March 1, 2009 (Lent 1): Genesis 9:8-17
Christians have wasted a lot of time arguing over supposed scientific proofs that stories like Noah's really happened. Whether or not they are factual by our measure, such stories are true. They communicate greater truth than anything we can prove.
Noah's story echoes other ancient stories. So, maybe, something happened thousands of years ago that wiped out the only world some people knew, in what is now Iraq and Syria. Maybe Noah's story answers the how and the why of a rainy-season flood of the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers. Sudden climatic changes and extremes are nothing new. Noah's story, from the first time it was told, has invited people to look up from their everyday lives and see something of the mystery of God's ways with the world.
It tells us that, a long time ago, God voluntarily disarmed. No truce. Absolute surrender. Noah's story tells us that the violence humanity made on earth broke God's heart. In agony, God said, “I'm sorry I created any of them. I wish I hadn't made this world!” (Genesis 6:5-13) God chose the way of violence, to end human violence. And when God saw the results, God repented. God told Noah, “I've hung up my bow, and I'll never take it down again. Whenever I see it, I'll remember my promise.”
Some people say these words just mean God won't cause another flood. They look forward to God's violence by other means: fire from the sky, earthquakes and boiling seas, famine, pestilence, and the like. Those images come from the Bible, after all. Some people dare to plan violence, insist on violence, and do it in the name of God.
God didn't tell Noah, “I'll never get mad again, and I'll never warn you of the consequences of your sins.” God didn't stop faithful people imagining, telling dangerous stories, if that's what it takes to get through to us. God didn't say, “Whenever you get violent again, I”ll stop you.” That one, we wish God had promised!
God said, “I won't make another flood of water to destroy the world.” To the storytellers of Genesis, deep water was where God wasn't. Before the world was created, there was water. If that water came back, creation would be un-created.
Maybe those ancient storytellers believed God was frightened by God's own strength!
Are we, in our shrinking third of the world, frightened by our power? Our freedom. Our knowledge. Our wealth. The rate at which we consume the world's resources, and pollute the land, sea, and sky. The way so many people in the Two-Thirds World watch us, and depend on us. And, more and more, hate us because we are so powerful. Doesn't that frighten us, and call us to repentance?
According to Noah's story, humanity started to make a mess of things as soon as the flood subsided. Noah got drunk, and his family was torn apart by sheer stupidity. The best they could do was to establish capital punishment, and promote slavery for dark-skinned people. This is what we tend to do with our power and freedom.
How often does God look, longingly, at that bow, hung up high on the wall of heaven? Look, and turn away.
What does this mean for us, today?
Can we say violence is the only answer to violence? No.
Can we say war is the only response to aggression? No.
Can we say power is ours to use as we please, even if it hurts or destroys God's creation? No.
Can we ever lose hope that justice will prevail, and peace will flourish on the earth? No.
