There were a few good super bowl commercials this year. But it seems each year feels a little less humorous than the last. Maybe, in the past, I was a simpleton with my humor and that’s why I used to be so entertained by the commercials. Perhaps it is getting harder and harder to be funny and original in our very sensitive and politically correct society. If I had to choose one company for first place this year, it would easily be “esurance”, a online insurance company. During the Super Bowl and immediately after, they released three funny ads, united by the common theme: “Sorta you isn't you.” The first two commercials feature Lindsey Lohan and the character Walter White from Breaking Bad and are hilarious. Finally, and perhaps lesser known, is the commercial that depicts a parent-teacher conference. Two pleasant-looking parents sit down in front of the teacher’s desk and notice the character in front of them is not “Mr. Craig” but rather an intimidating biker type who speaks in a gravelly voice. They protest right away but this character gruffly argues that he, like Mr. Craig, is between 35 and 45 years old, likes to save money on insurance, and also is good at teaching people a lesson (he makes his argument while smashing a pencil into the desk). In other words, close enough! As the parents get up to leave, the sorta-teacher barks for them to sit down and the point is made: sorta you isn’t you at all!
When we think about Noah, we usually think about a huge boat, the animals walking in, two-by-two, and of course, the epic flood that destroyed everything and everyone on earth except those in the ark. Which leads us to consider the God of Noah: powerful, scary, angry, brutal, detached from the human race, not afraid to start over. But this image of God is like the esurance commercial; sorta God isn’t God at all!
Many people, many christians, way too many catholics have an impression of God that is sorta God. That he is legalistic, distant, frightening, unapproachable, uncaring, punishing, harsh, vindictive, waiting for us to mess up, and frankly, too busy to care about our troubles. If the God of the flood was the end of the story, then maybe all this would be true. Our reading today invites us to think differently as it describes what happens after that terrible flood. After the flood, God reaches out to the whole human race through Noah. Instead of giving up on us, he enters into something called a covenant with humanity. So, what is a covenant?
A covenant is more than a legal contract or serious promise or even a solemn oath. A covenant is a living relationship where one person or party binds themselves to another person or party in a unique relationship. In a covenant, the two people or parties become family, intertwined in the most intimate way. To break a covenant is to tear away from the family and destroy the bond of kinship that was made. An everyday example would be marriage. In marriage two people enter into a union and form a family. Even their extended families are drawn together in this bond. A good marriage is beautiful thing in the life it fosters and the way it brings people unity, comfort, healing, and strength. When a marriage goes bad, when that covenant is disrespected or destroyed, it is incredibly destructive, divisive, and hurtful.
God wants humanity, and in fact, all of creation, to be his family. He takes the initiative and reaches out to Noah as soon as dry land appears. His language is very beautiful and clear. Never again will the earth be destroyed by a flood. Not only that, but every time the clouds fill the sky, when rains falls to earth, and a rainbow appears, each and every time, God thinks of that covenant and remembers his love for each and every creature he made.
God is a loving father, patient savior, merciful judge, interested listener, loyal spouse, dedicated brother, compassionate friend, and tireless advocate. Anything that contradicts these qualities, any belief that paints a different picture of the Lord is only sorta-God, and Sorta-God isn’t God at all!
This loving invite from God to Noah was not simply a neat moment in history; it is a living relationship. The Lord is still inviting people into this covenant, not simply as a group, not just as anonymous members of the human race, but as individuals. God is constantly seeking a personal, unique, one on one covenant with you and me that is different than the one he has with any other person. He will not get discouraged, disgusted, or give up. He will keep reaching out. But he also respects your freedom; he will not make you enter into that loving relationship with him. He wants you to do it freely and deliberately. He will never go back on his promises, even when we break ours. The only time he steps back (notice I did not say leave or abandon) is when we tell him to. This is what sin is, this is what sin does. Sin says ‘“God, I don’t want your covenant anymore! I no longer want to be in your family!” Fortunately for us, God is always ready to repair that relationship and bring us back to his family through the sacrament of confession!
Lent is a special, focused time to let go of our sorta-Gods, our misconceptions, and hang-ups which keep us from knowing and experiencing who God really is. Its also an opportunity to renew that incredible covenant, come back to the heavenly household, and receive all the good that is entitled to us as the sons and daughters of God. May God bless these holy days for you and may you accept the invitation to be a part of His family!
