Genesis 9:1-13 / Mark 8:276-33
If only we would heed and follow the commands of the Lord, we would be happy and the world would be a beautiful place.
When God created the world and humanity, there was order and beauty.
But when man sinned against God, then everything started to disintegrate and chaos sets in.
Time and again, God cleansed His creation to recreate its order and beauty.
In the 1st reading, after the flood, God reinstated order in creation and humanity and to restore the beauty of creation.
Man being made in the image of God was reiterated, and God gave everything to humanity so that mankind can be happy and lived their lives according to God’s ways.
But the sinful tendency of man is to go against God’s ways.
In doing so, man brings on himself misfortune and even tragedy.
In the gospel, Peter started to remonstrate with Jesus when He talked about suffering grievously and facing rejection.
Jesus rebuked him and even called him “Satan”.
Indeed, anyone who goes against the ways of God is going along the ways of evil.
So, let us walk in the ways of God and we will be happy in life and we will also bear witness to the image of God.