Rainbows in a Box

Rainbows and Lent a curios combination.  I have been wrestling with the lectionary texts for the first Sunday in Lent.  We have the Hebrew Scripture speaking of God's promise of faithful relationship with all living creatures on the face of the earth. The rainbow in the cloud serves as a reminder.  As we move to the Gospel of Mark we hear a voice from the cloud as Jesus rises out of the Jordan and we walk with Jesus into the wilderness to face temptation.

From the cloud we see the rainbow and hear the voice of unconditional love.  Where are those sights and sounds as Jesus struggles with the human temptations of this world?  Where are they as I struggle with this human condition that desires power and the acquisition of stuff?  Perhaps I am looking too hard for miraculous signs and wonders while missing it in the everyday sacred moments.  Maybe the voice is found in the supportive words of a dear friend and the rainbows in a box on my doorstep.  To change the direction of my mind and heart this season might be to simply look at the blessings with wider eyes and to hear the sounds with open ears in everyday living. And in the midst of it all I may find myself in deeper connection to the Faithful One who set the rainbow in the sky and whispers the words of hope in my heart.  

Thanks be to God for rainbows and this journey we call Lent.  Rainbows and Lent a curious combination.