Meditation 228
Genesis 9:8-17
This passage tells of the covenant that God makes with human kind after the great flood. The flood had been sent because people had wandered too far from the good ways to live that God intended for humanity. The flood gave a new beginning. After the flood waters cleared away, there is a new opportunity to live in the harmony that God intended. God promises that there will never be another flood that will destroy the world, and the rainbow is a sign of that promise. The rainbow is a reminder that God will reach to people to give a better way of living than people find on their own. For the next several hundred years God sends prophets to bring the message of God to the world, God sends the rains and harvests as signs of caring, God gives the law as a gift to help people find the right way, and finally God sends the gift of Jesus to be our teacher.
This story in Genesis is one that shows God to be desiring of communion with people, and also it reminds us that God is good and wants us to be as well. The rainbow is a reminder of the promise that God will not destroy, as well as a reminder for people to seek the way of God. Many years late the prophet Isaiah would write “Seek the Lord while he may be found, call on him while he is near;” (Isaiah 55:6)
One of the messages that God would give over the years was “be holy for I am holy,” which sounds like a tall order. How is it possible for people to be holy? One meaning of holy is to be set apart. Some things that are apart are special symbols and vessels that are used in worship, or the Bible because we know it contains the word of God. In popular usage people who are considered to be holy may well be on the receiving end of a sarcastic comment, as in “She thinks she is so holy, better than the rest of us!” In reality, it someone is trying to be holy, that one would be humble. To be trying to be set apart from the usual way of being needs serious self-examination. Attempting holiness requires recognizing the things that pull you away from God, and asking God to help you give them up.
The best way to be holy is not to try and try on your own to be better, but to look to God. Whatever gets the greatest amount of our attention will be what we are like. To that end, take some time to focus on the rainbow, how does it make you feel to see one? What does it tell you of God? What prayer rises within you? What song do you want to sing? Are you able to pain a rainbow? To make one with ribbon or streamers? If you had a rainbow in your office or living room, how might that influence you? The rainbow is a sign that God has given to draw us to him. It may help you to take time today to reflect upon God’s constancy and nurture whether you use a rainbow symbol or another symbol to do so. Take time as we enter the season of Lent to spend more time with God, so that you may be holy as God is holy.