January 3, 2009

Genesis 6-8
We are continuing our journey through the primordial, pre-history of Genesis 1-11. There some mysterious parts of this story. The ‘sons of God’ in 6:2 seem to be fallen angels, and the Nephilim in 6:4 seem to be their heroic descendants. The ancient Greeks thought similarly of the people who lived before their time in Greece. God becomes sorry that he made the world, when he sees all the violence in it, and God decides to make a clean sweep and start over with Noah, his family, and two of each kind of animal. During the flood, God does not forget Noah and the ark. After the flood, God decides not to ever ‘curse the ground because of humankind’ again. God realizes that the flood really did not change humankind: “the inclination of the human heart is evil from youth” (8:21). God will find another way to deal with sin and evil.

Matthew 2:13-3:17
The beginning of this passage is a terrifying one. Joseph takes Mary and the infant Jesus and flees to Egypt to escape King Herod’s wrath; the rest of the little ones of Bethlehem are not spared. After Herod’s death, the family relocates to Nazareth.
John the Baptist bears a message of repentance to Israel, turning from sin, turning to God. He is preparing the way for Jesus. When he cries out, “Bear fruit worthy of repentance,” I ask myself, How is God calling me to be fruitful in my family, my church, my community? How can we live fruitful lives? Jesus will help answer that question.