Friday 06 October 2023

Psalm 133

Background

This week we have been reading about Noah and the flood. Today the story goes on: we read that the storms and the waters rise not just for the promised 40 days but for 150 days. But so the time comes, when God not having forgotten his servant Noah and  the others living on the ark in those difficult days, sends a drying wind to cleanse the earth.

The ark grounds, not on the flat sea bed as one might expect, but on Mount Ararat, and they are safe until all the waters have subsided. Cautious Noah sends a bird to scan the surroundings, which returns with the news that the water has not subsided. Noah waits and then it is sent out again returning this time with signs of new growth. A third time, Noah waits before releasing the dove once more. This time it does not return, and Noah takes it as a sign that normality has returned. However Noah, always obedient to what God wants of him, stays put with his wife, his sons, and the animals all of which I am sure are longing to get out there and explore. And then we read, God speaks to Noah and tells him that the time is right, to leave the ark and, taking his family and the animals with him, go and explore the new world which has been cleansed by this massive flood. 

Noah does not set out exploring before paying tribute to God for the safe way in which he, his family and the animals have survived. We read he builds an altar and then – something we might find difficult – he sacrifices samples of the animals and the birds, on the altar as a symbol of this gratitude. But then we have good news.The words uttered by God in tribute to his faith  “As long as the earth endures, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night shall never cease.”  (v. 22) In our own times, we sometimes hear people stating that 'the end of the world is nigh,' and yet if the writer of the book of Genesis is correct, the end in the way described in these words is never going to come again. However, that does not stop those of us who read these words in Genesis from seeking through faith and prayers to make a difference for God, so that the good shines through, and events such as the terrible flood and devastation described in these chapters never return.

To Ponder:

• When the ark came to rest, would it not be tempting for the family and, indeed some of the animals, to break open the doors and leave before they were given permission?
• Can we take the story of Noah and the flood as being a warning for our own times? If so, what should we be doing about it?
• Should we shut ourselves away in the safe ark of our churches to hide from the darkness of the world, rather than try to get out and bring light to the communities in which we are based?

Prayer

Lord, help us to have the strength to leave our place of safety – our ark – which we name the Church. Help us be your people fully in the world, so that the world might be transformed into the world you would have it be – a place where all people can live in peace and harmony together and Eden can be recreated. We ask in the name of Jesus, your son. Amen.