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Even though I try to avoid the news as much as possible, it’s not unusual for me to hear about someone saying, doing, or posting something that is judged to be offensive to contemporary standards of decency and sensitivity. Sometimes this transgression is dug up or discovered from long ago in someone’s past. In many cases, the so-called “sin” is indeed something that is, or was hurtful, tasteless, and morally wrong. But even more shocking than the individual’s offense is the increasingly brutal response and mandated punishment that is often accepted without question. It is a scorched earth policy where the offender is fired from their job, banned from social media platforms, condemned by political or moral leaders, terminated from business contracts and many other far-reaching punishments that may be life-long. These are the operating principles of what is commonly called the “cancel culture”, where a person or institution is essentially wiped out as a consequence of a sin, unpopular decision, or poor judgement. To be clear, many of the controversies and offenses that provoke the cancel culture response are undoubtedly wrong. But people failing, sinning, and making horrible decisions are nothing new. What is more troubling and shocking is the ferocity and self-righteousness that most often accompanies the advocates of cancel culture. This modern movement of condemnation leaves little, if any room for mercy, repentance, and reform. It often becomes mob rule, where misinformation reigns, context is ignored, and the loudest voice becomes accepted as truth.
So what’s my point in bringing this up? It would seem from the first reading that God is the king of canceling. If we take the story of the flood at face value, what else can we call it? God is literally wiping the slate clean and starting over. But is the story really that simplistic? Does God rejoice in the death of the wicked and the destruction of the sinner. Actually, no, he does not!! God reminds us through the prophet Ezekiel that he “takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that they turn from their ways and live. Turn, turn from your evil ways! Why should you die, house of Israel? God does not relish the destruction of anyone and gives sinful humans many chances to turn away from the destruction of evil. He wants us to receive mercy and begin again more than anything else in the world. But if we remain hard-headed and obstinate, he will respect our decision and move ahead with his plan of salvation. If we do not change our ways we will be left behind and wiped away. The choice is ours!
With that in mind let’s reconsider the full story of Noah and his well-known ark. After creating a world that was full of goodness and harmony, the wheels come off quickly after the sin of Adam and Eve. Evil multiplies and infects whole nations until the Book of Genesis tells us that God regretted creating man because every desire of his heart was evil. But Noah and his family were the exception to the rule. This small band of humans was still good and righteous. God knows he has to honor the justice he embodies; he has to cure the cancer of sin that is corrupting the human race. Like a stage 4 cancer patient, humanity is going to need a drastic intervention. The remedy will almost kill the patient but it is the only way to overcome the cancer. We see this sort of extreme treatment often in our beloved sick who heroically endure such pain and suffering for the goal of returning to health.
God knows he has to wipe out the sin that has spread throughout humanity but he doesn’t take joy in it. He uses a mighty flood to bring about the literal and spiritual cleansing that needs to happen. But he takes his time; he drags his feet in the hopes that it will give an opportunity for more people to change their ways. To build the ark that God specifies, Noah needs 120 years!! And his neighbors see what he is doing; it’s no secret. God never tells Noah to keep others off the ark; the rest of humanity simply isn’t interested in joining him. Instead they continue on with their petty business and daily immorality until one day, it’s simply too late. God wasn’t trying to sneak around so only a few animals and his one favorite family could escape. He took his time, he remained patient for as long as he could but finally he could delay his justice no more.
God doesn’t change. His love for the sinner never ends. When sin returned once again, God’s love moved him to send his only son as the new Noah, not to destroy the world and its sinful people, but to save them with a new ark, the Holy Church he founded. It is big enough for all peoples of every age but no one is forced to enter. We must acknowledge our sin in order to come onboard. We can choose to do other things, value other priorities, but eventually it will be too late. That is not what God wants. He does not delight in our sins or in condemning us. He will give us more chances than we deserve. However, if we reject his mercy long enough, it must give way to his justice.
Return again to cancel culture. If God does not cancel us in spite of our many sins, why do we treat each other this way? Does someone need to tell the Lord, “hey you are doing this all wrong”, “we know something you don’t”! Are some sins now beyond the mercy of Jesus to forgive? Are some people undeserving of a second chance? I hope not! We have to be willing to forgive as God has forgiven us. We have to be courageous enough to give people another chance, even when they have acted foolishly and wrongly because we ourselves have been gifted second and third chances by the Lord.
One last thing. Our gospel shows us how Jesus prepares to minister to sinful humanity. He doesn’t rush to issue a statement of outrage or condemnation. He doesn’t gather an army of followers to take down his enemies and detractors. Instead, he withdraws for a time of deep and sustaining prayer. Jesus does nothing without praying first. No teaching, no healing, no preaching, and no challenging without first connecting with His Father. If that was what he needed as perfect God and Perfect Man, we would be fools to think we can witness to a sinful world without doing the same.
May we be people of prayer who stand up to cancel culture, reminding ourselves and others that no one is beyond hope and forgiveness. Let us build a more compassionate society that actively seeks out the sinful and foolish to offer them the promise of God’s mercy and renewal. There is still plenty of room in the ark; let’s make sure people know about it!
