So let us pray. God, you are the one who had the plan to cover the earth with so many different people from different cultures and different nations who encounter different ways of worshiping you, and yet all of them are enlivened by your spirit. 

So may we lean into that spirit in this time today as we grow more in your love for our world. Amen. So I think one of the key questions for the flood story, which takes over, like, four or five chapters of Genesis, I forgot exactly where it begins. I think the key question is, whose story matters? There's so many different flood narratives across traditions. 

Some of the different traditions have multiple gods. There was one that was like, across the 12 gods, 11 of them had agreed, we're gonna wipe out the Earth. And then the 12th was like, let me make sure at least one guy knows how to survive this. Another tradition, the idea of the flood was there was overpopulation. So just like Thanos from Endgame wanted to take care of the overpopulation problem, so by wiping everyone out with floods, it would fix it. 

Even our own tradition, you might have noticed that it felt jumpy. And it wasn't because we jumped across different chapters. It's because. Because in the Bible you'll see that there's, like, two different competing stories that have been mashed together. We've read the parts where they go in two by two, because that's what everyone knows. 

But sometimes you might have noticed, like, in the middle of the book, like, in middle of the reading, it, like, was like, and these are the descendants of Noah. Usually that's the end of the story, right? Like, why are we talking about the descendants already? And it's almost as if, like, one story, like, needs the descendants to exist when the ark happens, the other doesn't need the descendants to exist yet. And so it gets mashed in there randomly. 

And later, depending on your translation, there's seven birds, or seven pairs of every bird that gets loaded onto the ark, also in addition to the pairs of different types of things. And for some reason, the birds were more important. So I'm hoping that, like, when Noah sent out a dove, it was in the seven pairs of birds tradition. 

Otherwise, like, how's the other dove going to find the dove to make more doves? Right? The reality is large scale flooding happened across the globe in different regions. And in the way that they moved through the world thousands of years ago, it felt like the entire world had flooded. Everyone they knew had to find higher ground. 

And because that was the story that was passed down, they had to deal with why would our gods allow this to happen? And so we have flood narratives across traditions that are just trying to figure out why would this level of suffering be allowed to happen? And so it's generally agreed that the first five books of the Bible come from four different oral traditions that have been edited together by what we call the Redactor, which is a weird name for someone who sounds more like an editor. But the Redactor is trying to piecemeal stories across oral traditions so that these four different traditions can coexist in one group of people. 

And so with this editor pulling in common stories across the region and then giving it different twists and two different versions get to make it, what is this editor and the different traditions within their strand saying about this particular God? And I think that this story tells us a lot about what does it mean for rupture and repair. You might notice that if you. 

From what we read, but if you also go back and read. Both Noah and the early readers did not need to know why humanity needed to be wiped out. Instead, we get excruciating details about how to build this ark, that even if we read about the ark and we think about the measurements or if you go to the ark exhibit, you're like, there's no way two of every animal across creation could fit on this. So why give details that don't seem to match what it's really talking about? 

And not, like, tell us the why? Like, what do you mean humanity got that evil Noah, the storytellers, the editors, and those who passed on this story from generation to generation didn't need convincing that humanity is worthy of being wiped out, but they did need the full details of what restoration could look like, and that recreation is worth the the effort. And I think this is the same for us. 

We see the harm being perpetuated by humans against other humans and against God's creation to squeeze out as much possible profit that can be squeezed out. And the forces of evil are constantly at work trying to convince us that the enemy doesn't deserve compassion and that the environment doesn't deserve protecting, and that profits are the only thing worthy of protecting because of our 401ks need to grow and not decline. Our tradition describes this level of complacency as idol worship and sin. 

And so we don't need convincing that humanity is worth being wiped out. I'm sure plenty of us at some point in our lives had said, what if God just restarted again? What like, can we find the reset button? Or for anyone that watched the good place, like, reset Janet and reset the whole thing. And like, let's try to rebuild. 

And then it's also weird because the editors left in the part where God changed God's mind. At camp, I gave the kids a couple different obscure Bible challenges. And the first one, the first day I was like, oh, find a passage in the Bible where someone's thirsty. And then since I'm talking to high schoolers, I'm like, any definition of thirsty works. And then one kid, like, runs into her room, grabs her Bible and comes out and she's in the Psalms. 

And I don't remember which psalm, but she's like pointing out and it's like, my soul longs. My body longs for you, My soul thirsts for you. And I was like, congratulations, you found both definitions in one verse. The same girl. The next day when I was like, can you find a place in the Bible where God changes God's mind? 

She immediately runs to this passage and goes to the beginning. She's like, God created all things and called them good, and now God wants to wipe everything out. God changed God's mind. And I was like, yeah, absolutely. And let's also jump to chapter nine really quick and see that God changes God's mind again and regrets destroying everything. 

When you're trying to talk about an all powerful God that gets it right all the time, it's really weird to tell a story that we put on nurseries that has God changing God's mind multiple times. But the reality is that this change of mind gives us a model for repentance and repair. We find that God blesses those who remain. And then gives the same blessing to all of creation, blessing all of them to be fruitful and multiply. 

Which is supposed to make readers think about the original commands given in Genesis 1 and 2. It's a new beginning once again. At this time, there's also a command to respect all of creation and to respect one another, to not kill other people because other people are made in the divine image. And then God makes a promise with all of creation and all of people. 

And this covenant that shows up in Genesis chapter nine is actually the first covenant in the Bible. And it's an interesting covenant because all of the other covenants throughout the text are with particular people groups. But in this case, it is for everyone across all of creation. All traditions fall under this blessing. If we take the Bible seriously and it writes, 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 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. Some of you might be used to a different translation, the one that we use to decorate babies nurseries, where it would say rainbow instead of bow or bow. But this bow isn't a rainbow. The actual Hebrew word is a bow, like the type that you use in war that you use to kill other people. 

A good old bow and arrow style bow. So God is actually putting away violence. This is a commitment from God, is after the command that the people also do the same, to not slaughter one another or eat food that still has its blood in it, because that's still a sign that life is there. 

So if you're going to eat animals, make sure that they're not deliciously rare. Right? Is the idea here is that respect life across all of creation and life in one another. We're called to follow God in recognizing when things get wrong and committing to action that demonstrates a transformed heart and mind. 

God didn't just say, I'm not gonna do this again. God said, I'm gonna put my weapon up, I'm gonna put it in the clouds. I'm gonna put my gun in the gun safe. Right? It is done. 

And then other traditions say that if we take the bow to be the actual rainbow and we think of bows and arrows, what direction would the arrow be pointing if the rainbow was a bow? Up. So God leaves this violent symbol pointing at the precise place where the people believed God resided in the skies. Right? 

Almost holding God at bay with God's own violence to say never again. But the reality is this commitment to a renewed way of being comes with actions that lead them to a different way of moving forward in their relationship. And I think that's a really powerful understanding for how we move through repentance and repair. Saying that it's not going to happen again is not good enough if we don't also commit to actions that demonstrate it. 

And so I return to Whose Story Matters now the editors are saying that this story matters because this is a very different God than the ones who still used violence as a way of controlling people. At least when talking about other traditions during their time. And if we read this with the story of the Tower of Babel, 

we see that God does not intend for people to exist under one culture, identity, location, ethnicity, or even military system if we remember that violent system being put away. Instead, God wants there to be diversity in thought, language, and people across all of the earth. So God's covenant is with all people across so many traditions and cultures, because everyone is a bearer of the divine image in their diversity. 

Thus, getting to know our neighbors who aren't like us helps us to better discover the reality of the divine image that walks among us, that level of respect that God is inviting us into every day. And so, let us pray. God, you are the one who hung up their bow and the one who pushed all people across the earth to be your people in so 

many different ways. As we enter into new seasons of life, may we leave behind old habits that no longer serve us, that no longer help us be your love in this world, and instead find ways to cherish those who we perceive as different from ourselves. Because every time we do that, we get to know more about how you loved them and how your love moves through all of creation. 

May your spirit guide us and lead us so that we can be your people, empowered by your love to then go forth and love boldly, serve joyfully, and lead courageously. Amen.