January 3

OT- A few things about this reading. My favorite verse in the OT occurs here -- it is Genesis 5:24 and it refers to Enoch walking with God and then he was no more. I love that. Especially since it doesn't say that Enoch was especially good or whatever. God just liked to walk with him and then he wasn't.
The Nephilim -- this also got me into trouble at church and not as a child. There is a great book by Madeline L'Engle called Many Waters that uses the whole Noah and Nephilim saga as a jumping off point. It is tough for me to read the Biblical reference without that coming up in my face. I remember thinking as a child that Angels must really, really be frightening, otherwise, why on earth would the first words that come out of their mouths always be "be not afraid" unless they were really scary. And if the Nephilim were fallen angels as The Book of Enoch (in the Apocrypha) states, they would really be super scary. Being Presbyterian, not one but 2 of my pastors have squashed my thoughts on the Nephilim being angels. But clearly they are SOMETHING, and not human.
And this is my take on the Noah story. I have chickens. 9 Hens. They most definitely have personalities. I have 1 mean hen. I get that Noah was good and so God saved him. But if I were God, how would I pick between the 8 sweet hens? I have to assume, having also a dog and cat, that dogs and cats fall into the same idea. Some are good and some are just plain wicked -- yes, just like Herod. I have had a dog (Coal, aka Fatdog) that loved certain people and just absolutely HATED others. And the ones he hated, well, let’s just say you shouldn’t leave your shoes around where he could get to them. So, how do you pick just 2 dogs and 2 cats? And did they deserve to perish because men were hideous? And what about the trees??? This is one of those stories in the Bible that my job is simply to remember. I cannot understand the why of it so I am just going to remember it. But it is hard. Maybe it is supposed to be.
NT – the juxtaposition of the phrase “this is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased” next to the temptation cannot be casual. I take this to mean that Jesus, just like us, has highs and lows and they can happen virtually back to back. But do you think it was also meant to fortify Jesus for what he was about to endure? Sort of a coach’s pep talk before the big game?
Psalm – I had to look up again what Selah means. The Catholic Encyclopedia says that no one is quite sure what Selah means. The common assumption is that it means ‘stop and reflect’. But it could also mean a musical interlude and could be a notation to the choir to hush while the stringed instruments did their thing. It could also be a form of AMEN which literally means ‘so be it’. Or if you are a BattleStar Gallactica girl “so say we all”. At any rate, in our psalm today, we have 3 Selahs in 8 verses. That seems like a lot. This poem is a typical Hebrew poem that uses opposing couplets. Verses 1 &2 are opposed by 3 &4. Verses 5 & 6 are answered by 7. If I were writing it, 7 would have gotten a Selah. 8 is really just the benediction. For 8 verses, this little poem packs a mean wallop. Broken teeth and jaw.
Finally, the Proverb which my dad would have summed up in 2 sentences. “Son, be careful who you hang around with. The crowd can take you places that you just don’t want to go.”
Blessing on your readings.