soul came into being for the sake of this, for surely in that case the intellectual nature would be shown to be less precious than the clay figure. But as man is one, the being consisting of soul and body, we are to suppose that the beginning of his existence is one, common to both aspects, so that he should not be found to be antecedent and posterior to himself, as if the bodily element were first in point of time and the other were a later addition.” (On the Making of Man)
As the proclamation from Genesis continues at weekday Mass, insights from the distinguished Jewish Scripture scholar, Nahum M. Sarna, can offer an added perspective when reflecting on the living and enduring Word of God. In addition to his scholarly work on Genesis and Exodus, he has penned a most insight work on the Psalms, opening up the world of the Psalms to anyone who prays the Psalms especially the Liturgy of the Hours.
“The poetic imagery evoked by the Genesis text is graphically explicit in the Book of Job: “Consider that You fashioned me like clay” (10:9); “You and I are the same before God; / I too was nipped from clay” (33:6). The human body is a “house of clay,” and human beings are described as “those who dwell in houses of clay, / Whose origin is dust” (4:19).
Here in Genesis, the image simultaneously expresses both the glory and the insignificance of man. Man occupies a special place in the hierarchy of Creation and enjoys a unique relationship with God by virtue of his being the work of God’s own hands and being directly animated by God’s own breath. At the same time, he is but dust taken from the earth, mere clay in the hands of the divine Potter, who exercises absolute mastery over His Creation.” (Nahum M. Sarna, JPS Torah Commentary: Genesis. Philadelphia: The Jewish Publication Society, 2001. 978-0809149285)
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| Nahum M. Sarna |
Here in Genesis, the image simultaneously expresses both the glory and the insignificance of man. Man occupies a special place in the hierarchy of Creation and enjoys a unique relationship with God by virtue of his being the work of God’s own hands and being directly animated by God’s own breath. At the same time, he is but dust taken from the earth, mere clay in the hands of the divine Potter, who exercises absolute mastery over His Creation.” (Nahum M. Sarna, JPS Torah Commentary: Genesis. Philadelphia: The Jewish Publication Society, 2001. 978-0809149285)
Collect
Keep Your family safe, O Lord,
with unfailing care,
that, relying solely
on the hope of heavenly grace,
they may be defended always
by Your protection.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son,
Who lives and reigns with You
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.
with unfailing care,
that, relying solely
on the hope of heavenly grace,
they may be defended always
by Your protection.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son,
Who lives and reigns with You
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.
Glory to the Father
and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and will be forever. Amen
and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and will be forever. Amen
