You have given your Son rule over the works of your hands.
Psalm 8:2ab and 5, 6-7, 8-9. January 10, 2023 - Tuesday, 1st Week in Ordinary Time
Psalm 8 can be considered a poetic commentary on the creation story in Genesis 1. According to that account, God creates the heavens, the sea, and the earth and fills them with different species of birds, fish, animals, and plants. Then, he creates human beings - "ha adam", in Hebrew - and set them over other created things. In the language of the psalmist, God made human being a ruler “over the works of [His] hands” and put “all things under” the feet of humans. And this fact surprises the psalmist.
In contemporary discussion, however, the human being is often compared to vicious animal. Some people even go as far to state that the earth would be better off without humans. And yet, even in this negative approach, the uniqueness of humanity stands out. Whether we are seen as the highest form of evolution or created by God, we are still facing our uniqueness and mystery. Who are we? Why are we so unique in the entire creation?
The psalmist is surprised by the fact that a mortal creature, created from the soil of the earth is little less than angels or divine beings. It is interesting to notice that God forbids His people to create molten images and worship them (see Ex 20:4), a commandment that the people often transgressed (see Ezekiel 7:20; Amos 5:26). It is even more interesting to realise that the word “image” used by Ezekiel and Amos is also used in the book of Genesis - we have been made in the image of God (Gen 1:27). God created us in his image and likeness. We are God’s representative on earth.
This amazement over the elevation of the human being is taken over to the New Testament. The author of the letter to the Hebrews quotes verses 5-7 of Psalm 8 in reference to Jesus Christ, the Son of Adam (Hebr. 2:5-8). In the author’s interpretation, Jesus Christ became little less than the angels in His death on the cross and crowned with glory and honour at the moment of his ascension at the right hand of the Father (see Hebr. 2:9). In the New Testament’s testimony, Jesus Christ is the image of the invisible God (Col 1:15) and the Crucified Jesus is exalted above everything and everyone that is in heaven, on earth, and under the earth (see Phil 2:9-11).
The refrain for our psalm declares: “You have given your Son rule over the works of your hands”. In the Church’s proclamation, the Crucified and Risen Christ is the Pantocrator - the ruler of all. Jesus himself declared that truth to us at the end of Matthew’s Gospel: “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me” (Matt 28:18). The Father has given all authority to His Son, Jesus Christ, to rule over everything and everyone.