SCRIPTURE: Genesis 9:(v) 8 God spoke to Noach and his sons with him; he said, 9 “As for me — I am herewith establishing my covenant with you, with your descendants after you, 10 and with every living creature that is with you — the birds, the livestock and every wild animal with you, all going out of the ark, every animal on earth. 11 I will establish my covenant with you that never again will all living beings be destroyed by the waters of a flood, and there will never again be a flood to destroy the earth.” 12 God added, “Here is the sign of the covenant I am making between myself and you and every living creature with you, for all generations to come: 13 I am putting my rainbow in the cloud — it will be there as a sign of the covenant between myself and the earth. 14 Whenever I bring clouds over the earth, and the rainbow is seen in the cloud; 15 I will remember my covenant which is between myself and you and every living creature of any kind; and the water will never again become a flood to destroy all living beings. 16 The rainbow will be in the cloud; so that when I look at it, I will remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of any kind on the earth.”
17 God said to Noach, “This is the sign of the covenant which I have established between myself and every living creature on the earth.”
1 Peter 3:18 For the Messiah himself died for sins, once and for all, a righteous person on behalf of unrighteous people, so that he might bring you to God. He was put to death in the flesh but brought to life by the Spirit; 19 and in this form he went and made a proclamation to the imprisoned spirits, 20 to those who were disobedient long ago, in the days of Noach, when God waited patiently during the building of the ark, in which a few people — to be specific, eight — were delivered by means of water. 21 This also prefigures what delivers us now, the water of immersion, which is not the removal of dirt from the body, but one’s pledge to keep a good conscience toward God, through the resurrection of Yeshua the Messiah. 22 He has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God,[a] with angels, authorities and powers subject to him.[Footnotes:
1 Peter 3:22 Psalm 110:1](Complete Jewish Bible)
DEVOTIONAL:Floods, snowstorms, earthquakes and other natural disasters are no respecter of persons, flora or fauna. The innocent and guilty, young and old, saint and sinner, wild boar and pet dog, all and without distinction, get swept up in the floods of life. And yet, we all know that almost always there are the “lucky ones” who escape with life and limb. For the survivors, life begins anew.
The Bible’s flood story invites us to consider both sides of natural disasters, or, as they are sometimes called, “acts of God.” What does it mean when we happen to be among those protected in the ark? Or among those who, indiscriminately, perish? The biblical writer, at first, argues that the flood was due to the fact that “the wickedness of humans was great on the earth and the inclination of the thoughts of their hearts was only evil continually” (Gen. 6:5). Later, the writer, using identical language, argues that the survivors after the flood were, in the end, just as corrupt as those annihilated by the flood (8:21). In an upside down and inside out sort of way, the survivor most changed by the flood seems to be God. In a beautiful spirit of divine contrition, God promises never to resort to such an all-consuming act of punishment ever again (9:11). God decides to make a new covenant with Noah and his family, with all creatures great and small, and with all future generations, too (9:12). Thousands of generations later, St. Peter suggests that God remained consistent with God’s forgiving, expansive, all-encompassing covenant with Noah and all creatures of the earth by offering an even more sweeping covenant through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus (1 Pet. 3:18-22).
The rainbow rising from the flood, then or now, sky-writes a sign of permanent warning that to blame victims of natural disasters as somehow deserving of their fate slanders “the everlasting covenant” made by God with “every living creature of all flesh” to never again make that judgment, ever. The rainbow rising from Lenten floods also proclaims that God, whose love is revealed in Christ, notices every wild sparrow that falls, grieves the loss of every family pet, abides with us through every heartache and defeat, and promises an Easter morning at the end of every rainbow.
SCRIPTURE: Genesis 9:8-17 and 1 Peter 3:18-22
Genesis 9:8-17
Then God said to Noah and to his sons with him, ‘As for me, I am establishing my covenant with you and your descendants after you, and with every living creature that is with you, the birds, the domestic animals, and every animal of the earth with you, as many as came out of the ark. 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.’ God 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: I have set my bow in the clouds, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth. When I bring clouds over the earth and the bow is seen in the clouds, I will remember my covenant that is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and the waters shall never again become a flood to destroy all flesh. When the bow is in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth.’God said to Noah, ‘This is the sign of the covenant that I have established between me and all flesh that is on the earth.’
1 Peter 3:18-22
For Christ also suffered for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, in order to bring you to God. He was put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit, in which also he went and made a proclamation to the spirits in prison, who in former times did not obey, when God waited patiently in the days of Noah, during the building of the ark, in which a few, that is, eight people, were saved through water. And baptism, which this prefigured, now saves you—not as a removal of dirt from the body, but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, with angels, authorities, and powers made subject to him. (New Revised Standard Version)
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