Francis Gonsalves

Delhi chief minister Sheila Dikshit’s comment: “Aisa lagta hai ki Indra devta humse kuch naraz hain” — meaning, “Indra seems unhappy with us” — absolving herself for not meeting the Commonwealth Games (CWG) deadline for completion of constructions was amusing. And got me thinking. There’s a lot in Delhi for Indra devta to be naraz about, I mused. God’s probably naraz about the incalculable costs incurred when our commonwealth of jungle-jal-jamin is ravaged for sport; yet, God is sporting enough to want the CWG to be successful.
The Bible tells of a time long ago when God was naraz. God “was sorry that he had made humankind on the earth” (Genesis 6:6). The text adds: “It grieved God to his heart... God saw that the wickedness of humankind was great on the earth and that the thoughts of the human heart were only evil continually” (6:5). God decided: “I will blot out from the earth the human beings I have created” (6:7). God sends torrential rains.
World mythology is literally flooded with “Flood Stories” — reportedly, some 300 of them. Among these, the st­ory of Noah’s Ark (Genesis, chapters 6 to 9) is widely popular. Likewise, there’s the ancient tale of the Sumerian God Enki instructing Ziusudra to build a large boat to save himself since humankind would be destroyed in a flood.
In India, the Shatapatha Brahmana and the Matsya Purana tell of sage Satyavata who was washing his hands in a river when a little fish swam into his hands and begged him to save its life. He put it in a jar, which it soon outgrew; he successively moved it to a tank, a river and then the ocean. The fish then warned him that a deluge would occur that would destroy all life. Eventually a boat was built and the flood left behind only one survivor with some seeds of life to repopulate the earth.
The Noah narrative flows through four chapters with interesting details: First, human wickedness is extremely grave; second, God decides to purge the world of its wickedness; third, God plans to save a pair of all living creatures, as well as Noah’s family, for Noah is the only good man; fourth, God sends down rain for 40 days and nights destroying humankind; fifth, God resolves never to destroy humankind through a flood; sixth, God sets up the rainbow as a remembrance of his resolve.
Dilliwallahs will easily understand why Ms Dikshit referred to God being naraz about the “capital sins” committed in and around Delhi. Next, God deciding to purge evil is also un­d­­erstandable since God is good and se­eks the good of hu­mankind. Third, God’s decision to save Noah is not un­­reasonable since th­ere are some women and men among us who, like lotuses in mire, stand holy and blameless. What’s problematic, then, is the meaning of the flood.
If the flood story is read historically, we could ask: Was God right in destroying humankind? Surely, the creator of the universe has the right to destroy it. Indeed, God did not end creation, but undid it so as to re-create the world. Seen metaphorically, the waters of the flood serve as a purifying agent. The 40 days and nights are not historical accuracies but merely indicate that it rained incessantly.
We tend to blame God for Pakistan’s floods and Leh’s recent cloudburst, called “acts of God” in legal language. They are, of course, events that follow the laws of physics, working within ongoing evolution. And, they are also meaningful somewhere within the large landscape of life.
Just as a loving parent grieves over the misconduct of a wayward child, so does God grieve over human wickedness. Ironically, the God who destroys humankind is also the God who saves Noah and family. And, finally, to set into movement a less-than-a-perfect world, God declares: “I’ll never again destroy every living creature as I’ve done” (8:22). Felicitously, God makes this promise not in spite of human failure but precisely because human beings are sinful. God then exhorts humankind to: “Be fruitful!” (9:7)
Noah’s story concludes with the rainbow being a sign of God’s promise. “Look, I have set my bow in the clouds, and it shall be a sign of the covenant (pact) between me and you and every living creature” (9:13, 16, 17). The arms of God’s multicoloured arch remind us of God’s gentle embrace for all peoples, worldwide.
When a teacher instructed her little students that nothing is impossible for God, a smart child shot back: “There’s one thing impossible for God. God cannot please all people!” True, Indra might not be able to fulfil Ms Dikshit’s plea to bring some sunshine so that CWG work can be completed! Nonetheless, rather than expecting God to send sunshine and stop rains, let’s live like Noah so that when our lifeline is over, we’ll have met all deadlines quite comfortably — rain or no rain!

— Francis Gonsalves is the principal of the Vidyajyoti College of Theology, Delhi. He is involved in interfaith dialogue and peoples’ initiatives for fostering justice, harmony and peace. He can be contacted at fragons@gmail.com