...the rainbow in the sky...

God blessed Noah and his sons, and said to them, ‘Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth. 2 The fear and dread of you shall rest on every animal of the earth, and on every bird of the air, on everything that creeps on the ground, and on all the fish of the sea; into your hand they are delivered. 3 Every moving thing that lives shall be food for you; and just as I gave you the green plants, I give you everything. 4 Only, you shall not eat flesh with its life, that is, its blood. 5 For your own lifeblood I will surely require a reckoning: from every animal I will require it and from human beings, each one for the blood of another, I will require a reckoning for human life.

6  Whoever sheds the blood of a human, by a human shall that person’s blood be shed; for in his own image God made humankind.

7 And you, be fruitful and multiply, abound on the earth and multiply in it.’

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.’

18 The sons of Noah who went out of the ark were Shem, Ham, and Japheth. Ham was the father of Canaan. 19 These three were the sons of Noah; and from these the whole earth was peopled.

20 Noah, a man of the soil, was the first to plant a vineyard. 21 He drank some of the wine and became drunk, and he lay uncovered in his tent. 22 And Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the nakedness of his father, and told his two brothers outside. 23 Then Shem and Japheth took a garment, laid it on both their shoulders, and walked backwards and covered the nakedness of their father; their faces were turned away, and they did not see their father’s nakedness. 24 When Noah awoke from his wine and knew what his youngest son had done to him, 25 he said,

‘Cursed be Canaan; lowest of slaves shall he be to his brothers.’

26 He also said, ‘Blessed by the Lord my God be Shem; and let Canaan be his slave. 27 May God make space for Japheth, and let him live in the tents of Shem; and let Canaan be his slave.’

28 After the flood Noah lived for three hundred and fifty years. 29 All the days of Noah were nine hundred and fifty years; and he died” Genesis 9:1-29.

Dear friends, in the Noah rainbow we see a symbol of divine mercy, a cosmic guarantee of stability, and a literal laying down of God’s weapons. But because the Hebrew word for rainbow simply means "bow" (like a weapon), we may also see it as an archer's bow hung up or pointed away from earth, symbolizing peace. The rainbow is not just a sign for humanity. Genesis 9:15 specifically states that the bow serves as a reminder for God to keep His covenant, showing the Lord's own commitment to preserve Creation. The covenant is radically inclusive, extending to "every living creature" and the earth itself. The rainbow serves as a sacrament — a sign of God’s grace — for the whole world — and in Revelation 4:3, it reappears around the throne of Christ, representing God's ultimate mercy and the promise to reverse the curse of Adam.

It is helpful to understand the science behind how the rainbow forms. A rainbow results when the sun’s rays are refracted by drops of mist or rain into separate bands of color. When we look at regular sunlight we do not see these colors. It is only through the prism of water that we are able to see the vibrant colors inherent in sunlight. 

This highlights the remarkable quality of the rainbow: the colors are always present but are only revealed to us at a particular time. Specifically, we can only see the rainbow after rainfall, perhaps at a time when its message of hope is most meaningful to us. This serves as an important reminder that there is beauty everywhere; we just don’t always have the ability to see it. Especially when we’re going through a challenging time in our lives, it’s helpful to consider the beauty that we will be able to see once the sun’s rays are shining brightly down again.

It is also interesting to observe the quiet nature of the rainbow, especially as a choice for a sign from God. The rainbow is a beautiful sight; however, it can also easily go unnoticed. There are no loud sounds calling our attention to it, such as thunder. It doesn’t even appear immediately in our view  — we need to look up into the sky to see it. Perhaps the rainbow as a covenant is God’s way of calling upon us to be an active partner; to seek out rainbows and to take time to consider their significance, thus coming closer to God.

May we all merit to have rainbows revealed to us, and to see the ones that are in front of us, throughout our lives. May we gain strength from the rainbow and its promise of transformation, blessings, and peace.

Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the Living God, have mercy on me a sinner.