Online Archives

Print version of Fire, Faith and Fruits

BY VICTORIA STARNES

When the story of Noah and the ark appears in the lectionary, it?s not the covenant, or the ark, or the rain that captures my imagination ? it is always the rainbow. I have loved rainbows for a long, long time. It started somewhere in high school.

I painted one on my bedroom wall. It was the late 60s, early 70s, and we were into peace, love and rainbows then. I embroidered rainbows on jackets and jeans, on jumpers and my Bible cover. They were my sign of God?s promise and presence in my life.

Rainbows are like that. A sign of hope and peace. A sign of promise and presence. A sign that makes you sigh; as in 'aaahhhh, yes, God is good, God is here, I am not alone.' At least that?s what I think when I see a rainbow in the sky ? I think, 'aaahhhh, yes, God is here.'

Now Noah had already spent enough time building an ark and living through 40 days of God-knows-what, that by the time he got to the rainbow, he was really ready for a sign. He had lived through a time of turmoil and trouble and yet all along God had asked him to trust. As a final sign of that trust, God took all the colors in the world and put them into one perfect arc in the sky.

God made a promise that encompassed Noah and God and every living creature on the earth and God called that promise a covenant. It was a covenant and promise that said never again ? 'never again will floodwaters destroy all life. Never again will you be alone. Never again. For you and I and all the creatures of the earth are bound by this promise and covenant.'

We make covenants all the time ? sometimes without even thinking. We get married and promise to love someone. We have children and promise to raise them. We get baptized and promise to follow God. We get ordained and promise to serve the church. We join the church and promise to be disciples.

As makers of covenants, we rejoice in new-found love, in the smile of our baby, in faith-filled moments; but we also endure times of turmoil and trouble. We go through counseling and separation, we face heartache with and for our children, we have conflicts in our churches and difficult demands on our lives. Like Noah and like Jesus in his time of wilderness, we walk this journey of life, hoping and praying that God is with us, that God is here, that we will never be alone.

Sometimes it?s during the flood and wilderness-like moments and sometimes it?s afterwards ? but eventually if we wait and pray, God sends a sign. Either one we can?t see or one that makes a perfect arc across a clear blue sky. Whatever the sign is, we stop and listen and know in our heart of hearts that God is good and God is here and we are not alone.

As Lent begins and we take the journey to the cross with Jesus, perhaps this is the time to reflect on all our covenants and the promises we make to love and to follow and to be the people of God.

The Rev. Victoria Starnes is pastor of the Brun-swick Charge.

A DEVOTIONAL for the Discipleship Adventure

Read the story of Noah, paying particular attention to this week?s lectionary reading in Genesis 9:8-17. Then individually, or in a small group setting, consider:

Celebrate: Rev. Starnes used rainbows to decorate her life and remind her of God?s presence. What symbol would you choose to mark your personal covenant with God? In the pages of a journal or the margins of your Bible, make a sketch of this symbol.

Connect: Rainbows are the one weather phenomena that can never be predicted. They must be looked for and noticed. Take a moment this week to discover something out of the ordinary and share it with someone whom you might not otherwise connect with. Invite God to be present in your discovery process.

Develop: Eugene Peterson, author of 'The Message' praises Noah, who spent 120 years building an ark, for his 'long obedience.' In today?s society of instant gratification, what role does the spiritual discipline of 'obedience' play in your life? How might you become more obedient to God?

Serve: Just as God promised to never destroy the earth, humanity too acts as its steward. This week, think of one way you might do something ecologically smart. How is the way you treat the planet related to ministry?

Faith-Sharing: Take the time today to discover one moment in which you are certain that 'God is good and God is here and we are not alone.' Then, share the joy of this feeling with someone outside of your church community.