The word of the day is “creature.”   As we begin a new secular year, we might consider the nature of the material world in which we live.  Yes, we live in the hope of a “better country,” our eternal inheritance.  But the material world, though subject to corruption, is not evil.  In our reading of 1 Timothy 3:14-4:5, St. Paul writes, “For every creature of God is good, and nothing is to be refused if it is received with thanksgiving.  For it is sanctified by the word of God and prayer” (vs. 4). The Law of Moses divided food and drink into qualities of “clean” and “unclean” as if they were intrinsically good or bad.  But the Lord said, “Not…