Subject to Futility

Fr. Lawrence Jagdfeld, O.F.M., Administrator

In his letter to the Romans, St. Paul writes: All creation is groaning in labor pains even until now . . . (Romans 8:22) I have commented before on the idea from Greek mythology that just as a woman brings forth a new life in pain and affliction, so too the created universe brings forth a new age through trial and affliction. This is the basis for St. Paul's statement that he can rejoice in his sufferings because he knows that his affliction is hastening the day when Jesus will return and establish the Day of the Lord which has been promised in both the Hebrew and the Christian Scriptures.

This quotation from Romans also reminds us that just as we are participating in the process of giving birth to that new age, so too all of creation. Indeed, it is important to remember that we are part of the created universe, not just living in that universe. Our existence is interrelated, intertwined with the existence of the universe. All of creation suffered when Adam fell, not just the human race. The effects of original sin are felt throughout creation. When God punishes Adam for his sin, we hear the following: Cursed be the ground because of you! (Genesis 3:17) Thus it is that St. Paul writes: For creation awaits with eager expectation the revelation of the children of God; for creation was made subject to futility, not of its own accord but because of the one who subjected it, in hope that creation itself would be set free from slavery to corruption and share in the glorious freedom of the children of God. (Romans 8:19-21)

St. Bonaventure, a great Franciscan philosopher and theologian, consistently reminds us of our interdependence with all of creation. He teaches that through our natural, physical senses, we can discover "vestiges" of God in the created universe. Those traces of God's creative power can, in fact, lead us to discovering a more intimate knowledge of God. Those signs of God's power and existence were set free from the effects of original sin through Christ's redemptive death. Thus all of creation, not just the human family, shares in the glorious freedom won for us by Christ.

Just as the effects of Christ's death and resurrection are "among us" but "not yet," the same is true with the created universe. We eagerly await the day when Christ returns with the fullness of life for all of the created universe.