Standing on the Promises of God

OT Lesson: Genesis 9:8-17

God said to Noah and to his sons with him, “I am now setting up My covenant with you, with your descendants, and with every living being with you—with the birds, with the large animals, and with all the animals of the earth, leaving the ark with you. I will set up My covenant with you so that never again will all life be cut off by floodwaters. There will never again be a flood to destroy the earth.”

God said, “This is the symbol of the covenant that I am drawing up between Me and you and every living thing with you, on behalf of every future generation. I have placed my bow in the clouds; it will be the symbol of the covenant between Me and the earth. When I bring clouds over the earth and the bow appears in the clouds, I will remember the covenant between Me and you and every living being among all the creatures. Floodwaters will never again destroy all creatures. The bow will be in the clouds, and upon seeing it I will remember the enduring covenant between God and every living being of all the earth’s creatures.” God said to Noah, “This is the symbol of the covenant that I have set up between Me and all creatures on earth.”

NT Lesson: Mark 1:9-15 (NRSV)

In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptised by John in the Jordan. And just as He was coming up out of the water, He saw the heavens torn apart and the Spirit descending like a dove on Him. And a voice came from heaven, ‘You are My Son, the Beloved; with You I am well pleased.’

And the Spirit immediately drove Him out into the wilderness. He was in the wilderness for forty days, tempted by Satan; and He was with the wild beasts; and the angels waited on Him.

Now after John was arrested, Jesus came to Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news.’

Sermon

Introduction

Good morning. Just when I thought the spring was around the corner, we had a quite big snow fall last Friday. Yesterday, the thermometer in my car read 13°F. I am thankful to God that it was not in the negatives. If you have lived in Winnipeg for a few years, you will develop a superpower: the ability to tell whether the temperature is above or below -40°F. Incidentally, -40°F is also -40°C. It is the point where both temperature scales converge. Determining if it is below -40°F is surprisingly straightforward. Step outside on a day that cold, take a deep breath, and the first sensation you will notice is your nostril hairs seemingly pulling at your nose from the inside, instantly freezing. Then, there is a peculiar frostiness you can feel deep within your lungs. If you experience both sensations, then it is definitely at or below -40°F. Perhaps next winter, you might consider visiting Winnipeg to test the veracity of your pastor’s claims—if I am lying or telling you the truth. They host a grand festival in February, the ‘Festival du Voyageur,’ celebrating the early French settlers in Winnipeg. It is great fun, provided you can withstand the -40°F temperatures.

Now, turning our focus to the liturgical calendar, Lent began last Wednesday with the Ash Wednesday service at Central Christian Church. Today marks the first Sunday of Lent. You may have already noticed a few changes specific to the Lenten Sundays. Instead of the solitary Christ candle, we have seven candles, which we will extinguish one by one each Sunday during Lent. The stained glass light at the front will remain off throughout Lent. Additionally, as announced, there is a Lenten cross at the back of the sanctuary where you are invited to stick notes detailing anything that obstructs your daily communion with God. These will be removed on Easter Sunday. During these Sundays, a Lenten Psalm will be read. Besides our Sunday worship services, there will be Wednesday Community Soup & Supper. This week is  scheduled at St. Joseph’s Catholic Church. We are also distributing two types of Lenten devotionals: one is available as a PDF or printed version, and the other is an audio devotional you can listen to on the Church’s YouTube channel. When you listen, you can of course listen to my Korean accent. But when you read the other devotionals, you may imagine my Korean accent as well to enhance your Lenten spirituality. I believe that covers all our housekeeping announcements.

Who Is Noah

Do you know who is the best investment manager in the Bible? The answer is Noah. When the entire world was undergoing liquidation, his stocks were the only ones skyrocketing. Today’s OT lesson brings us to Noah, a fascinating figure. The Bible portrays him as “a righteous man, blameless in his generation, walking with God.” In Genesis 5, we trace the lineage from Adam to Noah, observing their ages. Considering Adam as the first generation, Noah comes to the tenth generation. A bit of biblical arithmetic reveals that although Noah never met Adam, his father Lamech was 56 years old at Adam’s death, hinting at a possible personal encounter between Lamech and Adam. That is how long Adam lived—to see his grandson of ninth generation.

The genealogical accounts in Genesis typically note that an individual had his first son at a certain age, then continued to have more sons and daughters. For instance, Genesis 5:12-14 details, “When Kenan had lived for seventy years, he became the father of Mahalalel. Kenan lived after the birth of Mahalalel for eight hundred and forty years, and had other sons and daughters. Thus all the days of Kenan were nine hundred and ten years; and he died.” In those ancient days when it was like stone age, there was no X-Box, no iPhone, no Super Bowl, no Taylor Swift, no nothing. They had literally nothing to do to kill time but making babies. So maybe he had four or five hundred children in eight hundred and forty years. When I was young, many of my friends had more than ten siblings when their parents were not even fifty. However, the narrative diverges when discussing Noah, mentioning that he had only three sons, which suggests Noah’s relatively restrained procreativity, perhaps indicative of his devout and celibate life. I guess the Bible is true that Noah walked with God, not with his wife.

Another intriguing aspect of this genealogy is that Noah’s father, Lamech, passed away five years before the flood at the age of seven hundred and seventy-seven—a number often linked with blessings in the Bible, suggesting Lamech’s righteousness and being blessed much. Meanwhile, Noah’s grandfather and Lamech’s father, Methuselah, known for the longest lifespan in the Bible, died in the same year as the flood. It remains uncertain whether his death was due to the flood or natural causes like of old age before the flood. This opens the door to a poignant narrative possibility: Noah attempting to persuade his grandfather to join him on the ark, only to be met with refusal. “Papaw, you got to come into the ark!” “That’s enough kiddo. There is no sign of water from heaven like you’ve been saying for hundred years.” This scenario underscores the tragic dimensions of Noah’s story, highlighting the challenges of faith and obedience amidst impending disaster.

Walking Lonely

Noah’s family tree was likely vast, as the Bible indicates his father Lamech continued to have children for 600 more years, suggesting Noah could have had hundreds of siblings. Imagine the sheer number of uncles, aunts, cousins, second cousins, nephews, and nieces—Noah’s network of relatives would have been extensive. Building the ark was an enormous undertaking, possibly spanning over a century with only eight people. Throughout this time, Noah likely reached out to his myriad relatives for assistance or to offer them refuge in the ark. Yet, none joined or aided him. This might partly be because Noah was preaching about an unprecedented disaster—a flood in a world where the concept of rain, let alone a deluge, was unknown since “God had not caused it to rain upon the earth” before the flood. “There’s will be a flood!” “What is flood?” “There will be a huge rain!” “What is rain?” “Umm. Water drops from the sky?” “How?”

Convincing people of something they have never experienced or imagined would have been a monumental challenge. Noah’s persistence in the face of such scepticism highlights his faith and dedication, despite potentially not fully grasping the mechanics of what he was prophesying. Possibly Noah himself did not know what he was saying. “I am talking to people about rain. But what exactly is rain? I don’t understand myself how it is possible that water will come down from heaven.” His isolation is stark; not a single relative stood by him, not even his own grandfather. Noah’s journey with God was a solitary path, supported only by his immediate family. However, their assistance might not have been entirely voluntary. In the patriarchal societies of old, disobedience to the family patriarch could have dire consequences. Historical precedents, such as the Roman paterfamilias’ authority to punish family members by death, underscore the gravity of dissent within the family unit. Even these days in some cultures, the patriarch has authority to kill their family members in the name of honour killing. This context raises the question: Did Noah’s family assist him out of belief and solidarity, or were they compelled by the absence of any other choice?

The construction of the ark, therefore, was not just a feat of divine obedience but a testament to Noah’s profound loneliness. With only eight people to undertake the construction of a massive ark, the project was not just a physical but also a spiritual and emotional endeavour, set against the backdrop of a world indifferent or even hostile to their mission. This narrative underscores the complexity of faith, obedience, and the human condition in the face of divine mandates and existential threats.

Standing on the Promise

Despite the solitude and hardship, Noah steadfastly followed God’s path, trusting in God’s promise of salvation for him and his family. His journey mirrors the essence of the Lenten experience—a path not easily traversed, akin to walking through the valley of the shadow of death. It was a journey marked by pain, loneliness, and humiliation. Yet, Noah did not waver. He persevered, demonstrating remarkable patience over the years, anchored by his faith in God’s warning of an impending cataclysmic flood and the assurance of salvation for those who would seek refuge in the ark.

Upon completing this arduous journey and fulfilling his Lenten voyage, Noah witnessed the fulfilment of God’s promise: the covenant symbolised by the very first rainbow. This covenant was not just a personal assurance to Noah but a universal sign of God’s promise to all humanity. The rainbow stands as a testament to God’s mercy and faithfulness, extending beyond Noah and his family to encompass all who enter into this covenant. Thus, Noah, along with all his descendants—and indeed, all of humanity—can firmly stand on the promises of God, now through Jesus Christ our Saviour. This narrative invites us to reflect on our own faith journeys, encouraging us to trust in God’s promises and persevere through our challenges, reassured by the enduring symbols of God’s covenant with us.

Lenten Journey of Jesus

Transitioning from Noah’s Lenten journey to that of Jesus Christ, our Lord, provides a profound comparison. In the NT lesson today, we learn about Jesus’ baptism by John the Baptist. Though I will not delve deeply into this event, it is important to note that Jesus’ baptism was an act of humility, a moment where He humbled Himself before God and man. Following His baptism, a voice from heaven declared, “You are My Son, the Beloved; with You I am well pleased.” This divine affirmation might have painted a promising, almost idyllic picture for the future, a lovely and easy path covered with million flowers. Yet, what followed was a stark contrast: the Holy Spirit led Jesus into the wilderness, where He spent forty days and nights.

The wilderness experience was far from comfortable. In the Judean desert, the extreme temperatures—soaring to 100°F during the day and plummeting to 40°F at night in a single day—coupled with the constant threats from wild animals such as snakes, foxes, and scorpions, made His stay perilous. Jesus was not staying forty days at Hilton or Marriott Hotels. Alone, Jesus fasted and faced temptations by Satan, enduring hardships reminiscent of Noah’s solitary struggle. However, Jesus’ journey was undertaken out of a profound love for His creation.

At His baptism, Jesus was reassured of His Father’s love—a love that would sustain Him as He embarked on His own Lenten journey towards the cross at Calvary in Latin or Golgotha in Aramaic, both meaning ‘the place of a skull.’ This journey was a conscious march towards His death, undertaken with the full knowledge of its inevitability. Jesus stood firmly on the promise of God’s plan for the salvation of the humanity, willingly embracing a blood-stained path filled with pain and loneliness. How lonely he was that all his disciples abandoned Him except one. This journey to the cross was neither easy nor comfortable, but Jesus chose it, demonstrating unparalleled love and obedience to God’s will.

Conclusion

Friends, the path of Lent has never been one of ease. It challenged Noah and Jesus, and it challenges us today. Some of you have already marked the cross at the back of our sanctuary with what hinders your daily communion with God. For those who haven’t, remember, there are still several Sundays left to do so. This act symbolises our commitment to relinquish these obstacles during Lent. Whatever it is that we choose to give up, we recognise it may not be easy. The devout practices we adopt throughout this season of Lent might not always bring comfort. Yet, we persevere on this Lenten journey, anchored by our faith in God’s word.

We stand firm on the promises of God, assured that faith in Jesus Christ will bring salvation to us and to our family. We stand on the promise of redemption and eternal life that lies beyond the cross at Calvary. Embracing these promises, standing on the promises of God, let us walk alongside Jesus through this Lenten season, even though the path may be marked by solitude and suffering. With faith in our hearts and God’s promises as our guide, we step forward, knowing that we are never truly alone. Amen.