I have set My rainbow in the cloud, and it shall be a sign of a covenant between Me and the earth. When I bring a cloud over the earth, the rainbow will be seen in the cloud; then I will remember My covenant, which is between Me and you and every living creature of all flesh, and the waters will never again become a flood to destroy all flesh. The rainbow will appear in the cloud, and I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth.”
So 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.” – Genesis 9:13-17
The rainbow. A sign of hope. A visible promise of God’s unfailing love.
Never again, says God in the story, will God allow the cataclysmic waters to flood the earth and destroy humankind. “I promise!” declares God. “And all you have to do is look up when the storm clouds gather and see my promise – in living color!”
The rainbow.
Fast-forward to our day. Dark storm clouds swirl around us. The U. S. Supreme Court has rendered a verdict. Same-sex marriage is now legal all across the land. For many, it seems as if the end of life as we’ve known it is near. What was once defined as a relationship reserved for a man and a woman now may exist between two women, or two men. Cumulonimbus clouds flash and rumble as they billow higher. The winds grow strong and the sun hides itself behind the looming storm.
We look for some sign that God will save us from the rising floodwaters.
And there it is!
The sign. The visible promise of God’s unfailing love.
The rainbow.
It is superimposed across the profile pictures of Facebook friends.
It is emblazoned on banners unfurled and paraded through city streets.
It illuminates the spire of the new One World Trade Center. And the cascading waters of Niagara Falls. And Cinderella’s Castle at Walt Disney World.
And the White House too.
The rainbow is everywhere.
I know that for lots of my dearest friends the rainbows displayed around us today are not equal to the rainbow of Genesis. They believe these nouveau rainbows are a sign of godlessness, not a sign of Godly hope.
I respectfully and lovingly disagree.
Love is never godless. Commitment born of love is always Godly.
And loving committed relationship between two is the sacred essence of marriage.
Many of us grew up under the false influence of a social and religious culture that duped us into thinking gay people are abnormal and same-gender relationships are sinful. This view was enforced by cultural traditions based upon strained interpretations of just six obscure Bible verses. These passages rightly condemn certain exploitive sexual behaviors but do not speak at all about committed loving relationships. Nowhere in the Bible is same-gender love condemned. Ironically, the deep love between two men (Jonathan and David) is actually celebrated in 1 Samuel 18. And in 2 Samuel 1:26 David mourns the death of Jonathan with this lament:
“I grieve for you, Jonathan my brother; you were very dear to me. Your love for me was wonderful, more wonderful than that of women.”
Despite the absence of a truly Biblical basis for rejecting same-gender relationships, our culture has latched onto a false anti-gay mandate. Most of us were nurtured into it from birth. And gay people have been murdered, discriminated against, rejected by families and pushed into life’s darkest shadows as a result.
But today…a rainbow appears.
It may not seem to some of our fellow citizens to be God’s rainbow.
But to those who have long suffered the dehumanizing indignity of society’s insults and injuries, these new rainbows are the sure sign and visible promise of God’s unfailing love.
Way to go, God!
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thank you MArty, for this lovely and thoughtful writing! I cannot see why anyone who follows Christ can think that all of his people are not loved, and cannot see that everyone is entitled to love and respect and happiness.