Sometimes that very first reading of a season of the church year has a special significance. I think this Lent is just such a case. The story of Noah and the rainbow sets the stage and introduces the covenant theme of the whole season. This year we get a short history of Covenant Theology and how it plays out in the life and death of Jesus.
It starts with the rainbow – God’s promise of grace and mercy to all his people and the earth. As some people have noticed – while there are seven colors of the rainbow, there are only six colors of the banners. Because there are only six Sundays in Lent, indigo and violet get combined.
Because lent is a preparation for Baptism and for the affirmation and remembering of our Baptismal Covenant, it was especially appropriate to do the indigo/violet/purple first banner as water. Because the Epistle and Gospel readings invariably point to the cross, the water is in the shape of the cross. Subtle, I’ll admit, as I wanted the rainbow to be the main thing. I often like to make these banners somewhat abstract, as you have probably noticed.
The second banner – blue continues this covenant theme with the story of Sarah and Abraham and the covenant/promises of a child and descendents as numerous as the stars. Again in the shape of a cross, subtle but there.
The third/green banner of the rainbow has a bunch of coins from the gospel of the day – cleansing of the temple, coins scattered but again in the shape of a cross.
The fourth/yellow banner will be the most obvious cross, reflecting the central theme, “God so loved the world that he gave his only beloved Son.”
The fifth/orange banner reflects one of my favorite passages, “as a grain of wheat falls in the earth and dies, so does it bring forth wheat” – again in a cross.
And the last Sunday of Lent – Palm/Passion Sunday: red not only of the rainbow but of the blood of Christ shed for us all. Palms and crosses.
Finally the covenant gets fulfilled in the promise of Easter so we’ll keep the rainbow, turn the Lent banners over and surprise!!! You’ll have to wait. Easter is always a surprise!! See John’s gospel.
Grace and peace,
David I. Nelson
