I feel an irresistible urge to share the brilliance of some sermons on the theology of the Creation narrative in Genesis. I was privileged to be present at these sermons and was gripped instantly by the sheer brilliance of the priest and the way in which he systematically and logically dissected the key issues.

In the first of the four sermons he looked at “God the Creator”, distinguishing between the form and content of the Creation narrative. Genesis must be read, he insisted, in light of the unity of the Bible as a whole. If we read the Bible without an understanding of the unity of the whole text we literally read it out of context. Brilliant! Furthermore, the priest insisted, the unity of the Bible is centred on the Person of Christ. Without a correct Christology we cannot make sense of the Bible or any of its parts, including Genesis.

In the second sermon he insisted on the fusion of fides et ratio in the biblical narratives, stressing that faith in Creation is eminently rational. The remainder of the sermon highlighted the enduring significance of the symbolic dimension of the biblical account of Creation.

The third sermon centred on the Creation of Man, highlighting his “earthiness” and the divinity of the image in which he is made, and ended with an incisive discussion of Creation and Evolution.

The fourth and final sermon grappled with “Sin and Salvation”, discussing with eloquent precision the freedoms and limitations inherent in humanity and the nature and consequences of Original Sin. Finally, and practicing the exegetical principles established in the first sermon, this wonderful priest showed how the Creation narrative in Genesis can only be understood in the light of Christ as illumined in the New Testament.

“Wow!” I kept saying to myself as my eyes were opened in new ways to the timeless truths of salvation history. Wow! If only priests like this could have a real influence on the Church. What a difference they could make.

And now for the confession.

I was only “present” at these sermons insofar as I read them in a slim volume discovered on one of the neglected bookshelves in my home. In order to have been present physically I would have needed to go back in time to 1981. The sermons were given during Lent of that year by a priest by the name of Joseph Ratzinger. I wonder if anyone in the congregation that day had wondered what a difference it would make if such priests were ever given positions of authority in the Church …