Making a Rainbow Connection
By Amanda Watlington
Readings for March 7: Preparing for the Fourth Sunday in Lent
During the 40-days between Ash Wednesday and Easter, Christians are urged to focus on prayer, fasting and giving. Given that this is our purported focus during this season, we must reflect on why are the readings for the fourth Sunday in Lent about Noah and the story of the flood? The reason is that aftermath of the flood and the restoration of mankind is consistent with of the Lenten themes of forgiveness, the promise of redemption and mankind’s continuing relationship with God.
When I first encountered this reading, I did not see the connections. I had never delved deeply into the story of Noah. It is all too easy for me to get lost in the boatbuilding and animal loading aspects of the Noah story and miss the spiritual. I suspect this is ingrained in my memories of childhood Sunday School where boats and animals figured large. It is time for me to reconsider the flood.
After the Flood
In his time Noah must have appeared to his peers as a crazy person building an ark and loading it full of animals. Weather forecasting at the time was obviously inaccurate. Who knew there would be a flood? Noah did. He heard it from God. Noah was able to save himself, his family, and those animals because he heard and acted on God’s admonition.
After the flood waters receded God said: “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. . . 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.” The bow seen in the clouds is a rainbow, and it is visible proof of God’s love and this covenant.
A Rainbow Connection
Throughout our culture, rainbows have developed many special meanings. When Judy Garland sang “Somewhere Over the Rainbow,” she was singing a message of hope, urging her listeners to keep dreaming and believing in a better future. A popular superstition holds that there is a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. It is but a dream. Even Kermit the frog hopes to find the “Rainbow Connection” when he sings “Someday we'll find it, the rainbow connection/The lovers, the dreamers and me.” The scripture tells us what the Rainbow Connection is. We, like Noah, should follow God’s word and remember that the rainbow is a sign of God’s love and a promise of redemption.
My Rainbow Connections
Rainbows have always fascinated me, and I eagerly look for them. Whenever I see a rainbow, the sight suffuses me with good feelings. Once while driving across central Michigan, I spotted a complete rainbow arching over the highway that I was driving on. I drove for at least twenty minutes enjoying the view and feeling very blessed. I have seen other rainbows, even several at a time looking out across a valley in Massachusetts. This past Summer, while my beloved cousin was battling leukemia (a battle he lost October 1), I took the photo at the top of this reflection looking out onto the Gulf of Maine. It made me feel blessed. I sent my cousin the picture of a rainbow with my prayers for his recovery. I wanted him to know that I loved him and wanted to share a rainbow with him. Like Noah, I will continue to enjoy the visible sign of God’s love and his covenant with mankind whenever I see a rainbow.
