Second Sunday before Lent (A)
8th February 2026
Genesis begins with God speaking. Creation does not emerge from struggle or chance but from command. Light, land, living creatures, and humanity exist because God wills them. Order is established by his word, and each stage is declared good.
Human beings are created in God’s image and given dominion. That authority is not licence to exploit but a charge to govern under God. Dominion reflects God’s rule: ordered, life-giving, and accountable.
Yet Romans speaks of creation subjected to futility. The world that was called “very good” now groans. The fracture is not in matter itself but in the distortion of human rule. Creation waits for the revealing of the children of God — not for escape from the world, but for its restoration.
In the Gospel, Christ commands his disciples not to be ruled by anxiety. The birds and the lilies do not govern themselves; they are sustained by the Father. The command not to worry is not denial of responsibility. It is a correction of false sovereignty. We are stewards, not masters.
To seek first the kingdom of God is to live under the Creator’s authority again. Creation begins in order, is strained by misuse, and is promised renewal. The Church stands within that history — entrusted, accountable, and hopeful.