Facts matter.....

I can’t get the words “ever ancient, ever new” out of my head today.  Or the newest catch phrase in our political lexicon "facts matter".  I have been reading—or at least hearing—Scripture my entire life, either on my own or when I attend Mass. Today’s first reading for mass reminds me that no matter how much I think I know about the Bible, I learn something new every single time I read it.  Maybe it’s the Holy Spirit’s way of keeping me filled with a wonder of and a hunger for God’s Word.  Maybe it’s because I have a lot more time to read and think about every word or phrase that I read, now that I’m retired.  I don’t exactly know why, but one would think that after 65 years I would be able to tell the story of Noah’s ark to my children and grandchildren accurately.  After contemplating today’s first reading, apparently not.

  

Every children’s book I have ever seen or read to my kids or grandkids says that the animals went onto the ark “two by two”, so Noah took two of every kind of animal into the ark, right? Not exactly. The Bible states, “Take with you seven pairs of every kind of clean animal, a male and its mate, and one pair of every kind of unclean animal, a male and its mate, and also seven pairs of every kind of bird, male and female, to keep their various kinds alive throughout the earth” (Genesis 7:2–3).

How have I missed that my whole life after reading the actual Bible passage (or hearing it at mass) at least a thousand times?  Not only the number of creatures that were saved on the ark, but the types of creatures that were destroyed! 

“So the LORD said: ‘I will wipe out from the earth the men whom I have created, and not only the men, but also the beasts and the creeping things and the birds of the air, for I am sorry that I made them.’”

There is no mention of the fish or shellfish that live in the oceans being destroyed in the flood.  Only the men, beasts, ‘creeping things’, and the birds of the air.  I guess fish could be included in the term ‘creeping things’, but then why the phrase “so I will wipe out from the surface of the earth every moving creature that I have made.”?

I know.  The Bible is not meant to be read as a literal history of the world.  I’m just pointing out that I can be a lot better at paying attention to what I read and hear from now on.  Do I give my complete attention to my family, friends, or others that I should, and act accordingly?  Or do I skip over some important details, to make it easier to move on without much thought or effort on my part? And what of my obligations to the greater society and decisions I arrive at when participating in the public debate?  Do I pick and choose which facts to look at, or do I look for the whole Truth in what is being presented to me, then make an informed decision?  When examining my conscience at the end of the day, do I look a look at the sum of my decisions and actions and take responsibility for my shortcomings, or do I try to justify my poor performance in the eyes of God?

It’s funny how a simple sentence in the Bible can get me to think about my sins and how sorry I make God for making me, but also how great and merciful He is by sending His Son to save me from myself.