Genesis 9:8-17

A couple of personal notes; I have found very little commentary from the creators of the Lectionary about why they choose the texts that they do. I use a variety of traditions as my sources and do my best to synthesize them with the latest historical research. In this case, as we are beginning the season of Lent, 40 days of fasting and reflection, I think I can safely assume the connection here is to the 40 days and 40 nights of rain that God brought down upon the wicked world. This is sometimes referred to as a myth of redemptive violence.

The scene we get here is the God of the rainbow. We get the symbol that reminds us that God won't do this again. It's hard, if not impossible to remember that without also remembering what he did do. When I see children's toys of Noah's ark or playgrounds with ark themes, I cringe a bit. I don't think this is a good story to teach children. No matter how you try to frame it, they will recognize the brutality of it. It's better to wait until they are old enough to have a discussion about violence in nature and what that means for people. That's my opinion anyway.

The covenant itself is probably more important than the rainbow that symbolizes it. The promise is that ALL flesh will not be cut off by a flood that destroys the entire earth. This sets up a God that is different than any of the cyclical religions. For the Hindus, the creator god is Brahma, but there were many Brahmas, one ends and another begins. Nature is cyclical, with the seasons and the cycles of life and death. But this God has a plan for something everlasting.

1 Peter 3:13-22

This passage contains the verse that justifies arguing about the Bible, "have a ready defense". Unfortunately many miss the next verse, "do it with gentleness and reverence". Sam Harris sometimes points out that if you strip away the mythology of the Buddha and undo the repetition, you can lift a lot of secular advice for decent conduct in a civil society right out of the text. You can do this with Christianity also, although I think you need to do a lot more stripping away. In verse 16, we are told to be gentle when defending our reasons, keep our conscience clear, and if someone is being abusive, they will be the ones who are shamed.

If you are a fan of Monty Python's Flying Circus, you have probably heard of their movie "The Life of Brian". It was about a boy born right next to Jesus and gets mistaken as a messiah. It's a satire. The church wasn't too happy about it, and BBC television eventually put some Bishops up against the creators of it and had them discuss it. By many accounts, the arrogance and mockery shown by the Bishops made them look bad, and by simply explaining what they thought the movie was about, the comedians were the ones who displayed a clear conscience.

Judging presentation as well as the facts is standard when judging any debate performance. If you watch political debates and listen to the people who analyze them, they will talk about the logical points made, but they will also discuss the demeanor of the debaters. It's what we are all doing subconsciously anyway.

The rest of this passage goes on to explain theology and how Jesus fits in to the covenant and the symbolism of baptism, etc. You can see parts of the Nicene Creed in this.

Mark 1:9-15

You have probably heard of these events in Jesus' life. You might not have known that they were so briefly presented in the actual text. This isn't meant to be a good basis for a movie script, it is a quick presentation of the symbols for the story to come. Being with the "wild beasts", being the "son of God" and of course, as we've had explained in the other passages today, "40 days in the wilderness". You probably also know how this story is going to turn out. As the Lectionary continues through the book of Mark, try to suspend what you know from the other books, from all the sermons you've heard, from the TV specials you've seen and listen just for what this story is trying to tell you.