Dear Friends in Christ, grace and peace to you from God our Father and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

200 years ago on the 4^th of July, 1825, 52 passengers unceremoniously boarded the Restauration in Stavanger, Norway bound for a new life in America.  This coming Friday, King Harald V of Norway and Queen Sonja shall be in Stavanger to observe a replica of the Restauration begin its 98-day journey across the Atlantic Ocean to arrive in New York harbor on October 9^th.  The votive ship hanging over the baptismal fount is a copy of that same ship.

Since the days of the apostles, the ship has been a symbol for the Church. In many houses of worship, the central part of the sanctuary is known as the navis or nave which is the Latin word for ship.  For Christians, the Church is the vessel of salvation that guides believers through this world’s challenges towards eternal life. This symbolism is deeply rooted in both scripture and Church teachings, and it all has its origins in the story of Noah’s ark.                                                                

Children love the story of Noah’s ark, and they can’t wait to tell you their own favorite Noah riddles. What kind of lighting did Noah have on the ark?  Flood lights.  Or how do we know they didn’t play cards on the ark?  Because Noah sat on the deck.  Even the animals have their own jokes. Where did Noah keep the bees?  In the ark hives.

Perhaps it is the delight of children and their whimsical thoughts which challenges listeners today to take the story of Noah and the Great Flood seriously. The author of Hebrews, however, certainly understood the courage and dedication of this old man, writing, “By faith Noah, warned by God about events as yet unseen, respected the warning and built an ark to save his household; by this he condemned the world and became an heir to the righteousness that is in accordance with faith.” My friends, this morning let us meditate on the faith of Noah, who for the sake of his family and their salvation, and, who in spite of his age, his personal well-being, and the critical words of the crowds, accepted God’s call to build a great ship.

In Genesis, we read, “The Lord saw that the wickedness of humankind was great in the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of their hearts was only evil continually. So the Lord said, ‘I will blot out from the earth the human beings I have created—people together with animals and creeping things and birds of the air, for I am sorry that I have made them.”  But before God could destroy his work, Noah found favor in the sight of the Lord.  Now, Noah was a righteous man, who “was blameless in his generation. He walked with God.”  He had not been conformed to the values of the world, so when God commanded him to build an ark, he did it.

Interestingly, Noah wasn’t commanded to build a boat or ship, per se. The word ‘ark’ is derived from Latin “arca,” meaning a chest or box for safekeeping of valuables. For the people of Israel, the Torah scrolls were stored in a special box called an ‘ark.’  The same was true for the stone tablets bearing the Ten Commandments.  Granted Noah’s ark was large.  540 feet in length, 90 feet in width and 54 feet in height, with three decks, and covered in pitch.  No ship would be built to this size until the 1800’s.  Its dimensions were more fitting for barge than a sailing vessel.  But there was also no mention of a rudder for steering. Noah wasn’t called to navigate the waters.  He was commanded simply to build a holy chest to protect and preserve the lives of those aboard against the water. And he would have plenty of time to complete his work.  According to scripture, Noah would labor between 75 and 90 years on this do-it-yourself project.

In the Jewish rabbinic tradition, it is said, that during these years, Noah attempted to warn his neighbors of the coming deluge, but instead he was ignored and mocked.  No doubt they thought he was a naïve at best for talking with an invisible God, and insane at worst for building an ark and predicting a flood that would destroy all life. Noah, however, knew the treasure of his family. And he knew the truthfulness of God’s words of the things yet unseen.

Now, why would Noah endure such trials and hard work?  Was he truly the most courageous character in the Old Testament, or was he the most fool-hearty?  Of course, you and I can joke today that all we ever needed to know in life, we learned from the story of Noah’s ark. 1, Don’t miss the boat. 2, Remember that we are all in the same boat together. 3, Plan ahead. 4, Stay fit.  You never know when you’re 600 years old someone may ask you to do something really big. 5, Don’t listen to critics, just get on with the job that needs to be done. 6, Build your future on high ground. 7, Speed isn’t everything, the snails were on board with the cheetahs. 8, When you’re stressed, float awhile. 9, Remember the Ark was built by amateurs, the Titanic by professionals. 10, No matter what the storm, when you are with God there’s always a rainbow waiting.

But, itt’s hard being a blameless, lone voice, un-conformed to the world. It takes courage to do the right thing in the face of scorn and jeers of laughter.  It takes faith to keep going in the right path when the crowds are moving against you in the opposite direction  Sometimes the very notion of a healthy family and its spiritual well-being may seem so quaint and old-fashioned, that you might question whether you really need to hold on to your families, or you might wonder and for how long.  75-90 years?  Really Lord? Yet in scripture, we are reminded that working for the spiritual well-being of our families is an act of faith. “By faith, Noah, prepared an ark to save his household.”  In a world where institutions and patterns no longer seem to guide people, you must build an ark to protect yourself and your family, where you can be reminded that you too are precious in God’s sight and worth saving.

So, ask yourself, what do your friends and neighbors see you doing to protect your family’s faith? One Sunday afternoon, a member of a church invited several friends of the congregation over to dinner, including the pastor.  As they sat down to the table, the pastor turned to the 6-year old daughter of the house and said, “Would you like to say the blessing?”  The little girl looked up to the pastor and replied, “Oh no, I wouldn’t know what to say.”  To which the pastor answered politely and encouragingly, “Just say what your mother would say.”  And so the guests around the table bowed their heads and listened to the earnest words of the little girl echoing the thoughts of her mother, “Dear Lord, why on earth did I invite all these people to dinner?”

For better or worse, your children and your neighbors are watching you every day and they are modeling their lives and choices upon your own.  They are listening to your words and prayers.  Certainly, there are occasions and opportunities when others model the faith for them. As a pastor, I hope that my nurturing role will provide an example of a living faith. And yet, I’m not always successful. I remember one little girl who was so restless during the sermon as it seemed to drag on and on, that she finally leaned over to her mother and whispered a little too loudly, “Mommy, if we give him the money now, will he let us go?” But when all is said and done, you are the one ultimately responsible for building the ark to protect the faith of those you love.

My friends, 200 years the 52 emigrants who boarded the Restauration in Stavanger, Norway knew the treasure of their families, and they trusted that God would watch over them as they travelled to the new land.  The ship was the ark, the symbol of their faith and of the church that would carry them through stormy waves.  You’re invited to build an ark for the sake of your family today. The question is simply whether you will be as courageous, and fool-hearty as Noah for the sake of your family and play your part, or you will play the role of the neighbors for whom the door of the ark was shut. Amen.

May the peace of God which passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.