Thought for the Day, from John Taves • Genesis 6-8
My thoughts tonight were triggered by a late night broadcast of the BBC on CBC. As sometimes happens in an old guy’s life, I fall asleep at 8:00 pm and waken at 3:00 am with a brain full of thoughts. So, I turn on CBC by my bed and listen to late night talk shows from Australia, New Zealand, Germany, or Britain, from their national radios.
Last week, I caught the last five minutes from a Rabbi in Palestine. The story was of Noah, and how he likened the Covid story to the story of Noah. I only caught the last five minutes but it triggered a thought. So at 3:00 am, I took out my Bible and read and reread the story of Noah.
We have all heard the story, and heard it told time and time again in children’s stories. I myself used it as the basis of a musical when I directed a children's choir in Mission, our home for decades. We have all seen the pictures of elephants, giraffes, rhinoceros, lions, tigers, geese, bears, chickens, all lining up two by two to enter the ark. Since the ark was 450 feet long, I think we can assume the campfire story got a little out of hand.
We know that animals not on the ark did not go extinct, despite the song of the Unicorn, and why we “haven’t seen it to this very day”. We can assume, since pork was considered unclean meat, that Noah would not have loaded two of those beasts. But we do know pigs do exist to this very day. But I think we can assume that Noah’s family loaded all the breeding stock they would need when the flood was over.
So what is the message? To listen to the message and respond.
Noah received a directive from God that a flood was coming and he and his family should prepare. His task was to build an ark and be ready.
When Covid 19 emerged, we were told to prepare, be ready, and listen to Dr. Henry.
Tongue in cheek, Noah built an ark, and we bought toilet paper! But we also were forced to break our social bonds, our congregation, and prepare for isolation. Noah’s family had to prepare to leave their community, their home, their friends, and isolate on the ark.
It must have been a dark and lonely time on that ark, trusting only that the pandemic flood would pass, as promised. It has been, at times, a dark and lonely walk through Covid, as we wait and listen to the daily reports from Dr. Henry. We await the moment when we, like Noah, can leave the ark and rejoin our community again. Like Noah we send out “ravens” to see if the world is ready for us to emerge, and at times like in Noah’s time, the raven does not return. Covid is still there, waiting for us to disobey. We wait again.
As we enter the new phase of the “Trusted Bubble” and re-attach to a treasured few, we pray to send out “The Dove” as Noah did to get the final word to emerge, rejoin, re-attach, re-gather, rejoice.
Let us have the faith of Noah and wait with patience and faith, that the door of our Ark will open and we will see the dove of peace gifting with the olive branch.
That story of Noah now is special to me, and I will revisit it often in moments of sadness, despair and loneliness. I am glad I am on the Ark with all of you. Separate rooms, but the same boat. The Dove will come.
Prayer for Today
The New Testament has 750 promises in all its writings. Let us together pray that we will discover these promises, and ingrain them in our life walk, to walk in the light, and with a growing faith, become part of that light.