Wednesday, October 02, 2013

A second step towards Sunday, October 6 (World Communion Sunday)

Alright ... time to get to work on being more sermon-ish.  I delight in the ways Noah's character can be pictured, and yesterday I had my little fling.  But now it's time to get practical.

After the Flood a first thing for Noah is to sacrifice some of the creatures that survived the Flood with him, as an offering to God.  What does this have to do with us?

 
Noah knows Earth can as easily not be, as be.  The world is not "just there;" it is where it is by the love and good will of a creating, judging and redeeming God.  To say Earth is, is not enough; it is sustained. 
 
And there's the rub with our reality!
 
The need of sustainability is something we are rediscovering in everything we do -- whether global and national economics and development; the life of communities, families and churches; or even things like diet and exercise regimes.
 
Noah knows things are not just there; all things are held (or not) -- in love by God, in trust by us.  And to say things are good is not enough; they are sustained (or not) in their goodness by God and by us as we make and act out particular kinds of choices. 
 
As we look at Noah on his knees in the mud, choosing to sacrifice some part of what he has worked for, in recognition of a higher Power and greater good than his own, there must be something we learn about sustaining the goodness of what we have today.

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