In
which the exiles meet God beyond their exile
Genesis
5:21-24
And
Enoch lived sixty-five years and he begot Methuselah. And Enoch walked with God
after he begot Methuselah three hundred years, and he begot sons and daughters.
And all the days of Enoch were three hundred and sixty-five years. And Enoch
walked with God and he was no more, for God took him.
Jeremiah
31:17, 20, 21
I
have surely heard Ephraim rocking with grief: You chastened me and I was
chastened like an untrained calf. Bring me back, that I may come back, for You
are the LORD my God.
Set
yourselves markers, put up road signs for yourself, pay heed to the highway,
the way where you walked, Turn back, O Virgin Israel. Turn back to these towns
of yours. How long will you slip away, rebellious daughter? For the LORD has
created a new thing on earth—the female goes round the male.
Genesis 5
is a genealogy, that moves the story on from Adam to Noah. It is a genealogy of
the Jewish faith, and, later, the Christian faith, though those listed are not
Jews, let alone Christians. It is, in other words, a path, a Way, back home. Markers
on the road back from exile. And Enoch is a signpost, showing the way, calling
us to walk with God, as God walked with Adam in the garden. Moreover, in his going
around death, Enoch is a sign that God, the Sustainer, has created a new thing,
for those who come back.
Why
not come back this Advent? Now is the time. The kingdom of God has drawn close.
Biblical
texts: Robert Alter, The Hebrew Bible: A Translation with Commentary
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