Genesis 9:8-13 – God said to Noah and to his sons with him, ”As for me, I am establishing my covenant with you and your descendants after you, and with every living creature that is with you, the birds, the domestic animals, and every animal of the earth with you, as many as came out of the ark. 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.” God said, “This is the sign of the covenant that I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for all future generations: I have set my bow in the clouds, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth.”
Sometimes, we need reminders of promises made and promises kept. The rainbow is God’s promise to us that no matter how bad we mess things up, no matter how far we stray, God will be there. The rain of God’s forgiveness will wash away the muck we have gathered and refresh us again. The spectrum of the rainbow will show us the beauty of possibility and promise.
The forty days of confinement in an ark end in a rainbow. The forty years of wandering in the wilderness lead to the Promised Land. The forty days of temptation in the wilderness lead to a clear sense of purpose and ministry. And our forty days of Lent end in the promise of Easter’s resurrection.
We need to wander, cut off from what we have known, to find what is really important. We need to wander to let go of the baggage we think we need when we start off on the journey. The ritual of Lent gives us 40 days to move from death to resurrection.
Maybe we aren’t stuck on an ark holding the key to regeneration or eating manna for generations, but we all have devils that tempt us. We set off this Lent, full of the guilt and gunk that weigh us down. Too many desserts, not enough exercise. Too many distractions, not enough time in prayer. Too set in our ways, not able to imagine a different reality or promise of new life.
But at the end, there is a rainbow. A promise that God is with us to refresh us and sustain us. A promise that even in the darkest storms, there is hope and beauty. A promise that mistakes can be redeemed, and something beautiful will emerge in time.
