September 3, 2006

"Finding Security"

Genesis 9:1-15

Bill Cosby has a comedy routine in which he tells the story of Noah. God says, "Noah, build me an ark." There is a pause. "What's an ark?" asks Noah. God explains, giving exact instructions. "It has to be 300 cubits by 50 cubits by 30 cubits. Another long pause, and then Noah asks, "What's a cubit?"

God entered into a covenant with Noah that was unlike anything Noah or anyone else had experienced. The result of that encounter is God's triumph over the confusion that reigned, and God's promise that the earth would never again be destroyed by floods.

Humans Reflect God's Nature

God created persons in God's image. We are expected to reflect God's nature. Through the witness of our actions, the decisions of our soul, and our involvement in community we are called to reveal God's nature.

In 1947 Jackie Robinson was the first Black man to enter the Major Leagues. He received threats daily. He was ridiculed by fans, opponents, and teammates with curses, derogatory comments and racial slurs. In a game mid season, Robinson made a couple of errors in the field and struck out. Ridicule from the crowd was loud and ugly. As he stood waiting to bat, Pee Wee Reese, the team's shortstop, walked over to Robinson, and in front of the entire stadium put his arm around him. At that moment a hush went through the entire crowd. It just seemed like the right thing to do at the time, Reese said. Years later Robinson said, "That simple gesture saved my career."

Mary Raths, a UMC minister in Minnesota observed that, "doing the right thing will have us doing things at times which seem to be out of season, out of sync, out of step, with the crowd, whether it be the crowd of our peers, or the crowd at a baseball stadium, or the crowd wondering why on earth Noah was building himself an ark.”

We know how God expects us to behave, but like all human beings we sometimes forget or we sometimes choose to do what we want to do, knowing all the while it is not the right thing. As Christians, we are called to live as close as we possibly can to the model Christ gave us, making love our aim and seeking to do God's will in all things.

A Promise for All

The time in which Noah lived was filled with sin. Yet God's grace was greater than all the evil that existed. The covenant that God explains to Noah is not like other covenants in the Old Testament. It is not a bargain or partnership. God's promise is totally one-sided. He makes no covenant demands on Noah's part. He simply promises.

We like to credit ourselves with so much and tend to turn to God when all else fails. The engineer of the Titanic is quoted as saying, “We built a boat that God could not sink.” We are quick to pat ourselves on the back and often forget God’s omnipotent creative power. God's relationship with us is a faithful one, and we need to be faithful to God. Oftentimes we want to bargain with God. "Give me what I want, and I will be faithful," we say. God's love and grace are unlike anything we experience as human beings. God doesn't give us what we deserve, and for that we can be grateful. God's unconditional love gives us what we need, and that is God's abiding presence.

Like the father Jesus talked about in the parable of the Prodigal Son, God stands ready to forgive us, love us, and trust us again.

A Sign of God's Promise

God understands our frailties and forgives us. What is more, he gives us promises to rely on and makes a covenant with us to never leave us alone.

The golden arches promise a hamburger; the Coca Cola wave promises refreshment, and the Master Card circles promise something priceless. When we see the icons we remember the promises.

Aren't your spirits lifted by the sight of a rainbow? You are not expecting the sunshine. You wait for the clouds to pass. The sky is grey. Then, all of a sudden, there it is: a perfect arc of beautiful colors.

The rainbow is God’s vowing through patience and suffering to bear with us as faltering human clay---to forgive, to redeem, to empower, and to point us in the direction of the way that leads to the good The Genesis writer is saying that from now on, God will bind himself to his creation in peace. From now on, if there is to be pain in the world, then God will share it. God's promise to creation is life, not death.

When the rainbow appears in the sky after the flood, it seems like the end of the story. However, it is the beginning. It is a sign or symbol to give us confidence. Life is filled with storms and difficulties, but there is always hope. Regardless of how dark the night is there always comes a dawn. Regardless of how much weeping is done through that night, joy comes in the morning.

"O God, our help in ages past, our hope for years to come, our shelter from the stormy blast, and our eternal home." # 117 United Methodist Hymn