Today’s Lectionary Readings: Psalm 46; Genesis 6:11-22, 7:24, 8:14-19; Matthew 7:21-29; Romans 1:16-17, 3:22b-28
There are so many details contained in today’s Genesis passage that someone looking to engage the material could go in one of a thousand directions. What caught my eye today was one of those details that often gets overlooked in the telling of the story. It’s a detail that is usually treated as a prop and not a theological piece of the story. And what is that detail? The ark. I appreciate the ark on at least two theological fronts. First, I appreciate the purpose of the ark; it’s purpose was to preserve life in the face of difficult, life-threatening circumstances. And second, I appreciate the ark because it played a bridge-building role between Noah’s past and future. I see the ark in this bridge-building role because it was created from materials that existed in Noah’s pre-flood world and those very materials were the things that brought Noah and his family into their future. As people of faith, most of us have something in our lives that played a role similar to that of the ark: something that brought us from a troubled past into a brighter present and future. That something can be one of a million different things. For one of my friends, her ark was the song “Jesus Loves Me”. She had learned the song very early in life. Sadly, my friend was brought up in a very abusive household. Whenever she was in the midst of her abuse, my friend would turn to her ark by singing “Jesus Loves Me” in her head. With this simple affirmation in mind, my friend was able to get through the floodwaters that raged all around her. Eventually, she got out of her house and stepped onto the dry (and safe) land of her new world. My friend’s experience got me to wondering this: what is that aspect of your life that has been your ark? Is it a song, a friendship, or something else? I would encourage you to take a moment and give thanks for the presence of “the ark” and the various ways it has seen you through to the expression of your own new world. Til next time…
There are so many details contained in today’s Genesis passage that someone looking to engage the material could go in one of a thousand directions. What caught my eye today was one of those details that often gets overlooked in the telling of the story. It’s a detail that is usually treated as a prop and not a theological piece of the story. And what is that detail? The ark. I appreciate the ark on at least two theological fronts. First, I appreciate the purpose of the ark; it’s purpose was to preserve life in the face of difficult, life-threatening circumstances. And second, I appreciate the ark because it played a bridge-building role between Noah’s past and future. I see the ark in this bridge-building role because it was created from materials that existed in Noah’s pre-flood world and those very materials were the things that brought Noah and his family into their future. As people of faith, most of us have something in our lives that played a role similar to that of the ark: something that brought us from a troubled past into a brighter present and future. That something can be one of a million different things. For one of my friends, her ark was the song “Jesus Loves Me”. She had learned the song very early in life. Sadly, my friend was brought up in a very abusive household. Whenever she was in the midst of her abuse, my friend would turn to her ark by singing “Jesus Loves Me” in her head. With this simple affirmation in mind, my friend was able to get through the floodwaters that raged all around her. Eventually, she got out of her house and stepped onto the dry (and safe) land of her new world. My friend’s experience got me to wondering this: what is that aspect of your life that has been your ark? Is it a song, a friendship, or something else? I would encourage you to take a moment and give thanks for the presence of “the ark” and the various ways it has seen you through to the expression of your own new world. Til next time…
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