The Storm and The Road: Beyond the Flood

Friends, welcome to a new year in the Narrative Lectionary! Over the next few months, we are doing something vital: immersing ourselves in the Hebrew Scriptures, the very Bible Jesus read and prayed. Too often, people think the God of the Old Testament is harsh and angry, while Jesus comes later to soften God up. But this story shows us one continuous arc of divine love—a God who longs for relationship and never gives up on a messy world.

Today, we jump right into a storm—not with the bright morning of creation, but with the world falling apart. We read this morning in Genesis.

6:5 The Lord saw that the wickedness of humans was great in the earth and that every inclination of the thoughts of their hearts was only evil continually. 6 And the Lord was sorry that he had made humans on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart. 7 So the Lord said, “I will blot out from the earth the humans I have created—people together with animals and creeping things and birds of the air—for I am sorry that I have made them.” 8 But Noah found favor in the sight of the Lord.   9 These are the descendants of Noah. Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his generation; Noah walked with God. 10 And Noah had three sons: Shem, Ham, and Japheth.   11 Now the earth was corrupt in God’s sight, and the earth was filled with violence. 12 And God saw that the earth was corrupt, for all flesh had corrupted its ways upon the earth. 13 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. 14 Make yourself an ark of cypress wood; make rooms in the ark, and cover it inside and out with pitch. 15 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. 16 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. 17 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. 18 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. 19 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. 20 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. 21 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.” 22 Noah did this; he did all that God commanded him.   8:1 But God remembered Noah and all the wild animals and all the domestic animals that were with him in the ark. And God made a wind blow over the earth, and the waters subsided. 6 At the end of forty days Noah opened the window of the ark that he had made 7 and sent out the raven, and it went to and fro until the waters were dried up from the earth. 8 Then he sent out the dove from him to see if the waters had subsided from the face of the ground, 9 but the dove found no place to set its foot, and it returned to him to the ark, for the waters were still on the face of the whole earth. So he put out his hand and took it and brought it into the ark with him. 10 He waited another seven days, and again he sent out the dove from the ark, 11 and the dove came back to him in the evening, and there in its beak was a freshly plucked olive leaf; so Noah knew that the waters had subsided from the earth. 12 Then he waited another seven days and sent out the dove, and it did not return to him any more.   9:8 Then God said to Noah and to his sons with him, 9 “As for me, I am establishing my covenant with you and your descendants after you 10 and with every living creature that is with you, the birds, the domestic animals, and every animal of the earth with you, as many as came out of the ark. 11 I establish my covenant with you, that never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of a flood, and never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth.” 12 God said, “This is the sign of the covenant that I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for all future generations: 13 I have set my bow in the clouds, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth. 14 When I bring clouds over the earth and the bow is seen in the clouds, 15 I will remember my covenant that is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh, and the waters shall never again become a flood to destroy all flesh. 16 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.” 17 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 6:5-22; 8:1, 6-12; 9:8-17 (NRSVue)

Earlier, you talked in small groups about what it means to make a promise. As we move into our text, I invite a quick thought from your conversations: How does making a real covenant promise change the way two people relate to each other?

When we make a covenant promise, a relationship shifts from tenuousness to commitment. That same shift from uncertainty into trust is the exact shift we see in God’s heart today.

When Genesis tells us the world was filled with violence, God didn't look down with cold anger. The text says God was grieved to the heart. The Hebrew word used here ('asav) describes the agonizing pain of labor. God’s reaction isn't the fury of a judge, but the heartbreak of a parent who loves us too much to watch us destroy each other.

Then comes the turning point: God remembered Noah. In Scripture, when God remembers (zkr), it means taking compassionate action to rescue the vulnerable. God sends the ruakh—the same breath of life used in creation—to bring dry land out of the chaos.

I know many of us understand what it feels like to live in the ark. It’s that deep fatigue of surviving year after year of adaptation. When we are in survival mode, it's easy to think that just guarding the boat is the whole point. But stewardship isn't about hoarding our love or our resources out of fear; it’s trusting that God sustains the vessel so we can step onto dry land and plant fresh vineyards on a new mountain. Just like Noah.

When the storm ends, God makes a covenant. A promise. To mark this promise, God puts a rainbow in the sky. In ancient times, people saw a rainbow as a war bow—a weapon used to shoot arrows. But in this story, God takes the bow and hangs it up in the clouds, pointing it away from the earth. God disarms. God chooses mercy over punishment, promising to always treat creation with love and peace.

This promise isn't just words in the sky; it is a call for us to move past survival and start planting for the future. Today is "God's Work, Our Hands" Sunday, which fits this story perfectly. Right after service, we are jumping into three hands-on service projects. This isn't just about preserving what we have—it is us rolling up our sleeves, stepping off the ark, and planting new seeds of hope as the caring hands of a faithful God.

May we all serve today with open hands, bringing fresh life and hope to a world God loves so deeply.

Let us pray. God of promise, you sustained Noah through the storm and you sustain us today. As we use our hands to serve, move us from fear to trust, so we can plant seeds of new life in our community. Amen.

Preached Sunday, September 13, 2026, on God's Work, Our Hands Sunday, at Vista Lutheran Church, St. Louis Park, MN.

God's Power: Power in Brokenness

Then Jesus told his disciples, “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it. For what will it profit them if they gain the whole world but forfeit their life? Or what will they give in return for their life?

“For the Son of Man is to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will repay everyone for what has been done. Truly I tell you, there are some standing here who will not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.”

Six days later, Jesus took with him Peter and James and his brother John and led them up a high mountain, by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became dazzling white. Suddenly there appeared to them Moses and Elijah, talking with him. Then Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good for us to be here; if you wish, I will make three dwellings here, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” While he was still speaking, suddenly a bright cloud overshadowed them, and from the cloud a voice said, “This is my Son, the Beloved; with him I am well pleased; listen to him!” When the disciples heard this, they fell to the ground and were overcome by fear. But Jesus came and touched them, saying, “Get up and do not be afraid.” And when they looked up, they saw no one except Jesus himself alone.  Matthew 16:24 - 17:8 (NRSV)

Grace and peace to you from God, our Creator, Redeemer, and Sustainer. Amen.

Have you ever had a mountaintop experience? The first one I fully remember happened the summer of between seventh and eighth grade.

Summer for us was usually a time that was this mix of laziness and hard work. My brother and sister and I were on summer break from school. My dad and my brother were busy out in our fields farming or doing other chores. My mom worked part-time, from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the post office each day. So, it was up to my sister and I to handle chores around our house - stuff like cleaning the house, doing laundry, washing dishes, and gardening. My sister and I would sleep in late every morning and mess around doing stuff that we wanted to do. Then, about 1 o’clock, we’d jump up and jam to get everything done on the list that my mom had left for us to do. 

But, that summer was different. None of us had ever experienced anything like summer camp. I think, honestly, that my parents weren’t able to afford it. Yet, that summer, they offered the chance for us to go to Lutheran Bible camp. For some reason, which I don’t remember, neither my sister nor brother wanted to go. I was, however, interested. So, along with another friend from my confirmation class, we went to camp. 


Lutheran camp was held at a Lutheran academy in a neighboring town about 45-50 miles away from our farm. This was the first time I had ever been away from home on my own for such a long period of time. 

It. Was. Amazing! And although I can’t even really explain in words what was so amazing about it...It. Was. Amazing! Maybe it was meeting so many other teenagers from different places. So many other Lutheran teenagers. Maybe it was that I developed a huge crush on this really cute guy there. Or maybe it was that sense of community that we experienced together - having fun, talking about our faith - that community that happens that is so hard to put into words. It’s more like a feeling. The same feeling that happens here in worship - not always - but that, when it does, you know something is happening that is just amazing. And, it stays with you.

A mountaintop experience. This is what’s happening in our story today. With Peter and James and John, on the mountaintop with Jesus.

But, before we get to the story, we need to get caught up on what has happened since last week’s miracle stories - the feeding of the 5,000 plus and Jesus and Peter walking on water.

If you remember the end of last week’s story, Jesus and the disciples had crossed over the Sea of Galilee to its western shore. They are still in the northern and more rural areas of Palestine. Jesus is still teaching and performing miracles. He has healed many people. He has fed another large crowd of 4,000 plus with a small amount of food. He is becoming more known as he continues his ministry along the western shore of the Sea of Galilee. He has, also, for the first time been confronted by the religious authorities - the Pharisees and Sadducees. 

Jesus continues traveling southward, moving ever closer to Jerusalem. At one point, he asks the disciples what people are saying about him. In our terms, he was wondering what the buzz was about him. Some of the disciples say that people think he is John the Baptist. Others say Elijah. And yet others say that the crowds think he is Jeremiah, or another one of the prophets.

Then, Jesus turns to the disciples. And says to them, “Who do YOU say that I am?” It is at this moment that we hear this declaration of faith for the very first time from any of the disciples. Peter says, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”

The disciples are getting it. No longer is their faith immature. It is maturing into a deep understanding of who this Jesus is. “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” So, when Jesus hears their mature response, he knows it is now time to prepare them for the coming events in Jerusalem. Yet, Peter does not want to hear Jesus’ prediction. Bold Peter - the first to climb out of the boat and walk on water - does not want hear that Jesus will suffer and die. And even be raised on the third day. Peter doesn’t want to hear this because Peter is focused on himself. And on how all of this will affect him.

We’re a lot like Peter. Like him, we’ve been well-trained by the world to be focused on ourselves. On our needs. On what we can get out of something or from someone. Thomas Keating in his book, Intimacy With God, writes, ”We are living in a world that rejects love and that affirms selfishness as the ultimate value. The pressure from society is constantly insinuating itself through our upbringing, education, and culture.” He goes on, “We bring [that] false self with us into the spiritual journey and into our relationship with God. Perhaps for many years our relationship with God might be termed co-dependent, because we deal with God in the magical way that is characteristic of children. An important fruit of our contemplative prayer is to be purified of our childish ideas about God. As our idea of God expands, there is no word, no way, no gesture, that can articulate it anymore. Hence we fall into silence, the place we should have been in the first place...As Saint John of the Cross writes; ‘It was said once, and said in absolute silence. And it is only in silence that we hear it.'"

When we have a mature faith, we have moved away from the place where it is all about us. And about our needs. That’s the point of Jesus’ response to Peter in the very next verses. “All who want to come after me must say no to themselves, take up their cross, and follow me. All who want to save their lives will lose them. But all who lose their lives because of me will find them.”

Our cross - the cross that Jesus makes reference to in these verses - is not a cross of our own sufferings, or of the challenges or difficulties in our lives. Those are ours because of our own brokenness or because of the brokenness of our world. It is when we, in that brokenness are turned back to God. When we recognize our own powerlessness and inability to fix things. It is then, that we turn back to God. And we are witness to the self-sacrificial love of Christ on the cross, who loves us. Who forgives us. And who brings us to that place of absolute silence. Where we can finally hear God speaking to us. Where we see God’s glory. Where we have our own mountaintop experience.

It’s like this. How many of you know what this is? (A glow stick.) Is this glowing right now? (Nope.) Why not? (Because it hasn’t been bent.) Right.

Now, everyone gets a glow stick. But don’t break it until everyone has one. Now, bend your glow stick into the shape of a "J," for Jesus. Do you notice that the stick begins to glow? Why? (Glow sticks first have to be broken in order for us to see them glow.) The glow material is always in the stick. But we can’t see it until the stick has been broken. 

We’re a lot like these glow sticks. Sometimes it feels like we have to be broken before we see God’s glory. And before the light of Jesus shines in us. We can have really difficult times. But, the power of Jesus is always inside us, waiting to help us glow. Waiting for us to take up our own cross. Just like the cross of Jesus. Which wasn’t about him. But about us. And about serving us. And all humankind.


We, as Lutherans, have a gift to share with the world. We believe that it is in our brokenness where we experience the glory of God. Where we are then freed by God from our sin and our shame and that very brokenness through the cross of Jesus. We believe that God has freed us from this so that we then take up our own cross - a cross that is like the cross of Jesus. A cross that involves losing our own lives. A cross that is sacrificial. A cross that calls us to come down off the mountaintop. To give of ourselves to serve others. To share this amazing gift of grace through our words and our actions.

And, trusting, that the power of Jesus is always with us and inside us. A power that is found in our brokenness and in turning back to God. A power that is waiting to glow for the rest of the world. Amen.

Preached March 3, 2019, at Grace & Glory Lutheran Church, Goshen, KY.
Transfiguration of our Lord.
Readings: Matthew 16:24 - 17:8; Psalm 41:7-10.