Word to the Wise
Tuesday, February 14, 2017 - Tuesday in the 6th Week in Ordinary Time
[Gen 6:5-8; 7:1-5, 10 and Mark 8:14-21]So the Lord said: "I will wipe out from the earth the men whom I have created, and not only the men, but also the beasts and the creeping things and the birds of the air, for I am sorry that I made them." But Noah found favor with the Lord. [Genesis]
FEBRUARY 14 STS. CYRIL AND METHODIUS
Few Old Testament stories have captured the imagination like the story of Noah, the ark and the flood. Since the story seems to have parallels in neighboring cultures to the Israelites, there may be both physical and archetypal evidence of the event. There is a place in Turkey where Mt. Ararat is supposed to be. Cartoon after cartoon has portrayed the ark. Rogers and Hammerstein composed a musical, "Two by Two," about it. But, like Adam and Eve and Cain and Abel there is a "narrative" message here. God has not given up on the stubborn, sinful and beautiful human race. I recommend reading the whole account from Gen. 6:5 to 10:17. The lectionary tends to chop up some great stories for the sake of "continuity."
A second "theme" is the notion of a faithful "remnant." Noah and his family represent that idea. There will be some who will remain faithful even when the rest of humanity seems to have followed the "serpent." Noah's faithfulness leads God to swear that God will never again try to destroy the world. There will be more about this tomorrow. For the time being, we can enjoy the story and imagine the pairs of animals, birds, insects (mosquitoes and flies, etc.) finding their way up the gangplank. (Why aren't plants mentioned?) What a cruise that was! AMEN
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