Lary Bloom
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Friday, October 14, 2005
Noah Revisited
In the Northeast, rain has fallen for nine consecutive days. This is short of the Biblical record by 31. But it is similar enough in emphasis and result. Some New Jersey towns have already evacutated. And the Hartford Courant, in yesterday's editions, lamented the loss of the autumn leaf-viewing season. So even tourism suffers.When you consider this deluge and the awesome hurricanes in the Gulf Coast that preceeded it, you may properly ask the question, "Is God angry?" At least, those of you who consider God to be interested in us, or to exist in the first place.
Last night concluded the holiday of Yom Kippur, a period of reflection and repentance. The prayer book requires all to admit to, collectively, the sins of the world. It is an impressive list of wrongdoing, everything from dishonesty to xenophobia. It implies, correctly, that the human condition is not what it could be. But floods from God?
It is an uncomfortable business, placing God at the controls. For if you do, you might also ask what God's role is when innocents are slaughtered in Cambodia or Poland or Rwanda. Or in the long list of outrages before our era. Generations of scholars and theologists have addressed this, some with eloquent argument.
There is something about Yom Kippur, all those hours of being in synagogue on an empty stomach, that reminds us of the fragile nature of our existence. And, whether you believe in a higher power or not, times like these remind us that we are, too much of the time, focusing on our own lives, and our own welfare. And that there is a lot do to repair the world, and it's up to us, hour by hour, day by day, to do it.
Posted by:Lary Bloom at 5:21 AM
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