#677: Flood and Promise – September 13, 2026

Welcome to a new year of the Narrative Lectionary. This year we're in the Gospel of Matthew, and we're kicking things off with a six week sub series on covenant and commandment, starting with the genesis flood narrative.

Rolf Jacobson and Cameron Howard dig into one of the most uncomfortable stories in Scripture, the one we somehow turned into nursery decor. Why do we put a story about God wiping out nearly all life on earth on baby blankets and crib mobiles? Rolf and Cameron talk through the tension in Genesis 6 through 9, the idea that divine judgment fits the crime, and what it means that in a monotheistic tradition, God has to wrestle with God's own justice and mercy internally, with no "good god versus bad god" to divide the blame. They also unpack the covenant itself in Genesis 9, why it's easy to overlook the Noahic covenant when we jump straight to Abraham or Sinai, and why this first covenant, made with "every living creature," might be the best place to start a year of preaching on God's care for the whole earth, not just humanity.