The Jesse Tree: How to Find Mercy in a World of Judgment
Advent 2021 – The Jesse Tree
This is a series of reflections on daily readings designed for families during the season of Advent.
My brother was terrified. Every swell our little boat crashed into sent a spray of water into our faces. He huddled under a rain poncho, gripping the railing with white knuckles. I stood by my uncle as he piloted the boat back towards the shore. The winds and waves pressing against us. I laughed in delight as we crashed into swells large enough to send my uncle’s little fishing boat into the deep. Fear simply never occurred to me.
I always remember this scene when I think about the story of Noah. Storybook Bibles sanitize the story, draining out all the unpleasantness. Meanwhile, more mature readers look in horror at a scene of judgment. What are we to make of it?
Day Four – Judgment & Mercy, Genesis 6:5 – 9:17
The story in Genesis 6 – 9 begins in sorrow. Human beings, who are meant to reflect the image of God into creation, have degenerated to the point of continuous evil. Lamech, in a kind of anti-creation poem, celebrates his ability to bring death. God laments making humans.
Collusion with death has disastrous consequences. Torrents of water will wash away human culture and bring an end to the continuous evil the human creatures create. This is not a random image. Water in the Hebrew scriptures is associated with chaos. Since human beings are given over to chaotic evil they will be consumed by the primal image of chaos in their creative imagination.
But this is not the end of the story. Just as in the creation poem where a wind from God hovers over the face of the deep, in this story God will preserve humans and animals in the midst of the torrent.
God’s plan involves a strange partnership between God and a human family. The humans will need to work to construct something for the purpose of saving life, not destroying it. They will need to collect and care for plant and animal. The whole partnership will involve building a relationship of trust between God and humanity, a trust broken long years before. This is a relationship based on mercy.
A quick glance at our world confirms that human corruption is not just an ancient problem. It’s a modern problem and a human problem because it’s a spiritual problem.
Perhaps the story of Noah is not a tale to terrorize us with judgment, (though there seems to be a lot of that going around), but an invitation to partnership with the creator God for the sake of others. Perhaps, if we learn to build up, seek out, and care for the vulnerable, we will not need to be afraid when the torrents come.
What comes to mind when you reflect on the story of Noah?
What might partnership with God for others look like in your context?