Noah Paradox: Time as Burden, Time as Blessing

As a survivor of the Flood, Noah had to confront a paradox: though God's covenant blessed the world with unending time, Noah experienced time as a burden. Carol Ochs, author of the popular and critically acclaimed An Ascent to Joy: Transforming Deadness of Spirit, offers us once again her unique vision of how the Holy resides in the ordinary. The Noah Paradox wrestles with the fear and paralysis that sometimes threaten to overwhelm us when, mindful of past and present suffering, we contemplate a future of continued trials and failures.

In searching for renewal and courage, Ochs finds in the Hebrew Scriptures three paths to change: creativity, spirituality, and love. "We think we are living in an unprecedented time," states Ochs, "but much of what we now experience was faced as far back as biblical times. Reading the Scriptures in light of our present conflicts will provide us with insights into our most troubling problems." She employs the Creation account in Genesis to demonstrate that understanding God's creativity can give us courage to go on because we can reaffirm that we are created in the image of God. The five stages of the spiritual way are outlined in the biblical story of the Exodus from Egypt. And the third path to change, the way of love, is charted in the Song of Songs.

The Noah Paradox draws on the traditions of Jewish biblical commentary but turns the traditional questions into contemporary ones. Ochs's generous combination of the philosophical and religious traditions reminds us how vital the biblical text remains, while encouraging us to return to the originals.