We are always looking for a deal. I am always looking for the best price. I watched my dad negotiate as he bought cars. My grandfather had a store called the Wapita Trading Post. His father traded mules. I come from a long line of deal makers. We all do!
Who remembers Monty Hall? He was the host of “Let’s Make a Deal.” He walked around a studio audience and tried to make trades. He would punctuate the offer with the line, “Let’s make a deal.” More recently Howie Mandel has hosted a show called “Deal or No Deal,” and Joe Manganiello has led the newest game show “Deal or no Deal Island.”
After the flood, God, who is no comedian, offered humankind a new covenant, a new deal. A covenant is not a relationship of convenience. In the scriptures, the greater makes the deal with the lesser. In this case God made a promise to all living thing that he would never again destroy all of life with a flood. This is so different from pagan religions in which the adherents try to make a deal with their god. God initiated the covenant. He is not negotiating but he is offering a new opportunity. What will humankind do with it?
Before we get to the rainbow, notice the first miracle: God is talking to Noah and his sons. This reminds us of Adam and Eve in the garden. God wants humans to share in his world as partners to make the world right. Mankind gets a mulligan, a do-over. God wants Noah and his sons to know that he will keep his part of the bargain. I love that God spoke to both generations. If I had a wish for my children and grandchildren it is that they would learn to listen for God’s voice and talk to him. When we walk with God and talk with God, amazing things can happen.
Not even the best deal maker negotiates with God. A friend once said to me, “I have made my own deal with God.” Here is the deal. We don’t make deals with God. He is the host. Today is a brand new day. God has given it to us. Our Lord’s Supper reminds us that he offers us life through the death of his Son. God wants to give us life, not death. Will we walk and talk with God on his terms? Deal, or no deal?
