June 25, 2023
Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church
Lakeland, Florida
Psalm 25
Genesis 6 – 9
[Note: during the summer months, rather than following the full reading schedule of the Revised Common Lectionary, we are considering the story of one of the characters of the Hebrew Scriptures. These will include Joseph and Joshua, Deborah and Rahab, Hosea and Gomer among others. Today is the story of Noah and the Ark]
Grace to you and peace from God and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Please pray with me. May the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, our Rock and our Redeemer. Amen.
The story of Noah and the ark and the flood is one of the earliest stories that many of us learned, either at home or in Sunday School. We learn the facts of the story and given our tender age we seldom looked deeper into it to see what meaning it may convey. And then as we grow, the childish stories are put to the side as we turn more to the accounts of Jesus and his interactions with people, the miracles he did, the things he taught, his life and death and resurrection. Or we delve into the letters St. Paul sent to the early Christian churches.
And we may not think of Noah until it is time for a child’s or a grandchild’s nursery to be decorated or we go to a baby shower or a child or grandchild blesses us with an ear worm – Rise and shine and give God the glory glory…
So I went back and read the story of Noah as it is found in Genesis 6-9. I read it with grown up eyes and understandings and was amazed at some of the things that I found.
We learned in the first two chapters of Genesis that God created the heavens and the earth and all that was contained in them; that God created human beings and breathed into us the breath of life; and God looked at all he had done and pronounced it boker tov – very good.
And then we learn that in the years since then the creation was corrupted and God was so disappointed, so aggrieved that God decided to destroy it all – except for Noah and his family for Noah was righteous and walked with God. And in the midst of God’s plan, God nonetheless had a strong sense of hope – hope that with this righteous one, things would be different.
And so God took good care to give specific directions about the ark and about who and what would get on the ark – in fact, God even thought to tell them to bring food with them. And into the ark they all went – all of them, the animals two by two and of some of them 7 pair, and Noah and his wife and sons and daughters-in-law. And Scripture tells us that God closed the door. God tucked them in. God, this God of hope, took care of them.
And we are told that in the 600th year of Noah’s life, in the second month and on the 17th day, the fountains of the deep burst forth and the windows of heaven opened and the water started. And they continued for 40 days and 40 nights.
And the ark floated on the waters above the earth and the waters covered over the mountains and all that had been created died, was demolished. But not Noah and those with him in the ark. And the waters swelled upon the earth for another 150 days.
And we come to the middle of the story – and we read this pivotal verse: But God remembered Noah and the wild animals and all the domestic animals that were with him in the ark.
God, who is a God of hope, remembered Noah, remembered the one who was righteous and who walked with him. Now, “remember’ here doesn’t mean like what we do when we go grocery shopping. No, it means remembered – and did something about it. Remembering implied action.
But it wasn’t time to exit the ark yet and wouldn’t be for a good while because the waters were still on the earth. And Noah waited and then sent out a raven. And then Noah waited some more and then sent out a dove that came back to the ark.
And then Noah waited still more and finally the dove didn’t return and it was safe to leave the ark. And so they did on the 601st year, the 2nd month and the 27th day. One year and 10 days they were in the ark. Safe and sound, safe and secure from all alarms.
Out they went and God told them to be fruitful and multiply the earth. A new creation.
And in the midst of this new creation, Noah built an altar and God blessed them and established a covenant with them – never again would the creation be destroyed by a flood and as a sign of this promise, God placed his bow in the clouds.
Now, we think of this as a rainbow and that is fine and good. But it is too small. The Hebrew word here is also used of the bow that is a weapon used in battle – but here it is not a bow pulled taut ready with an arrow. No, it is an undrawn bow. God laid his weapon down. The connection between guilt and punishment was broken. Because God is a god of hope, Noah and his family and indeed all of creation can live in hope.
Now, let’s be clear. Evil was not destroyed in the Great Flood. We have ample evidence of that, do we not. But God, in his infinite love, changed his mind about destroying his creation.
And that is what is different about this Great Flood story and the story found in other religious traditions. In those the Flood is a sign of punishment and judgment. But in our faith, there is a major difference. God in his passionate care and concern for his creation altered his course; God changed his mind in response to God’s love and hope for God’s creation.
And we too share in this love and hope of God. This happens in our baptisms. We are brought through the waters of the font and made new creatures, washed and cleansed and brought into the community of faith. We are marked with the cross of Christ – forever, and are grateful recipients of life eternal. And in this is our hope.
So this cute story of a boat and Noah and a boatload of animals and a lot of rain culminating in a rainbow is so much more. Because of God’s eternal promise and covenant to Noah and thereby to all of creation, we live eternally in that promise and covenant. God’s hope is the source of our hope. Thanks be to God.
