November 30, 2020 --Monday in Advent, week 1
Genesis 8:1-19
Our reading for this Monday, the first week of Advent is a
familiar story to both young and old. It
is the story of Noah and God’s deliverance of God’s people with Noah’s
obedience and the ark. Our reading
begins as Noah, his family and all the wild and domestic animals are with him on
the boat while there had been forty days of flood water, a long time as the
water covered the mountains of the earth and there was much death.
I can imagine what Noah was thinking, or at least what I
imagine I would be thinking and feeling if honest. I know God, you told me this would happen and
I built the ark, but really—how much longer?
In Genesis 7:24 it reads, “And the waters swelled on the earth for one
hundred fifty days.” God, have you
forgotten about us? Where are you?
Verse 8:1 reads “but God remembered Noah…” God remembered, even when Noah had to wonder
if God had forgotten. God causes the wind
to blow over the earth and the waters subside, and the heavens close—no more
rain! And at the end of 150 days, the
water was abated, and in the seventh month the ark rested on land. The waters continued to abate, and on the
first day of the tenth month they could see the tops of the mountains.
Noah opened a window and sent out a raven, to see if the
water was dried up on the earth and the raven flew back and forth. Then he sent a dove to see if the water had subsided
but the dove didn’t find a place to set foot and it returned. Noah waited seven more days and sent the dove
again. This time the dove returned with
a fresh olive leaf, so Noah knew the water had subsided. He waited another seven days, sent the dove
out again, but this time it did not return.
Eventually the water was all dried up, and Noah removed the
covering and saw the drying ground. God
told Noah to go out, along with all living things, be fruitful and
multiply. And so Noah went out.
I don’t know about you, but I can sometimes feel like I am
cooped up in the ark, I can’t go anywhere.
It seems I see the same people over and over again, and in my case
mostly on Zoom. Just when we start to
get an idea that things are getting better, there is a setback, and I wonder
again how long? When will this
end? God, do you remember us?
I know I am not the only one who wonders this, when we are
honest with ourselves. This morning as I
was talking to people, it was a common theme.
We are tired, lonely, maybe physically healthy but mentally not so
good. Some of the people we know and
love have died, some related to Covid and some not—but all affected by Covid in
the limitations set for us. I came to
grips with missing Easter worship but it was not in my thoughts that we could
not worship in the same place together for Christmas as well. The thought of a Christmas dinner without
family and friends, like the Thanksgiving many of us had sucks the energy right
out of us.
Here in
scripture, we hear these words, but God remembered—we are not forgotten. God is with us in this “ark” we find
ourselves in, is with us in the isolation and limitations we must abide by, not
by the law, but out of love. It is in
this hope that we will get through this, and I have to say, we might find that
God uses this to make us even better!
Pastor Julie Winklepleck quoted Emily Dickenson in her sermon yesterday, “Hope” is the thing with feathers
-That perches in the soul…” (“Hope”
is the thing with feathers - (314) by… | Poetry Foundation) Pastor Julie W is more cultured and read than
I am! But it is a beautiful poem and
understanding of hope. Hope is what we
hold onto inside, because we know the nature of God, that God does remember and
love us, so much so that God sent Jesus to earth to be God with us,
Immanuel.
What a
perfect scripture and reminder as we enter deeper into this Advent season, as
we wait with hopeful longing for that day when Christ comes again.
Reminders:
Tonight we
start a 4 week Bible Study—God with Us on Monday’s at 7 p.m. Contact me to receive Zoom Invite.
Tuesday
Bible Study at 11, reading Colossians.
Wednesday
at 7 p.m.—Advent service of reflection and prayer. On Facebook Live.
Together or
apart, we are the church!
