THE COVENANT BOW

 Meditation for Thursday of the Sixth Week in Ordinary Time
(Gen 9:1-13; Mk 8:27-33)

“God blessed Noah and his sons, and said to them, ‘Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth.” The Lord put every creature on his care, and commanded that man should take care of his brother. “Of every man’s brother I will require the life of man. Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed; for God made man in His own image.” Then He said to Noah, “Be fruitful and multiply, bring forth abundantly on the earth and multiply it.” The Lord established a covenant with Noah and his descendants, sayings, “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.” The Lord set a bow in the cloud as a sign of the covenant between God and the earth.

Let us meditate on the new relationship God established with Noah and his descendants. Now Noah became the father of the new generation of man, washed clean through the waters. God renewed in him the command He gave the first man after creation. In the Covenant with Noah, God would sustain the new generation of man thus formed. In other words, the survival of Noah’s generation and their escape from destruction would hinge on the covenant, never on the strength of their personal righteousness. That means the new generation of man, washed clean of evil and corruption, are to be identified as people of the covenant.

 

As we pause in silence, and gaze on the beauty of God’s covenant with Noah, we see Jesus, in whom is the perfect covenant for the new generation of man, washed clean through the waters of regeneration. The cross of Jesus, lifted up, becomes the perfect ‘bow in the sky’ that guarantees our survival and escape from destruction. Above all, in Him the perfect new generation of man is born. “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come” (2 Cor 5:17). And the newness is gives is ever new.

 

In the gospel, the identity of Jesus was revealed as Peter answered him, “You are the Christ.” Immediately Jesus began to introduce them to His cross, saying, “The Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected...” We see at once how the cross is part of identity of the Christ. Just as the bow in the sky was important for the covenant that defined the new generation of man through Noah, so also the Cross is the banner that defines the new life we have in Christ Jesus. What was prefigured through Noah, has been perfected in Jesus Christ, in whom God and man is reconciled, and through whom man is given dominion over the earth, and care for his brothers and sisters. Amen.

 

Fr Jude Chinwenwa Nwachukwu, C.Ss.R

Saints Peter and Paul, Catholic Church,

Tedi-Muwo, Ojo, Lagos.

Thursday February 16^th, 2023.

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