The Rainbow

What an amazing natural gift the rainbow is for Earth’s human family.  It is beautiful. It serves as a sign that even if the rain lasts 40 days, the sun is still shining.  It becomes a sign of hope to people around the world. 

And for those who read and are nurtured by the Spirit as they read the Bible’s words, there is promise and peaceful assurance.

I’m thinking of Genesis 9 verses 8-17. Here are the words in a modern translation (The Inclusive Bible, A Sheed & Ward Book, 2007):

[After the flood:]  “God said to Noah and his family: ‘hereby establish my covenant with you and with your descendants after you, and with every living creature that is with you – birds, cattle, and the earth’s wildlife – everything that came out of the ark, everything that lives on the earth. I hereby establish my covenant with you:  All flesh will never again be swept away by the waters of the flood; never again will a flood destroy all the earth.”

God said: “Here is the sign of the covenant between me and you and every living creature for ageless generations. I set my bow in the clouds, and it will be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth. When I bring clouds over the earth, my bow will appear in the clouds. Then I will remember the covenant that is between me and you and every kind of living creature, and never again will the waters become a flood to destroy all flesh. Whenever my bow appears in the clouds I will see it, and remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature on the earth.”

God said to Noah, “This is the sign of the covenant that I have established between me and all living things on the earth.” 

[two other translations are provided below]

The stories in the first book of the Bible are meant to give a glimpse into the Divine - God's ways . 

The Noah story reveals a God who hates evil, but loves the world of people and creatures generated by Divine creative love.

The “bow” in the Hebrew language of scripture is qeset – the ordinary word for a war-bow. But here the instrument of war and a symbol of vengeance is transformed by the Divine heart.

What was a weapon of war becomes a rainbow by the sunlight of God’s mercy and grace. The Holy One makes peace with the covenant partners – all people and all creatures to be honoured as God honours them.

The story is clear.  A key sign of God's boundless love and peace is the rainbow.  And people of faith will take that seriously by putting the multi-coloured sign everywhere to celebrate God’s persistent  goodness to the entire global family – God’s one human family, and all creatures beyond.

How ironic and blasphemous then to see parents encouraging their children to trample on the rainbow flag.  To witness others cursing the sign of God’s mercy and love. To experience hate-filled strangers stealing the rainbow from porches and other public places as if to suppress this sign of God’s kindness!  What kind of Catholic district school board refuses to hoist the rainbow symbol of God’s peace on the schools in their district?  Unbelievable.

The stories of Jesus in the Gospels confirm the heart of God revealed in Genesis. The Good Samaritan story calls the faithful to go beyond tribal prejudices. Jesus won’t let conventional and ceremonial rules prevent him from relating creatively, mercifully, and kindly with people forced to the margins. 

I have no doubt that if there had been such things as rainbow flags in Jesus’ time, he would have made the connection:  God’s covenant with Noah’s perpetual family – all people.   I'm convinced Jesus would have hoisted that piece of cloth onto unguarded! Roman war standards and lifted that wondrous sign in the Jerusalem temple compound.  Jesus lived in and for God's love - for ALL.

Real friends and companions of Jesus remember that the principal sign of the presence of God is love! And to make that clearly visible, it is made visual.   We have the rainbow in the heavens and Jesus' friends and companions reproduce the rainbow  in homes and public places and wherever people gather, in order to confirm the faithful conviction that God’s love is for all. Nothing can separate the human family from the love of God.

It's a good time to get rainbow flags and signs spread far and wide to proclaim the Gospel that knows no limits to the love of God.   But don't forget to look for the rainbow in the clouds on those contradictory days when clouds threaten, but the sunshine breaks through.   Hallelujah!!

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Here is the King James Authorized Version translation (17^th Century):

And God spake unto Noah, and to his sons with him, saying:   And I, behold, I establish my covenant with you, and with your seed after you; and with every living creature that is with you, of the fowl, of the cattle, and of every beast of the earth with you; from all that go out of the ark, to every beast of the earth. And I will establish my covenant with you; neither shall all flesh be cut off any more by the waters of a flood; neither shall there any more be a flood to destroy the earth.  And God said, this is the token of the covenant which I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for perpetual generations:  I do set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a covenant between me and the earth. And it shall come to pass, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the bow shall be seen in the cloud:  And I will remember my covenant, which is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and the waters shall no more become a flood to destroy all flesh. And the bow shall be in the cloud; and I will look upon it, that I may remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is upon the earth. And God said unto Noah, “This is the token of the covenant, which I have established between me and all flesh that is upon the earth.”

Here is The Message, a contemporary language paraphrase, by Eugene H Peterson, NavPress, Colorado Springs.

Then God spoke to Noah and his sons:  “I’m setting up my covenant with you including your children who will come after you, along with everything alive around you – birds, farm animals, wild animals – that came out of the ship with you. I’m setting up my covenant with you that never again will everything living be destroyed by floodwaters, no, never again will a flood destroy the Earth.”  God continued: “This is the covenant I am making between me and you and everything living around you and everyone living after you. I’m putting my rainbow in the clouds, a sign of the covenant between me and the Earth. From now on, when I form a cloud over the Earth and the rainbow appears in the cloud, I’ll remember my covenant between me and you and everything living, that never again will floodwaters destroy all life. When the rainbow appears in the cloud, I’ll see it and remember the eternal covenant between God and everything living, every last living creature on Earth.” 

 And God said, “This is the sign of the covenant that I’ve set up between me and everything living on the Earth.”