The Cry of Creation and the Call to Co-creation

Queen Jezabel Being Punished by Jehu

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ecause today's readings are filled with creatures and elements of nature—dogs, birds, the sun, and the rain—I have chosen to celebrate a Mass for the Care of Creation.

My first point comes from the Gospel. Jesus' teaching on loving our enemies is surprisingly connected to the sun and the rain.

He says: "Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you ... for he makes his sun rise on the bad and the good, and causes rain to fall on the just and the unjust."

Notice what Jesus does. When He wants to explain how God loves, He points to creation. He points to the sun and the rain.

The sun does not choose only the good people. The rain does not fall only on the virtuous. Nature does not ask whether a person is rich or poor, friend or enemy, saint or sinner. The sun shines and the rain falls on all.

Jesus sees in this a reflection of the Father's heart. God's love is generous, abundant, and inclusive. He gives before we deserve. He blesses before we earn. His love is not based on merit but on mercy.

This also gives us an ecological lesson. Creation is not merely a collection of resources. Creation is one of God's first teachers. The sun and the rain preach a silent homily every day. They reveal something about the character of God.

My second point comes from the first reading. At first glance, it seems harsh. Ahab and Jezebel are punished, and the image is striking: dogs devour in the city and birds consume in the field.

What are we to make of this?

The Bible is teaching us a profound truth: sin is never merely personal. Ahab's greatest offense was not simply that he committed individual sins. He led an entire people away from God. He abused power, promoted idolatry, and placed his own desires above God's covenant.

The consequence was disorder. Relationships were broken: the relationship with God, with neighbor, and even with the land itself.

Notice the creatures that appear in the judgment—the dogs and the birds. They are not evil creatures. They are part of creation. Yet they become signs of what happens when human beings refuse their proper place within creation and attempt to place themselves above God.

The biblical worldview understands that when human beings live according to God's will, harmony flourishes. But when greed, pride, and idolatry take over, disorder spreads throughout society and creation. The prophets repeatedly remind Israel that the land itself suffers because of human sin.

This is an important lesson for our ecological crisis today. We often think environmental problems are merely technical problems. But Scripture reminds us that many ecological problems have moral roots. Excessive consumption, greed, corruption, and indifference toward the poor are also forms of idolatry. They place something else in the place of God.

The story of Ahab and Jezebel therefore serves as a warning. We are not masters of creation. We are co-creators. When we abuse our power, creation eventually reveals the consequences of our actions.

My third and final point is about future generations.

One aspect of today's reading can be difficult for modern ears. Ahab repents, yet the consequences of his actions continue into the next generation. To us, this may seem unfair. We tend to think of responsibility as strictly personal. Yet the ancient Israelites understood something that remains profoundly true: our actions do not affect only ourselves. They affect those who come after us.

Today we see this clearly in the ecological crisis. The forests we cut down today, the rivers we pollute today, the species we drive to extinction today, and the carbon we release today will be inherited by future generations. They did not make these choices, yet they will live with their consequences.

In this sense, the biblical insight remains relevant. We are bound together across generations. Just as we enjoy the blessings planted by those who came before us, so future generations will inherit the world that we leave behind.

Pope Francis reminds us that the Earth is not an inheritance from our ancestors but a loan from our children. The question is not simply, "What kind of world do we want?" but "What kind of world are we handing on?"

The good news is that this principle works both ways. If selfishness can wound future generations, then generosity can bless them. Every tree planted, every watershed protected, every act of conservation, and every effort to live more simply becomes a gift to people we may never know.

The sun and rain of the Gospel remind us of God's generosity. The judgment upon Ahab reminds us that our actions have consequences. And the concern for future generations reminds us that care for creation is ultimately an act of love. We care for the Earth not only for ourselves, but for our children and our children's children. Amen. Fr JM Manzano SJ