"Grab Bag: 'You and Me, Lord' Genesis 6:11-22; 7: 11-16

Another week of grab bag sermons, this time on Noah, but not from a child's perspective. Last week that comment was defined as, "don't talk about the animals."

Reading through the beginning of the Noah story led me in several directions:

1.  Bill Cosby's wonderful comedy routine about Noah.  he describes what it might be like for Noah to be building an ark in the neighborhood.  Noah sort of likes the idea that he knows the flood is coming and his friends don't.  He cryptically asks his neighbor, "How long can you tread water."

But Noah gets fed up with dealing with the building the ark, with the God who remains silent when Noah introduces God to the neighbor, and with all the elephant dung in the bottom of the ark.  At one point, God asks Noah, "how long can you tread water!"

The climax of the routine comes when God tells Noah that he has to get rid of one of the hippos. This sets Noah off and he goes off on an angry diatribe.  As he is talking, we hear lighting and thunder. Noah keeps complaining, and then he says, ""That's not a shower is it?"  Then, "me and you Lord."

That comedy routine has me pondering how often we align ourselves with God, but then we run into a little problem or two, how easily we give up. But, we quickly return in a crisis.

2.  I am fascinated with why there is such detail given about how to build the ark.  What purpose does that have in the biblical story?  Why should we not dismiss it as just unimportant details?

3.  Walter Brueggemann has a wonderful commentary on Genesis.  He focuses in the Noah story on how God's heart was changed.  how God chooses covenant.  I am actually preaching on the Noah story next week as well, which is where the covenant language fits better.

4. Brueggemann also describes Noah as arriving" in the story as the possibility of what can happen" (79) Interpreation:  A Bible Commentary for Teaching and Preaching, the commentary on Genesis.

What are your memories of Noah?

Can you think of times when you gave up on doing what God had called you to do?  Or a time when God's claim was so clear to you that you answered in a big way?