Destruction and repentance
Genesis 9:8–15; Psalm 24; 1 Peter 3:18–22; Mark 1:12–15
Destruction and repentance are the two basic themes in our readings today. The first reading presents us with the covenant God entered into with Noah. The background to this covenant was the flood. The flood took place for two reasons: First, Gen. 6:2, the flood took place because the “sons of God saw that the daughters of humans were beautiful, and they married any of them they chose”. These “sons of God” were “bene elohim,” which applies to angels. So, there was a physical union between angels and human women. The unnatural offspring of this union were the “Nephilim” (Gen. 6:4). The word Nephilim means fall. Secondly, Gen. 6:5 says that “The Lord saw how great the wickedness of the human race had become on the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of the human heart was only evil all the time.” So God did not allow this corrupt offspring and wickedness to continue, and so, he sent the flood. Only those in Noah’s ark were saved. Other lessons today are:
Noahic Covenant: Afterwards, God desired friendship with man. One of the ways this friendship is offered is through covenants. There are many covenant in scriptures ranging from the Edenic, Noahic, Abrahamic, Mosaic, Prietly, Davidic, and the New Covenant. However, today we shall focus on the Noahic Covenant. In Gen 9:11, God said to Noah and his sons, “As for me, I am establishing my covenant with you, that never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of a flood, and never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth.” The bow was given as a reminder that God desires friendship with humanity. The Hebrew word translated “rainbow” is properly translated as “war bow”. So God submitted is weapon and made a covenant not to destroy the world again. What commitment can we make not to destroy ourselves? How are we committed to caring for the earth? The earth is our common home, and we must care for it. It begins by caring for your compound, your hygiene, and the maintenance of our environment.
The New Ark: Like the old ark, the church is the new ark. The old ark was surrounded by dangers and a destructive flood. In the same vein, the Church, the new ark, is surrounded by so many dangers: enemies from outside and inside that want to bring the Church down. Peter says in 1 Pet. 5:8 that the devil is a roaring lion seeking someone to devour. Beloved, like all those in the Ark, we must remain in the church for safety and preservation. Many left the church because of the dangers and stories around it, and today they have been swept away by the flood. We must learn to remain in the church, come what may. The church today is the Ark of the Covenant. To be saved, you must enter the Ark. While Noah entered, people laughed at him, but when the flood came, the story was different. Those laughing at you now because you are in the church get to see your triumph and marvel.
Baptism and Repentance: The flood prefigures baptism. Noah and his family were saved from the waters of the flood that cleansed the earth of sin. In the second reading, 1 Peter 3:20–21, St. Peter tells us that this prefigures our baptism. Just as Noah called many into the ark, many of us are still being called to the waters of repentance and the tears of penance. Only those who embrace baptism will be saved. The flood brought about new life for Noah and his family; in the same vein, the waters of baptism bring us new life. So the saving of Noah through the waters of the flood prefigures baptism, ‘which saves us now’. During Lent, we prepare ourselves for this new life, and those who are to be baptized embrace this new life. Today’s gospel says ‘Repent and believe in the good news’ (Mk. 1:15). The old world was destroyed by the flood because of wickedness, ‘if we don’t repent, we shall likewise perish’ (Luke 13:5).
Dealing with Temptation: Today’s gospel also narrates the temptation of Jesus. If Jesus was tempted, we too shall be equally be tempted. But if we must overcome like Jesus, we must learn from him. We must learn to prepare ourselves. We must learn the ways of fasting, abstinence, the word and prayer. In the wilderness, Jesus exhibited these traits. Any Christian who wants to defeat Satan must be able to use the word, fast, abstain, and pray. Many have been lured by food; others are down because they couldn’t abstain; and some are struggling because they could not pray. There are those who wandering around because they have no knowledge of God’s word. Beloved, let us learn from Jesus how to deal with the world.
Fr. Daniel Evbotokhai
