Rev. Emily Wilmesherr
SCRIPTURE: Genesis 9:8-17
I have a question for you: which book of the Bible can you find the story of Moses leading 2 of every kind of animal onto an ark? PAUSE
I hear a lot of Genesis, I see a lot of confused faces. Which book of the Bible can you find the story of Moses leading 2 of every kind of animal onto an ark? The answer is none of them because it wasn’t Moses who led the animals onto the ark but Noah. The brain picks up the familiar words and pieces together what it thinks it heard, often missing some key information. This is a very common way of thinking. We are busy. We don’t want to hear the same things over and over again so we shut our brains off from any repeat information. Today’s story might be a familiar one to you. As Margaret began to read the text, I imagine that some of you might have tuned out because you think you know the story well enough.
It is also important to note that some scholars believe that the flood story might not have happened. We can go through the story from beginning to end and ask all the logical questions, maybe having a few answers but never all of them. This way of thinking might also make it difficult to be open to what this story has to teach us. There is truth in the story whether or not the whole story is true. However, you come to this story today, my hope is that you are open to the Spirit in our midst to move in new ways, helping to expand your view of God.
Today’s story is also not an easy one to hear. We do not like seeing much less worshiping a God who uses their power to destroy every living thing, with the exception of one family and a pair of every kind of animal. This is a common story we tell children about God’s love for us. We leave out the scary and difficult parts, for good reason but then we never revisit them as adults. As adults, we might even try to justify why God sent the flood, because if it was the humans fault, then we don’t have to address the fact that God’s actions wiped out creation. I can’t answer the why, but I can wrestle with it and I can encourage you to wrestle with it too. Asking questions of God is ok. It’s normal and it’s necessary as we re-form our understanding of God. The more that we learn about God the more complex God becomes. The more we dive into the hard questions and the tough stories, the closer we can draw nearer to God being assured of God’s faithful, unconditional love for us.
The flood story shows us a side of God who is so frustrated with the wickedness of humanity that wiping out all of creation and starting over feels like the only option. I wonder if you have ever felt that frustrated with something you created that you just tossed everything and started over? Thanks be to God that God does not continue to operate this way. If they did, we would all be in trouble.
God has a right to be angry here, because over and over God has given humans a chance to start over and they continue to move further away from God. But God is not just angry, God is deeply saddened. God wants to be in relationship with humankind, in spite of their constant disobedience. God isn’t just reacting out of anger and frustration but God is acting in order to bring about a right relationship with humans. Once it is all said and done, God is remorseful. God recognized that while God is all powerful, perhaps God’s power didn’t have to be used in such a way.
This is not the first time that humans have messed up nor was it the last. Humanity was called out of chaos into being at creation and yet humanity seems determined to return to chaos at every turn. But God believes that it is more important to live with humanity in all their joys and flaws than to rule over humanity with all power to destroy it when it gets too bad. God continues to pursue humans because of God’s deep love for all that God has made.
This reminds me of being a parent. There have been several times in my short 5 years of being a parent that I have messed up. That I have responded to my children in ways that I’m not proud of and I have to remind myself of my promise to be their mom. That promise doesn’t mean it will always be easy but it is a promise I have made to my children to love them through it all, even when they are turning my hairs gray. To recognize when I have used my power in unloving ways and choose to make a different choice the next time.
Whether you are a parent or not, there are places in your life where you hold power, sometimes it is given to you and sometimes you choose it. Just because we have power doesn’t mean that we have to use it to harm or disrespect others. We are made in the image of God and this story shows us that God’s own self was capable of changing how God was in relationship and we have that choice too. Rather than use our power to control or manipulate, we can use our power to love and teach.
This covenant is not just for Noah, but all humanity and creatures throughout time because the sin of humans did not just affect them, their sin affected all of creation- plants and animals too. All of creation is intertwined. Four different times in this short passage today, God repeats that this covenant includes all living creatures. God so deeply loves all creation that they promise to never again allow waters to destroy the earth again. God enters this covenant with Noah as a sign of the new relationship that God has with the earth. God enters this covenant with humanity knowing that humans have been and will always be sinful, and the flood waters didn’t cleanse their hearts. God is the one laying out the terms of the covenant and not asking for any response or action from Noah or any other living thing. God says the rainbow in the sky is a reminder to God.Humans will forget the promise. They will sin. They may see the rainbow in the sky but they will forget why it’s there.
I will say that some of the heaviest grief I carry at times is the reminder of times when I have said or done something that harmed another person. I don’t think that I’m alone in this feeling. We have all had moments in our lives where we wished we had behaved in different ways, times where we were more loving. My gut tells me to forget that painful memory, but my heart holds on. I can’t help but imagine that while seeing the beautiful rainbow in the sky serves as a reminder of how much God loves creation, that it doesn’t also bring up sadness for all the hurt that came so long ago.
Franz Delitzsch, a German theologian in the late 19th century wrote, “As [the rainbow] shines forth against a dark background which but shortly before flashed with lightnings, it symbolizes the victory of bright, gentle love over the darkly luminous wrath; growing as it does out of the interaction of sun and dark clouds, it symbolizes the readiness of the heavenly to interpenetrate the earthly; extending from heaven to earth, it proclaims peace between God and man; reaching, as it does, beyond the range of vision, it declares that God’s covenant of grace is all-embracing” The rainbow is a reminder of God’s power to destroy and God’s strength to save. The rainbow is a reminder of the painful past as well as a sign of hope for the future.
We have entered into the season of Lent in the church. 40 days of prayer, reflection, and repentance. This story is very appropriate as we enter a time of reflection on the ways in which we have fallen short of God’s love for us. We acknowledge that we often sin and turn away from God. Because whether we like to admit it or not, this is something that we have in common with some of the first humans. We are in a continuous cycle of sinning, asking for forgiveness, receiving forgiveness and then sinning again. Through it all, God loves us. God continues to give us another try and continues to remind us of God’s faithfulness and love.
The rainbow was a sign from and for God to pause. Pausing is essential in the re-forming of our faith. During Lent, I encourage you to identify your pause button. What reminder can you set for yourself to imitate God’s love for others rather than using your power to destroy? Perhaps it is something like a rainbow that you cannot plan or maybe it’s something like a quiet space or a walk outdoors that helps to reset your heart and mind. Whatever it is, I hope that it reminds you of your brokenness and need for God as well as your value and belovedness.
