after the flood

sermon for lent, week 1

Genesis 9:1-17

Grace, mercy and peace to you in the name of Jesus. Amen.

What do you think is the very first Bible story you learned?
My guess would be the story of Noah's Ark.
And if it wasn't the first it was close. It is certainly one of the best known stories from the Bible. Even families that are not particularly religious are more like than not to have had a toy ark, with lots of animals and figures of Noah and his family. I remember we had an ark set that floated, and we would play with it in the bathtub. So, of all the stories in the Bible, we may be most familiar with all the major components of this story.

There's Noah ... the ark ... all those animals, of course ... the flood itself ... then the dove with the olive branch ... and the appearance of the rainbow in the sky. And each of these parts of the story carry symbolic power of their own even today, as does the story as a whole. There is, however, one major player in this story that we often leave out as we play in this story, tell this story or use its powerful and rich symbolism.

The story of Noah's Ark is a story about God.

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