Let the
words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable to you, O Lord.
Amen.
Have
you ever noticed that when you’ve heard or read a story so many times that it
becomes so familiar that you don’t even have to read all the words to play out
the story in your head? Take, for example, the story of Noah’s Ark. Now, for
most of us, we have heard this story since we were kids. I bet just hearing the
words “Noah’s Ark” you can practically picture the entire story but I’m going retell
it here anyway.
God
called down to Noah and told him to build a big boat because God was going to
send a huge flood to wipe everything off the face of the earth – people, animals,
plants, everything. God wasn’t happy with the way people were living so God
wanted to erase it all and start over. God gave Noah lots of instructions about
this boat and who all was allowed on it – Noah and his family as well as two of
every animal.
So,
everyone got onto the boat and suddenly it began to rain. It rained for 40 days,
and 40 nights and the entire earth became covered in water. Eventually the rain
stopped, and the boat came aground on a mountain. God told Noah and his family
and all the animals that they were to fill the earth once again. God also
promised that never again would an attempt be made to destroy the earth.
What
is one of the first things that comes to mind when you think back on the story
of Noah’s Ark? A Rainbow! Noah and his wife, in front of the ark, surrounded by
all sorts of animals, and a giant rainbow across the sky. Something like that,
right?
Ah
but listen to this. Here is Genesis verse 13: “I have set my bow
in the clouds, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth.”
The
bow mentioned here is a weapon, as in bow and arrow. By setting the “bow in the
clouds”, God is hanging up his weapon, God is disarming himself. The hanging
bow is a reminder to God that God will not lift up such violence again. It is a
reminder that God’s way of “doing business” will forever be different. And just
as all action of the covenant is initiated by God, all promises in the future
are God’s alone. There is no action required by people, there is only a promise
that God’s way of dealing with creation will never include destruction again.
Suddenly,
the story of Noah’s Ark seems even more powerful than it was before. It wasn't
just that God looked around after the flood and thought, "Gee, the place
could really use some more color." It was that God looked around after the
flood and felt an emotion so powerful that it led God to put down God's weapon
of war forever – or rather, to hang it in the sky as a sign and a promise that
God would never again destroy the earth by flood.
So,
while the bible never actually uses the word “rainbow”, it has become a visual
reminder of God’s willingness to put down a weapon of destruction, a visual
reminder of God’s faithfulness to all people, a visual reminder of the beginning
of a new relationship between God and humanity. The rainbow is potent because
it follows a great tragedy and marks God’s change of heart.
I
guess you could say it’s a pretty famous rainbow because plenty of people have
an idea of Noah’s story and God’s placing of that rainbow in the sky. The
second most famous rainbow, in my opinion, is the rainbow flag.
In
recent years, some more conservative Christians have tried to declare that the
queer community has “stolen” the rainbow from God, citing Genesis 9 and calling
on their followers to reappropriate it as a Christian anti-Queer symbol. And while
the rainbow obviously has deep roots in Jewish and Christian scripture and
tradition, as we just talked about, the scriptural references to a rainbow
indicate God’s inclusion, redemption, love, and joy, not exclusion or
condemnation.
It's
also important to note here that the queer community is not the only group to
fly a rainbow flag. In the anti-nuclear movement, rainbow flags waved for a
world free of nuclear weapons in the wake of the nuclear age. Rainbow flags
flew for peace when Europe became involved with the invasion of Iraq in 2002.
They also waved over movements for Indigenous rights and freedom in Peru. The
rainbow has become a symbol of diversity and liberation.
However,
the 2SLGBTQ+ flag has become the most recognizable rainbow flag and no, we didn’t
steal it from anyone. Its celebratory colors bore witness to events from the
assassination of Harvey Milk to the AIDS pandemic to hate crimes. It was flown for
the legalization of same-gender marriage, and it’s raised every year at Winnipeg
City Hall to mark the beginning of Pride Week. Like the biblical rainbow, the
pride flag’s rainbow is a vivid witness to the suffering and survival of its
people. Today, the flag’s colors are multiplying, representing more pieces of
the 2SLGBTQ+ community, making the flag that represents inclusion even more inclusive.
When
you see a rainbow, whether flying high in solidarity or through the water
following a rainstorm, it’s hard to feel anything but joy. The rainbow is a
powerful symbol of joy across time periods and cultures, and wherever it is
used, it marks faithful persistence through suffering and injustice. Like joy,
the rainbow gains richer meaning from what it endures.
God’s
rainbow covenant does not guarantee that humanity will never suffer again but
it does promise to accompany and persist. Likewise, joy persists in order to
assure humanity that God will never give up on us. The joy that is represented
in God’s rainbow gives humanity’s most vulnerable people the courage to heal,
gather strength, and thrive into the future.
Therefore,
while we are singing the Hymn of the Day, I want to share with you the joy of
rainbows by giving you all a rainbow sticker to take home with you. Keep it as reminder
of God’s promise to always be with you, to stand by you in times of distress,
and to give you hope for the possibility of a brighter future.
Amen.
(If you've read this blog and would like a sticker mailed to you, please mail a pre-stamped envelope to Reverend Theo Robinson c/o Lutheran Church of the Good Shepherd 106 Sawchuk Drive St. Andrews, Manitoba R1A 4B4)
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