All Aboard
The
Yorktown United
Pastor Roy Grubbs
Earth Day Sunday
Genesis 7-9 (selected verses)
I love the water. I like to swim and
was on a swim team for a year in High School.
But I really enjoy going out on a boat.
It is so peaceful to get out on the water.
A couple of times this past summer, we made it out sailing on the Sound.
It was a lot of fun. Especially
at sunset, out on the water, where your view is unobstructed, the views can be
absolutely spectacular. I can fall
into something like a trance, captivated by the beauty of what is around me.
And of course there are other breathtaking water scenes: waterfalls,
geysers, and even
When I think of a the beauty of nature, my
first thought is to think of the beach on a beautiful summer day, when the water
and skies are crystal, clear blue and the air is warm with a slight sea breeze.
Everything seems in harmony, in perfect balance.
God has given us such a gift. But
it is incredible to witness what happens when this balance is thrown off.
The week after Easter, I watched the movie Deep Impact, starring
Morgan Freeman, Elijah Wood, and Tea Leoni.
This movie, which came out several years ago, is apocalyptic, about the
end of the Earth with the discovery of a comet that will crash into the Earth
destroying every living thing. NASA
sends a team on a space mission called “Messiah.”
Their goal is to blow up the comet before it reaches the Earth.
But Messiah fails. As a
backup plan, the President announces a lottery-of-fate for 1,000,000 chosen to
move into specially built caves called Noah’s
How ironic that I watched this movie right
before the latest storm that hit the Midwest with flooding rains, devastating
the region. This past month has
brought some of the worst flooding to that area in decades.
Many lost valuables; some lost their homes; and some even lost their
lives. Last year, you may recall the
flooding rains that hit the Northeast. In
In our Scripture Reading this morning, we cover a story that is very familiar to us. Noah is commanded by God to build an ark that will house his family and animals of the Earth. When I was growing up, Noah was a hero of mine. After all, God found him to be a righteous, blameless man. Everyone else on the planet was corrupt, a sinner. God had seen the wickedness of humanity, and was in pain. The harmony had been broken; the perfect balance that God had created was just a memory. Humankind had failed. But thank God for Noah.
God told Noah that all life was about to end and that he must build a boat that would save those on board. Noah followed God’s instructions, gathering the materials and building the ark. Then he collected the animals, the food, and his family, and went on board; the doors shut behind them, and it began to rain. It rained and rained, without stopping. A few times, I have tried to picture this scene. For a while, the ark is planted on the ground. I imagine that Noah lived nearby to other people, perhaps near a town. When these townspeople realized that it was going to flood, some must have tried to board the ark, the only thing that could possibly save them. As the people were banging and banging on the walls of the ark for someone to save them, the door remained shut. The storm clouds continued to deepen; it rained until the ark was finally lifted from the ground. For forty days and forty nights, the ark was adrift, floating above even the highest mountains. All life outside the ark ended.
Over the years, I have wrestled quite a bit with stories like these. Would God really do something like this? Would God destroy the whole Earth, leaving only a few people and animals to begin again? Is this the God of love and mercy that we praise and worship? So often when reading different stories in the Bible, we ask ourselves questions, “Why do tragedies occur? Why do people suffer?” These questions ultimately lead us to wonder, “Who is God?” But, while these questions are important to discuss, we must realize that we will never be able to fully explain why the tragedies and difficult times we experience in life occur.
What also troubles me the flood story is why Noah remains silent the entire time. Reading the story, Noah never speaks, not once. It is interesting to note that Gods tells Noah that everything on Earth will be destroyed, but that he and his family will be saved and a new covenant will be established. But he doesn’t say a word. Is Noah selfish? Why doesn’t he cry out in defense of all other life? Surely not everyone is evil. What about the babies, the children? Should they really die for things they did not do? Why doesn’t Noah speak?
I know I would cry out!
There is no way that God would tell me all life would be wiped out and I
would say nothing. Well, at least I
hope I would say something. In the
story, we know that the ark comes to rest safely on land.
Noah, his family, and the animals disembark and life continues on.
But following this, the world is not perfect.
Peace never reigns. Actually,
the world is constantly out of balance. There
is never really a moment of perfect harmony.
With all the recent big stories in the news, other stories get only a
brief mention; like the 31 Iraqis killed and 25 wounded just on Thursday alone.
There also was a split-second mention of the thousands continuing to die
everyday in
Following the storms in the
God has given us a very important responsibility. We are called to love one another, to care for one another, to share with one another, and to be good stewards of the entire Earth. We are called to help one another as human begins, as important leaders on this planet. And what have we been doing with our responsibility?
Pollution and Climate Change have become
very hot topics in recent years. Many
have been speaking out about the devastating affects humanity has made on the
planet. Unfortunately, the
On the 38th anniversary of this
upcoming, special day, Earth Day, we are reminded of the balance and harmony
that is needed for our planet to survive. As
stewards of the Earth, we have been given an awesome responsibility to take care
of not only the environment, but of one another.
How appropriate it is that Earth Day falls in the Easter Season, a season
of new life emerging even from the darkest of times.
Our world is in disarray, but hope springs eternal.
Following the long, cold winter, spring has finally arrived in
In this Easter season, we are given new life in Christ. Out of the ugly and brutal death of Jesus on the cross, he rose from the grave so we could live forever. Even though we can't fully explain it, even though we are not worthy of this wonderful love and grace, we have been given an amazing gift. Unlike the movie Deep Impact where the Messiah failed, we know that our Messiah, Jesus Christ triumphed. The gift of new life, new hope lives within us. Anchored in Christ, we are adrift no more. The question remains, who will we let on the boat with us? I believe Christ says, “All Aboard.” Amen.