When I send clouds over the earth, the rainbow will appear in the clouds, and I will remember my covenant with you and with all living creatures. Never again will the floodwaters destroy all life. When I see the rainbow in the clouds, I will remember the eternal covenant between God and every living creature on earth. –Genesis 9:14-16, NLT |
But one was left buoyant, carrying the future of the world in an ark. There were animals and plants and human beings who were nearly drowning in the stench of fur and scales. The deluge of water was so intense, they were afraid of leaving the safety of their ark for they would drown in the archer’s judgment. They could not remember the last time they saw the sun shining brightly without a drop of water stinging their eyes with a little acid. Now, the sun was shining its brightest since creation––the birds were chirping, the trees were growing stronger, and they could feel the warmth of earth on their fingers: the ice, the sand, the feet they once took for granted. Their feet were tired of touching wobbly, wooden, and cobbled shoes for so long. Now, their feet could rest in peace.
He remembered, the archer, that he was not the only who could speak his presence in the world. There were so much troubles during those ages that, for once, the hunt needed to begin once again. Now, and more than ever, he chose to hang up the one bow filled with wrath and justice upside down, and shower it with the same rain he used for judgement––and fill it with hope.
Never again will the earth be flooded with the tears of the dead, the sorrows of the murdered, the passions of the unborn. Never again will man wade endlessly through water without finding land––now, man could walk, not wade, through water and reach its final destination. Never again will man become enemies with water. At this very moment, in the most beautiful sky, the earth has even seen, the blood spilled through water has been washed agape in the presence of hope.