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August 2009. Dear All, 'Oh what a wonderful scene, the rainbow overhead;
violet, indigo, blue and green, yellow, orange and red!....
This is my promise to you: you 'II see the rainbow in the sky,
you 'II know God's words are true.'
'Congratulations' to members of the Junior Choir at St. Mary's for their performance of Captain Noah and his floating zoo on July 19th. The cantata formed the basis of that day's 'Four o'clock service' with over 70 in the congregation. Thanks too to John Trevett for his work in conducting the choir, to Kim Harding the rehearsal pianist and Joan Johnson for tackling the fiendishly difficult accompaniment.
The words from the final song of the cantata ended the production with God's challenge to leave the ark to 'Go forth, increase and multiply! By two by two by two by two....' Not something that would thrill the hearts of those worried about the sustainability of the world's resources under the pressure of increased population but that would be to miss the point.
The story of Noah too frequently focuses in our imaginations upon the rescue of Noah and the animals from the flood. The myth - for that is what it is - sees our hero rescued through his faithfulness to God: he escapes with his life by the skin of his teeth as the whole world falls under God's judgement and its evil and wickedness is washed away. But if we leave the story at this point we have missed the point. God's purpose in saving Noah is not so that he can hole up in the ark for the rest of his life but rather that he come down the gangplank and build a new world - a world that finds its security in knowing God's covenant with it is unshakeable.
To use a technical term, that perhaps had more currency with previous generations of Christians, 'salvation' by God is not the end of the story. For those who claim to have grasped something of God's goodness shown to us in the person of Jesus Christ there is a job to do -just as there was a task for Noah and those with him in the ark - a new world to be created that is shaped and moulded in such a way that it might please the Creator. Now there's a vocation for all Christians to embrace: to make a difference for God, slowly, gradually, step by step so that this world might become the Kingdom of our Lord and God.
Alec
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