God Remembers

Genesis 9:8-17 (NRSV)

Then 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. When I bring clouds over the earth and the Bow is seen in the clouds, I will remember my covenant that is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and the waters shall never again become a flood to destroy all flesh. When the Bow is in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth.” God said to Noah, “This is the sign of the covenant that I have established between me and all flesh that is on the earth.”

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I can see clearly now the rain is gone.
I can see all obstacles in my way.
Gone are the dark clouds that had me blind.
It's gonna be a bright (bright)
bright (bright) sunshiny day.
It's gonna be a bright (bright)
bright (bright) sunshiny day.

"I Can See Clearly Now" written and recorded by Johnny Nash from the "I Can See Clearly Now" album

What a glorious passage, God has made a covenant with Noah and his descendants after him. God has promised never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth. Never again will the global calamity these people just experienced be known ever again.

To this covenant, this sacred promise of action, God has made a sign, a bow in the skies "and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth." When the bow is visible on earth, it is a reminder to Noah and all that follow him about the vow God has taken on behalf of all creation.

Here's the important part- God tells Noah "When the Bow is in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth.” When the bow is not visible to Noah, God is still reminded of the covenant God made with Noah and every living creature. God will remember to protect creation.

That's the wonderful thing about the covenant, even when we forget--even if we don't know about the covenant at all--God remembers. God knows the promise made and kept. God keeps us and protects us. God--even as the sign of the promise is in the clouds--God sees the sign and God remembers.

We too received a sign--a good many signs truly. The most important sign is that of Christ on the cross and the cross empty after the resurrection. This is the sign that God has not forgotten and will never forget.

This is difficult for us to remember when we see devastation around us. Hurricanes and earthquakes, tornadoes and tsunamis, addiction and abuse; these horrors still surrounds us. But we still have the two signs from God, the bow and the cross.

God promised Noah that life will never be swept from the face of the earth. We know this from the sign of the Bow. God has also promised that nothing, not even death, can remove us from the love of the Lord. We know this from the sign of the cross, the empty cross.

As God's full glory is revealed, as the rain stops, as we can see clearly, then the rest will be redeemed.