ALPHA AND OMEGA DAY 9, GENESIS 8

The story of the flood is brought to a conclusion in today’s text. God has been true to his word: he punished sinful humanity and, saved Noah (an upright man) and his household. 

REFLECTION

• Have you ever embarked on a long journey without stops? How was the feeling when you finally arrived at the destination? Our answer to this question will help us to understand the offering which Noah made to God when he finally came out of the ark with his household and the animals. God does a lot for us day after day. He watches over us while we sleep; he guards us from evil in our going and coming; he makes us pass our exam; he provides our food and air for breathing. Like Noah, do we show gratitude to God for what he does for us, or do we see ourselves as deserving of such blessings?

• The author presents the sacrifice of Noah as pleasing to God and, God promised not to curse the earth again since he knew human beings and their inclination to sin. It is not as if God changed his mind because Noah’s offering pleased him. Rather, the author wishes to show that God knows us through and through. Do we see ourselves as holy and others sinful? Jesus has forever delivered us from slavery to sin, but we still have the inclination to sin. We cannot hide from God. We must therefore surrender ourselves to him so that he will guide in his ways (Ps 139:1, 23-24)

• In the midst of all the consequences of human sin, God still sustains the world he created. “Day and night will never cease” is to make us aware that God is still in control of the world. We can apply this to ourselves also in another sense. Thus, no matter what we’re going through, we must always remember that our Father has got the whole world in his hand, and he will make all things beautiful in his own time.

May the Lord bless and keep all of us, Amen.

ALPHA AND OMEGA, DAY 8: GENESIS 7

In today’s text, the story of the flood is continued. Noah, after having finished with the construction of the ark, is directed by God to get into it with his household and all kinds of creatures as indicated by the biblical author. The outstanding divine truth revealed through the text is that God saves and blesses those who are faithful to him.

REFLECTION

• God found Noah to be the only one among his contemporaries who was upright. The author presents God as punishing all other creatures apart from Noah and his household. Thus, through Noah’s faithfulness to God his whole household was saved. What about us? Are we the cause of joy/blessing for our families, friends, communities, etc. or are we the cause of shame and troubles?

• Did we not learn from our previous reflection in this journey that God said he would allow only 120 years as the length of human existence (Gen 6:3)? How come in this text Noah is said to be 600 years? Well, it is a way of showing that punishment is reserved for the wicked and not the just. For, God rewards the upright (cf. Ps 11:7).

• The story of the flood could be applied to the Sacrament of Baptism. From the text, God destroyed sinful humanity with water. In the same way, through baptism, our sinful old self is destroyed so that we attain a newness of life in Christ. In baptism, we die with Christ to rise with him as new creatures (2 Cor. 5:17).

• As we go about our everyday life, let us always remember that we could be channels of blessings for others, just as Noah was for his family. Let us remember to shun evil in order to work out our salvation (Phi 2:12) .

May the Lord bless and keep all of us, Amen.

IN SPANISH (En Español)

En el texto de hoy, se continúa la historia de la inundación. Noé, después de haber terminado con la construcción del arca, está dirigida por Dios para entrar en ella con su familia y todo tipo de criaturas como indica el autor bíblico. La verdad divina revelada en circulación a través del texto es que Dios salva y bendice a los que son fieles a él.

REFLEXIÓN

• Dios encontró a Noé para ser el único entre sus contemporáneos que era recto. El autor presenta a Dios como castigo de todas las demás criaturas, aparte de Noé y su familia. Por lo tanto, a través de la fidelidad de Dios a Noé se salvó toda su casa. ¿Qué pasa con nosotros? ¿Somos la causa de la alegría / bendición para nuestras familias, amigos, comunidades, etc, o somos la causa de la vergüenza y problemas?

• ¿Acaso no aprendemos de nuestra reflexión anterior, en este viaje que Dios dijo que permitiría a sólo 120 años, como la duración de la existencia humana (Gen 6:03)? ¿Cómo es que en este texto Noé se dice que 600 años? Bueno, es una forma de mostrar que el castigo está reservado para los malvados y no a los justos. Pues, Dios recompensa a los justos (cf. Sal 11:7).

• La historia de la inundación se podría aplicar al Sacramento del Bautismo. A partir del texto, Dios destruyó a la humanidad pecadora con agua. De la misma manera, a través del bautismo, nuestro viejo hombre de pecado sea destruido para que alcancemos una vida nueva en Cristo. En el Bautismo, morimos con Cristo para resucitar con él como nuevas criaturas (2 Cor. 5:17).

• A medida que avanzamos en nuestro día a día, recordemos siempre que podemos ser canales de bendición para otros, al igual que Noé, su familia. Recordemos a rechazar el mal, a fin de trabajar por nuestra salvación (Filipenses 2:12).

Que el Señor no bendiga y no guarde a todos, Amen.

ALPHA AND OMEGA, DAY 7 (GENESIS 6)

The author of the text which we are considering today wishes to draw our attention to the increasing rate of evil/sin in human history as ages passed. He presents the doom of evil doers and the salvation of the just using the story of the flood.

REFLECTION

• In describing the increasing rate of immorality, the author used words such as “daughters”, “women”, “children” and “sons of God” in reference to the human race. Genesis 6:3 attests that indeed the author was talking about human beings and not some super humans as we usually imagine. Have we so far noted that not all biblical stories are to be taken literally?

• In the text, God, who saw that all he had made was very good (cf. Gen 1:31), is presented as having regretted creating human beings. Has this ever struck us in any way? How often have we not been disappointed with our own selves? Could God be said to be like us in that regard?

• Well, “God regretted” was the author’s way of showing that God is holy and just, but human beings are unfaithful. “God regretted”, as used in the text, therefore does not in any way imply that God changed his mind; for God is always faithful to his word (cf. 1Sam15:29), and he is always merciful to those who repent of their sins and return to him with all their hearts (cf. Jer 26:1-3). God therefore cannot regret as we understand it!

• The story of the flood demonstrates that God saves those who remain faithful to him. We are often attracted to act the way all others around us do. However, one thing we must always ask ourselves is this: is what am doing pleasing to God? Let’s note, we must not follow the crowd because we can get lost with the crowd. Rom 12:2 should be our guide.

May the Lord bless and keep all of us, Amen.