"There is a river of life all around us
It's our common ground, the gift we are given
Ocean and sky, the wild of the forest,
Were here long before us and meant for all children
We bring our differences, our hopes, our faith our fears
We'll build a home for love in this family
For the light that brought us here
In this blueprint for living
From the word that touched the earth
Round this house we plant a Garden
God's grace is our rebirth
Lend your voice in celebration
Lend your hand in lifting up
This is the day of creation
Built on the cornerstone of Love"
Blueprints by Peter and Jim Mayer
Rainbows are great. They often happen to appear when one
least expects them. I've never seen a rainbow that was simply average or just
okay. Have you? Each one is a masterpiece of colors, radiance and
engineering style and grace. When children see them, they know God is sending a
colorful text message to them.
Information gleaned from the website of the National Center
for Atmospheric Research and the University Corporation for Atmospheric
Research Office states, "the traditional rainbow is sunlight spread out
into its spectrum of colors and diverted to the eye of the observer by water
droplets. The 'bow' part of the word describes the fact that the rainbow is a
group of nearly circular arcs of color all having a common center." http://eo.ucar.edu/rainbows/
In the first lesson for today, we are told how this bow of
color in the sky serves as a reminder to God to keep his promise to never, ever
flood the entire earth again. And this promise is made not just with humans
but "the birds, the domestic animals and every animal of the
earth with you, as many as came out of the ark" (Genesis 9:9). So it
includes, the "itsy bitsy spiders" the dolphins of the sea, the
eagles of the sky, porcupines, skunks, squirrels, chipmunks, pigeons and
everything else from aardvarks to zebras.
The rainbow is like a Technicolor "post-it note"
that God sticks up in the sky every once in a while. It is a reminder for God
and for everyone else, each and every animal, for all living beings who
see it, that God has made a promise and intends to keep it. The rainbow is the
"sign of the promise."
Promises in the Bible are called covenants.
Now what is very remarkable is that in the covenant which
God proclaimed to Noah there are no strings attached, there are no terms, no
"ifs," "ands" or "buts." There is no
conditional language like if the party of the first person hereafter to be
referred to as God Almighty does promise to treat the parties of the second
person, hereafter to be referred to as "you and every living creature of
all flesh" then this is what you have to do and the rainbow will be a sign
that everything is okay. God simply says,
"I establish my covenant with you, that never again shall all
flesh be cut off by the waters of a flood, and never again shall there be a
flood to destroy the earth.' 12God said, "This is the sign of the
covenant that I make between me and you and every living creature that is with
you, for all future generations: 13I have set my bow in the clouds, and it
shall be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth." (Genesis 9:11-13)
"God's grace is our rebirth"
The gospel lesson for today (Mark 1:9-15) is like a poetic
or theological rainbow. Baptism, temptation and announcement of the kingdom are
all hung together, connected to a common center, namely Jesus Christ. The water
droplets from the baptism flow right into the temptation which lasts for 40
days, just like the rain back in Noah's day and then, there is the promise of a
new day, a new time a brand new world. Jesus proclaimed the good news by
saying, "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near;
repent, and believe in the good news." (Mark 1:15)
Jesus announces the kingdom of God is near and it seems to
me that sandwiched between this announcement and his baptism is a very short
report on temptation. As you and I know quite well, temptation or testing comes
almost like rainbows, when we least expect them. Sometimes, it would be helpful
if we knew how long the test would be or that it is actually a test. Oscar
Wilde, who knew a thing or two about temptation, once said, "I can resist
everything, except temptation."
The good news for us is that Jesus successfully
resisted temptation. There are a couple of passages which I know are very
helpful in dealing with temptation, in resisting it:
"No testing has overtaken you that is not common to
everyone. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tested beyond your
strength, but with the testing he will also provide the way out so that you may
be able to endure it." (I Cor 10:13)
Now sometimes, I have said in response to that particular
passage, "I wish God didn't have such a high opinion of me."
"Because he himself was tested by what he suffered, he
is able to help those who are being tested." (Hebrews 2:18)
Jesus knows us. Jesus knows what it is like to be human.
Jesus knows our testings and our trials.
The Sign of the Promise comes to us as a rainbow. The Sign
of the Promise comes to us in bread and wine. As we eat and drink in
remembrance of Jesus may we see, feel and tell one another that the kingdom is
coming near. God's blessings to you on your Lenten journey. Perhaps
we should have a bumper sticker that reads, "I brake for rainbows."
Peace,
rtg
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