Rochester, MN UCC - "The Breadth of God's Love" - Genesis 9:8-17

During the season of Lent, we focus on repentance and renewal- on naming the ways we have fallen short of our baptismal vows and renewing our commitment to following Christ. One way we fail to live into our baptism is by failing to appreciate the radical and total nature of baptism. We have a tendency to think of baptism as intended only for a few, for those whose parents were Christians, those who regularly attend church. We also have a tendency to think that only certain parts of ourselves are really known and claimed by God, as though our baptism only washed a part of us and God’s covenant was made only with a portion of souls.

 After the water recedes from the great flood, God says to Noah, “When the bow is in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth." This story reminds us of the universal nature of God’s loving concern. The flood washed away the sin of the earth, just as baptism washes away our old lives. And just as we enter into the new covenant through baptism, so too did God make a covenant with every living creature on the earth following the flood. God’s loving concern was never limited just to the people of Israel- it has always included all the creatures of the earth. Nor is God’s loving concern today only for those presently within the church- God loves every living being. God intends for all people to be reconciled in the love of God and to know the joy of salvation.

 Just as we believe that God’s love extends to every person and every creature upon the earth, so too do we believe that God’s love extends to every portion of our very selves, every hidden corner of our souls. There is no part of you that God does not claim and love. There is no part of you that is beyond God’s power to love and redeem. You are God’s beloved child. May we trust in the comprehensive nature of God’s love and may we allow God’s light to shine on every portion of our soul during this Lenten season.

 Pastor Andrew Greenhaw