November 13, 2023 — Does the Bible Say…?

Does G-d really ask Noah to build a boat in the desert?

“And God said to Noah, “I have determined to make an end of all flesh, for the earth is filled with violence because of them; now I am going to destroy them along with the earth. Make yourself an ark of cypress wood; make rooms in the ark, and cover it inside and out with pitch. This is how you are to make it: the length of the ark three hundred cubits, its width fifty cubits, and its height thirty cubits. Make a roof for the ark, and finish it to a cubit above; and put the door of the ark in its side; make it with lower, second, and third decks. For my part, I am going to bring a flood of waters on the earth, to destroy from under heaven all flesh in which is the breath of life; everything that is on the earth shall die. But I will establish my covenant with you; and you shall come into the ark, you, your sons, your wife, and your sons’ wives with you. And of every living thing, of all flesh, you shall bring two of every kind into the ark, to keep them alive with you; they shall be male and female. Of the birds according to their kinds, and of the animals according to their kinds, of every creeping thing of the ground according to its kind, two of every kind shall come in to you, to keep them alive. Also take with you every kind of food that is eaten, and store it up; and it shall serve as food for you and for them.” Noah did this; he did all that God commanded him.” Genesis 6:13-22

The thought of building a boat is daunting for anyone — anyone — no matter how big or how small the boat. I think this is a safe statement to make. Add to that building a boat large enough to hold and house every animal species, two or seven of each, and include with that a space for all of your family members, and the thought of building this kind of boat is beyond my comprehension. Oh, and besides all of that, imagine being asked to build a boat in the desert. And Noah — well the Lord asks him to build a boat in the middle of the desert, and he says nothing. If I had one question to ask Noah, it would be “Did you ask any questions of G-d, like why?”

The frustrating part of reading some of our greatest stories from the Bible is the fact that we cannot ask the questions that go unasked. Am I the only one who wonders if Noah had questions? I have to imagine that he had lots, and lots of questions, and I wish the Bible would have included some of those questions. But there are no questions, just unwavering faith. Why are there no questions?

Imagine you begin to hear a voice whom you believe is G-d who is asking you to leave your current job and become a missionary in India — don’t you think you might have some questions for G-d? Granted, we can find ourselves asking so many questions we talk ourselves out of following G-d to the places G-d wants us to go. But really Noah, no questions…..?

If G-d asked you to build a boat in the desert, what question would you ask?

Pastor Dave

November 12, 2023 – Pentecost +23A

[Jesus said to the disciples:] “Then the kingdom of heaven will be like this. Ten bridesmaids took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish, and five were wise. When the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them; but the wise took flasks of oil with their lamps. As the bridegroom was delayed, all of them became drowsy and slept. But at midnight there was a shout, ‘Look! Here is the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.’ Then all those bridesmaids got up and trimmed their lamps. The foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ But the wise replied, ‘No! there will not be enough for you and for us; you had better go to the dealers and buy some for yourselves.’ And while they went to buy it, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went with him into the wedding banquet; and the door was shut. Later the other bridesmaids came also, saying, ‘Lord, lord, open to us.’ But he replied, ‘Truly I tell you, I do not know you.’ Keep awake therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour.” Matthew 25:1-13

I am quick to tell you which are my favorite parables and stories within the scriptures – and I will do the same with my least favorites. This is one of my least favorite. The parable presents people as either wise or foolish based simply on their ability or their inability to see into the future. So how fair is that? No one wants to appear foolish in this life. No one. I cannot think of anyone who likes to appear foolish unless you work for the cast of Monty Python. Most of us would rather appear wise. And I am sure that we all hope that we are prepared for whatever comes our way. But we can not always be prepared for everything. There is nothing worse than getting caught with a flat tire when you least expect it – which is always; or caught without your wallet when you are in line at the grocery store.

This being our Sunday to honor our Veterans, these are men and women who trained, fought, and died within an atmosphere of ever-present danger – they could not afford to be caught unprepared – they had to expect the unexpected. No one likes to be caught unprepared – especially when, if you do, you might appear like a fool – or it may cost you your life. This then is what gives this parable real power – at least the power to make us squirm. And then, to make matters worse, Jesus has to go on and say: “This then is what the Kingdom of Heaven will be like.” We must ask the question “How?” How can the Kingdom of Heaven be described like a place where people who have worked so hard to get in are turned away? How can this be? Or the Kingdom of Heaven is like a place where people do not share out of their abundance. Instead they tell others to go find their own stuff. Or the Kingdom of Heaven is like a place that has a lot of wise people who only take care of themselves.

My friends, our military brothers and sisters were trained to always be prepared – always have the things necessary for survival, and necessary to fight to stay alive. They carried everything they needed when they went into battle. We must learn to do the same when it comes to battling evil, battling the devil, and battling the forces of this world that want to weaken our faith. Our faith requires our constant attention recognizing when our faith jugs are getting empty, or half-full – and then spending the necessary time to replenish those faith jugs through prayer, worship, communion, and bible study.

The quality of our faith oil matters my friends. The better prepared we are, and by prepared I mean the better quality our relationship with Jesus, the brighter and longer our faith lamps will burn — and we will be prepared not only for the day Jesus finally does return – but we will be ready for the potholes, the pitfalls, and the unexpected turns of life right now.

Pastor Dave