The appointed readings for this morning included a passage from Genesis 6. This is the beginning of the stories of Noah and the flood. As with yesterday's reading, I was struck with one particular word.
In describing God's frustration with the creation, the description says that "the earth was corrupt in God's sight, and the earth was filled with violence." (verse 11) Again (in verse 13) God says "the earth is filled with violence because of them." God realizes that the violence brought onto the earth because of humanity has soured His hopes for the creation.
Religious types have their favorite topics. There are issues deemed "essential" to the Christian witness. Where, on such lists, is violence found? Do we lift our voice against this?
Part of our reluctance may be the realization that violence is both personal and systemic. There is the personal violence done by one person to another; and there is the systemic violence, done by us as a society. We know, deep in our hearts, that personal violence and systemic violence are linked - that we can't condemn one without looking at the other.
The reason God chooses to act (according to Genesis 6) is the violence that "flesh" has brought upon the earth. It pains me to image how God must feel about the violence He sees when he looks at the earth today.
I don't know how to put an end to all the violence. I believe we start by acknowledging that it grieves God to see all this; we gain a foothold by realizing that the Bible's greatest act of retribution comes on the hills of God's desire that violence be eliminated from the earth. Maybe such awareness will allow strategies for response to emerge.
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