Homily First Sunday of Lent (Genesis 9:8-15) “Can We Float Through Life?”
Homily First Sunday of Lent (Genesis 9:8-15) “Can We Float Through Life?”
The story of Noah fascinates people. Many times, the story has been used in a humorous way. I found a birthday card recently. On the card two unicorns are pictured on a hill. Below them the door of Noah’s ark is being closed. One Unicorn looks at the other and says, “Oh crud, was that today.” Noah’s story might seem humorous but is there something serious we need to learn.
Religious people often wonder whether the story of Noah happened. Is it true? Some individuals have gone out of their way to try to show that the great flood was an actual event. Years ago, a film was made called, “In Search of Noah’s Ark.” The makers of the film searched all over the Middle East trying to find the remnants of Noah’s ark. The proof for its existence was an aerial photo of a fuzzy image that looks like the ark wedged into the side of Mt Ararat in Turkey. At times it is covered by snow and ice, at other times it is plain to see. Really there has never been any real proof that the Ark is there.
A more recent attempt prove that the story is true is centered in, of all places, Kentucky. A life size ark has been built near Williamstown. And it is the centerpiece of a theme park. The ark is about 180 yards long. The ark is seven stories high. The builders have elaborate explanations of how two of every animal could have fit on the ark. The creators of the ark adhere to what is known as creationism, the belief that the world was built in seven days and is only a few thousand years old.
Creationism leads to many questions like, what about the proof we have that the earth is millions of years old? Also, how did a few people with very crude tools build such a boat? If it takes years for modern people with sophisticated tools to build an ark how could Noah have done this thousands of years ago?
Really, arguing about all this distracts us from what we should be concentrating on. The Catholic Church does not dispute the conclusions of evolution anymore. The church would say the science leads people to a deeper faith in a God who has supreme intelligence. Nature can be our primary prayer book. If we contemplate creation we usually come to a more profound respect of the creator.
The story of Noah is what we would call religious myth. Myth, in this context, does not denote untruths but profound truths. If we study the religions of the world, we find that many have flood stories. Scientists verify that there have been several great floods that have changed the face of our planet. Because this is so, different cultures have tales of great floods. We need to reflect on the broad themes of the story. What are some of them? What has the flood story to do with Lent?
One truth we hear in the story of the flood is that humanity needs redemption. Corporately we crave the mercy of God. Individually we hunger for the forgiveness of God. If we have a conscience, we feel guilt and shame. But that does not have to be the end of the story. We rely on the fact that God wants to wash us clean. We can always start over. Noah spent 40 days in the Ark. We spend 40 days living Lenten disciplines. In the end, these 40 days can lead to spiritual uplift if we feel absolution for sin.
Another truth is that we all need to have a greater trust in God. As we have often heard, we need to hand over control. The word ark does not mean ship. An ark was a wooden box that held precious treasure. Noah’s ark then was just a big box that floated on the water. If we built an ark, we would want it to have a tiller so we could steer it. We would probably like a sail so we would have power to go where we want. The ark, however, could only float on top of the water. But it was a safe refuge.
The ark could be a symbol for planet earth. We are on this blue- green orb floating in the universe. We like to think we are in control, but we aren’t. The ark might be equated to the church. If we are part of the church, ideally, we gain the spiritual help we need to make it through the chaos of life. When we think we want to go it alone we can easily run aground or drown.
So, we ask today, can we work at letting go of our agendas during this Lenten season? If we can just learn to be humble enough to listen to God, as Noah did, and seek the Lord’s direction how consoling might that be? Noah learned an important truth. He found out that God will did not create the world to destroy it. No, God believes in the goodness of creation. And God always has hope for us, humanity and the world we live in.
Reflection Questions:
- Have I ever wondered if there ever was a Noah’s Ark? Does it matter?
- Religious truth is a different type of truth? What do we mean by that?
Dear Parishioners,
By this time next week Fr. Matthew and I should have moved to the Lee Center. This has been a long time in coming. I am sure everyone likes to have a neat clean place to live. Our environment can be so important for our spiritual and mental health. I would hope that one day soon we can open our new apartment to the parish at large.
We tried to be careful with how much we spent, but there have been a lot of extenuating circumstances. For some reason everyone has been building and remodeling the last year. This has led to a shortage of building materials, furniture and appliances. This has made it a challenge to stick to our budget. We will see what the final cost is. I don’t think we will be too far over.
I would like to the thank Hodge Construction who did the building and our facilities committee for their work. Don Lewis and Pami Trieble put in long hours to help make this happen. The list of people who assisted is long. Thanks to everyone. It will take us awhile to complete the last details and settle in. Please be patient with us as we do this.
May Our Lady and all the Angels and Saints watch over you this week.
Fr. Mark