"Abundant Love"	November 22, 2009
Genesis 9: 8-17	Christ the King Sunday
Colesville Presbyterian Church	Pastoral Associate Aaron D. Frank

 
 

The Flood story is probably one of the most familiar stories any one of us can retell from our childhood Sunday school classes.  God was angry with the people.  He decided to start over and Noah and his family would help him.  We recall learning of the giant boat, the Ark, that God told Noah to build and how Noah then gathered all the animals in pairs and they hunkered down waiting for the rains to end and the great flood to trickle away.  You remember the beautiful repetition of the dove that Noah released and how on its first flight, it couldn't find a place to land, so it returned to the ark.  Noah sent the dove out a second time and it brought back an olive leaf.  The third time the dove found a home of its own and didn't return.  In that climactic event, in the dove NOT returning, humanity's story could begin again.  We, of course, remember the rainbow that God places in the sky as a symbol, a reminder that he will never again destroy the world by sending the waters of the flood.  In our Sunday school retelling, the story ends abruptly, but wonderfully, with this image of the rainbow and the knowledge that God's mercy endures forever.

 

My Cliff’s Notes retelling, belies the fact that the story of the flood is a long one, much like the story of a church.  Building the Ark, the Flood itself and the aftermath all took significant time.  Genesis' story itself takes place over some 3 chapters and is full of any number of interesting and curious details.  The Presbytery determines that there is a need for a church. House meetings occur; land is purchased; a building is built; a legacy begins. This morning we've read the final scene in the story, the moment of resolution, when all the details are tied up neatly into a bow.  There is one thing, one simple thing the writer of Genesis wants us to know in these verses.  COVENANT.  Covenant.  Covenant.  Covenant.  In the 10 verses we read, the word covenant is used 7 times.  Seven times Genesis tells us that God is declaring that he will not harm us.  Seven times we're told that God will not destroy the earth and all its creatures.  Seven times we're told that God is setting aside his judgment in favor of protecting and loving us and all the creation.

 

Covenant isn't a term that we use in too often.  We sign contracts and mortgages and agreements, but rarely do we enter into a covenant.  The term generally means a "solemnly sworn commitment."  In biblical settings, the term has even more weight.  It is pivotal agreement--an agreement that the Israelites were warned against entering into with other nations.  Here, as in the covenants' with Abraham, Moses or David, God makes a commitment that will change history.  This covenant is unique, in the fact that God does not ask anything of Noah, or humanity.  God makes this covenant out of his own sense of responsibility, out of his own generosity, following the destruction of the flood.

 

The enacting of the covenant can be broken into two halves--a pledge and a sign.  The first being verses 8-11, God's pledge.  "Raise you right hand.  Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?"  God says, "Yes, I make this covenant with creation."  The second part, verses 12-17, display the visible sign of this oath of grace--the rainbow.  The rainbow serves to remind God of his commitment and us the blessing we've received.  Moreover, when we see the rainbow it is a sign of comfort and hope--though these may be difficult days, the skies will clear and tomorrow will be a brighter day.

 

Thanksgiving is less than a week away, but already I know that Marcy has begun shopping, and has even given me a list of things to do and we've talked about how many of our family will be joining us for the long weekend.  Our gathering will be relatively small, 6 or 8 at most.  Years ago, growing up in Chicago, our Thanksgivings' were much larger.  My Mom came from a large family and it seemed that we would always end up hosting thanksgiving dinner; Christmas was the same way.  So, the kitchen table would be fully extended and we'd have a few tables set up in the family room and on one occasion a table in the living room too.  For a day or more before Thanksgiving Day, my Mom would be prepping every dish she could, so that Thanksgiving morning would go as easy as possible.  Our table seemed to always be full of characters--cousins and uncles and aunts and grandparents and relatives who were family, though not blood related.  However bustling, our table was not a Norman Rockwell scene, despite the energy the picture I've painted.  We had our squabbles and our personal struggles, but for that day, for that weekend, we settled in and enjoyed the company. 

 

From Pilgrims hundreds of years ago and even to this day Thanksgiving has symbolized the time in which we remember the many blessings that we've been given and where those blessings come from.  Our reading from Genesis reminds us that it is God that blesses us each day.  God's generosity is poured out each day, whether we notice it or not.

 

In a few minutes we'll present our pledge cards for the coming year along with our morning offering.  In presenting our pledges we make our oath to support the ministries of CPC for the coming year; we symbolically raise our right hand and covenant with CPC for the work God is doing here each day and each week.  Our presentation is an initial visible sign of our covenant, a visible sign we can be reminded of as we present our offerings over the coming year.  Your pledge today, helps to build the future ministries of the church.  Genesis tells us that the rainbow reminds God of his covenant; it reminds humanity of God's generosity.  That grace is showered upon us each day.  It is our responsibility to pass that grace, that generosity on.  The ministries of CPC do just that.  They are an attempt to be, as a community of believers, a visible sign of God's grace in our live and our dedication to our faith.  As we present our pledges, we think of the future we are building together and the memories we are creating.

 

One final memory, I recall one Thanksgiving we had a few extra guests at our table.  A family from my school was going through what my folks called, "a difficult patch."  My parents invited them to join us and our family for Thanksgiving.  My sister and I played with their kids, our classmates, and all the adults enjoyed a fun afternoon/evening leaving their difficulties at home for a few hours.  At the end of the evening, everyone went home thankful, in so many ways we'd experienced the grace that Thanksgiving can offer.  I don't know what kind of blessing it was that was shared over dinner that day, but whatever it was, did help to create a memory-for me and for my sister, and maybe for that family too.

 

God's mercy and generosity began in Eden, was passed to Noah and through the prophets, Christ and the Apostles to us today.  The unbreakable oath of covenant is an example for us as we build for CPC's future.  Covenant.  In God's covenant's with his people, God does transformative, pivotal things, in your giving, may CPC be transformed.

 

Amen.