THE FIRST SUNDAY IN LENT. In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan.

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1 Joe McInnis St. John s Wilmette February 22, 2015 THE FIRST SUNDAY IN LENT Genesis 9: Peter 3:18-22 Mark 1:9-15 In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. And just as he was coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens torn apart and the Spirit descending like a dove on him. And a voice came from heaven, You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased. And the Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness. He was in the wilderness for forty days, tempted by Satan; and he was with the wild beasts; and the angels waited on him. Now after John was arrested, Jesus came to Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God, and saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news. Manuscript: The Rainbow Connection

2 When was the last time you saw a rainbow? What do you remember about it? Its bright colors? A legend about a pot of gold waiting to be found at the end of it? If only we knew which end, and how to get there. What do you remember? A song? Somewhere Over The Rainbow The Rainbow Connection made famous by Kermit The Frog? Norma s Double-Rainbow story One rainbow for Jackie and another one for Dean. Not everyone who sees a rainbow sees it as a sign of the covenant God made with Noah, But my friend Norma certainly does, and I suspect, always will. God made the rainbow a sign of the covenant he made with Noah and his sons after he sent the floodwaters pouring down for forty days and forty nights In an unsuccessful attempt to wipe sin off the face of the earth. And the purpose of this covenant was to remind them that, from that day forward, they and every living creature could live free of the fear that God might do such a thing again. And it wasn t so much that the bow in the sky would remind Noah and his descendants of this covenant, but that it would remind God. I mean, it s 1 thing for people like us to remember God s promise,

3 But it s quite another, better, and more comforting and reassuring thing for us that God remember it. I mean, at the end of the day, isn t that what really counts? SO what if it slips under our radar from time to time. But please, dear God, don t let it slip under yours, Not even for one moment! I mean, one momentary lapse of the divine memory, and we could all be treading water. But the Lord 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. The good news is that God will never again use the destructive power of water as a way of dealing with the destructive power of sin. That s the covenant. That s the unshakable and unbreakable promise that God made to Noah and his sons And with everyone and every living creature that would ever come after them. So, it wasn t just a word of divine mercy for them, It s a word of divine mercy for us too- For you, for me, Millie, Jason and Valerie, and now, Elise Marie. God has promised us that he is not going to deal with our sin by killing us. Instead, God will find another way, another way to do away with our sin, Another way to do away with All the ugliness that separates us from him and each other, And yes, even from ourselves sometimes. God will find another way

4 And as we all know, the way God found was the way of the cross. Instead of doing away with sin by drowning everyone infected with it, God will take it upon himself; God in Christ will take the sin of the world upon himself And then take it to the grave with him, once and for all. God will take the sin of all flesh upon his own flesh, his own flesh and blood, and nail it to the cross. And here is the great irony in it all God will now use the same element that he used to take life away in the time of Noah To give life back in the time of Jesus. And not just life as they knew it in the time of Noah, but new and everlasting life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Once again, God will use the power of water to destroy the power of sin But this time in a very different way. Instead of drowning it, he will gently wash it away. And the sign of this covenant won t be a bow in the sky, But a blessed and holy sacrament called baptism. This is the biblical spiritual connection that God wants us all to see today Between the rainbow and the sacrament of holy baptism. And here s more about it. Historically speaking, the church has encouraged God s people to see in Noah s Ark,

5 a picture of the church. In fact, the ceilings of some sanctuaries are constructed with a series of transverse beams That is designed to look like the ribbed staves in a ship s hull. With the idea being, that whenever worshippers look up they should be reminded that they are safely aboard God s ark of salvation. And more, the word nave, which is the name given to the part of the sanctuary where all the baptized are seated Comes from the same word that the word navy comes from. So again, the idea is that all who are seated in this area should be reminded that, they too are on board with Noah and his family, and therefore, will be spared the final judgment that awaits sin, death and all the forces of evil. And that s true whether they arrive here in twos, threes, four or more, Or whether you just come by yourself, as many of us do. And one more, one that brings the rainbow and the waters of our baptism together in a memorable way. And pardon me if I sound a bit professorial We know the rainbow to be a spectrum of light that is the consequence of sunlight shining through droplets of moisture in the atmosphere. And so, with this in mind, we might also see the rainbow as a sign of God s divine mercy shining through all the storms that life rains upon us; a glorious sign of the covenant that God makes with us in baptism. And someday we ll find it, the rainbow connection the lovers and dreamers and you and me. Amen.