Links for today’s readings:
Read: Genesis 6 Listen: (2:48), Read: John 6 Listen: (8:27)
Scripture Focus: Genesis 6.5-8
5 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. 6 The Lord regretted that he had made human beings on the earth, and his heart was deeply troubled. 7 So the Lord said, “I will wipe from the face of the earth the human race I have created—and with them the animals, the birds and the creatures that move along the ground—for I regret that I have made them.” 8 But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord.
Epiphany: January 6th is the completion of Christmastide, called Epiphany. It means “manifestation” and represents the revealing or manifestation of Christ to the non-Jewish nations, represented by the visit of the Magi to worship Christ. It reminds us that Christ belongs to and came to save all nations and peoples and not merely one race, ethnicity, group, or nation.
Reflection: Resisting the Flood of Sin
By John Tillman
Sin grows. The trickle of sin that started in the garden led to the flood.
Eating forbidden fruit seems like a small thing. Perhaps it was. However, both fruit and deeds have seeds and from small seeds, large things grow.
Sin didn’t stop with forbidden fruit. The plant that grew from that first sin had wide branches and its seeds blossomed into violence when Cain killed Abel. (Genesis 4.6-8) Abel’s trickle of spilled blood became a swelling torrent of injustice and violence. This is demonstrated by Cain’s descendent, Lamech, who multiplied his forefather’s sins, bragging about violence toward men and women. (Genesis 4.19-24)
By Noah’s time, “Every inclination of the thoughts of the human heart was only evil all the time.” (Genesis 6.5) The world was already flooded before a drop of rain fell from heaven—it was flooded with the blood of violence. And every drop cried out from the ground to God. (Genesis 4.10-12)
Noah and his family resisted the spirit of the age defined by Cain’s Lamech. Noah’s father was also named Lamech, but this Lamech was descended from Seth, the son given to Eve in place of Abel. Noah comes from a lineage representing grace, beauty, restoration, and resistance to violence.
Which Lamech are we following, celebrating, or emulating? Are we venerating the violent? Are we praising the prideful? Are we applauding those who prey on the weak?
Noah wasn’t sinless but he resisted the growing evil in his time. Noah wasn’t saved because he was good but because of God’s mercy. Through obedience and grace, he became part of God’s plan of salvation in a sin-flooded world.
We aren’t sinless either. We contribute to the world’s sinfulness in small and large ways. But, like Noah, we can find God merciful. We can, by grace, resist.
Sin always seems like a small thing at the beginning but it grows. Wickedness and evil seek cracks and untended ground for their seeds to take root and grow.
Eden’s curse affected both the ground and human hearts. Weeds crowd out grain and pride crowds out worship. Thorns crowd out fruit and hatred chokes out kindness. Poisonous leaves replace healing ones and poisonous lusts replace healing loves.
Our hearts are vulnerable ground, requiring maintenance and cultivation. Are we letting sin grow or resisting it?
Cultivate resistance. Through obedience and grace become part of God’s salvation plan for our sin-flooded world.
Divine Hours Prayer: The Request for Presence
Protect me, O God, for I take refuge in you; I have said to the Lord, “You are my Lord, my good above all other.” — Psalm 16.1
– From The Divine Hours: Prayers for Autumn and Wintertime by Phyllis Tickle.
Read more: The Floodlight of Epiphany
Epiphany is celebrated on a day but is also a process. Today, we will pray that the light of Christ would dawn, exposing darkness.
Read The Bible With Us
It’s a great time to join our Bible reading plan. Read the Bible with us at a sustainable, two-year pace and room for meditative reflection.
