HAVE  ANY  REGRETS?

INTRODUCTION

The title of my homily for this 6^th Tuesday in  Ordinary Time is, “Have Any Regrets.”

The word “regrets”  appears in today’s first reading - the Story of Noah and his Ark. It's in Genesis 6:7ff where God says he regrets having made us.

Bummer.

How many parents have had that feeling when they look at their kids – and the only thing they see is their kids destructive behavior or infighting.

Grandparents show pictures of their kids in the midst of their successes – but we tend to keep secret any disasters in the family.

Obviously.

THE STORY OF NOAH

The story of Noah and his ark is familiar to all of us.

It’s telling us so much.

Like every parent God has positive hopes for all of us.

Yet in this story, there is so much sinful behavior that God decides to flood the earth and kill everyone – except for Noah and 2 of every animal. “Male and female he made them.”

It’s a great parable – a great fable – a big story with great imagery – and has many powerful messages

It’s one of the favorite Bible stories for  kids – perhaps they only see the mysterious magical sides of the story.

In the long run God doesn’t feel total hopelessness. It sounds like he has regrets for his regrets – as well as his plan to destroy the people of the world. He expresses his hope for his original dream – by leaving room for 2 of each animal in the ark – male and female he made them.

Just as from Adam and Eve we all came forth – now from Noah and his family -  male and female we came forth.

WE ALL LIVE IN A YELLOW SUBMARINE

When I picture Noah’s ark, I hear in my mind the Beatles song, “We all live in a yellow submarine.”

                   Our house is an ark.

                   Our city is an ark.

                   Our country is an ark.

                   Our planet is an ark.

The history of the world is the history of ups and downs, good and bad times, times of “regrets” and times of “good moves”.

UNRAVELING THE REGRETS

Regrets can destroy us. We can drown ourselves in tears and self-pity – and that can be our further undoing.

Regrets can depress us.

Regrets can also be the start of something new.

George Eliot, the writer, described regrets as the beginning of a new life.

I would nuance that by adding that regrets can be the nudge to get us to move better into a better life,

Scratch a regret and hopefully we’ll find a motive for a fresh start. Better, “Scratch a regret and we might make a fresh start.”

Is that why God flooded the earth? So that we might begin a new life. Do regrets get us to face the original motive for the original start.

CONCLUSION

I said this story has so many possible implications, so many indications, so many feelings we have all felt.

A team gets sick and tired of losing – because of poor management – or because players don’t care – that the owner wipes the team clean and begins a new start up – from the bottom up.

A person gets caught in a horrible marriage. They try everything. There is abuse or affairs or alcoholism – those are just words beginning with A – that cause us to cry and eventually start screaming, breaking plates and furniture – and then after the anger and the destruction they begin once again – one step at a time.

Regrets are one of life’s realities.

Listen to them.  They can be the beginning of a beautiful new beginning.