Noah. The faithful servant of the Lord, who in the face of adversity and resistance continued to build the questionable ship he was asked to by God. Usually the story ends with the waters from the flood subsiding and God's new world beginning. But somehow there is a true ending that is always left out of the Sunday sermon. It involves one naked Noah and a drenched liver.
The story has been told for centuries, crossed over with various historical records and even depicted in Hollywood movies. In its simplest form we read about a man called by God to build a giant boat to save himself, his family and two of every animal from an impending judgment via a flood. In church culture, it is utilized as a case study in obedience and listening to God's commands. However, it appears there is more to the story when examining a bit closer.
Most of the time Noah is seen as an example. Someone to look up to, to model. In times of crisis he obeyed his God. Even when opposed by the majority, he stayed faithful to what God commanded him. Even when it didn't make sense. This has been preached from podiums as something to admire and emulate. But in the process a cruicial part is left out of the story. One that seems to give the entire message a different picture. You see, after Noah's obedience follows a celebration in drunkenness. Which, in my opinion, is nothing to shame or point a finger at. Most of us have been there or are still there. But, it is telling that immediately after the renewing of the world via a flood that the faithful man of God finds himself growing a vineyard, drinking of it and then finally finding himself naked with his sons walking in on him and seeing him in this state.
Not only is Noah drunk but what he has done is left himself in such a vulnerable position that, according to the culture of the time, he's in a state which allows a curse to be passed down his lineage. His son, seeing him naked, is shamed and cursed for generations and generations which heavily impacts the storyline of the Old Testament. This is crucial to understand in the story of Noah. We go from a faithful servant to a hungover, angry old man in the new world God has created.
We talk about Noah's better half of his life, but not his second half? How come? Is it possible we are ourselves are drunk off the vine of moralistic heroes in the Bible? We love finding someone to emulate and lift up. Someone to say "if only we were like that." But that's not the good news we've received.
The good news we've received is there are no moralistic heroes in the Bible. In fact, there are none here on Earth. At all. Sure, we may have moments of faithfulness like Noah, but we also have our drunk naked moments as well. Our hope is not in modeling good traits of "heroes of the faith" and discarding of their bad ones but rather seeing our humanity in them and receiving the same grace as them.
Whether we find ourselves in rare moments of obedience or moments of drunken naked glory, may we find the same hope as those "heroes of the faith" did. May we look not to biblical characters but to the actual good news we've already received. That you just might be loved the way you are, plastered nudists included.
Amen.
