Message: Called to be a Rainbow / Matthew 9:9-13
About a week ago, I was driving home from the Regional Council Annual Meeting in Smiths Falls. The rain had stopped, but the clouds were still hanging in the sky. Then, suddenly, a rainbow appeared. Its bright colours arched across the sky like a beautiful bridge.
It had been a long time since I had seen a rainbow so clearly. For a moment, my tiredness seemed to fade away, and the drive home no longer felt long or boring. The rainbow changed not only the landscape before me, but also the landscape within my heart. As I looked at it, I remembered a poem by the English poet William Wordsworth:
A rainbow in the sky:
So was it when my life began;
So is it now I am a man;
So be it when I shall grow old,
Or let me die!
The Child is father of the Man;
And I could wish my days to be
Bound each to each by natural piety.
For Wordsworth, a meaningful life is a life that stays open to moments of wonder and awe. He calls this natural piety. It is an anchor that keeps us grounded and helps us recognize the gifts and blessings that surround us each day. Piety is not about pretending to be holy or perfect. It is about opening our hearts to wonder, compassion, and joy.
As a matter of fact, the beautiful colours of a rainbow are always around us. Sunlight contains the full visible spectrum, from red to violet. After the rain, droplets of water refract and reflect light, revealing colours that were there all along. Just because something is unseen does not mean it is absent.
God’s grace is like this. It is always present in our lives. When we work, when we eat, when we spend time with others, and when we sleep, God’s love surrounds us. Even when we are tired, disappointed, or unsure of the way ahead, God’s care does not disappear. Like a rainbow after the rain, we sometimes discover God’s presence more deeply after walking through the valley of the shadow of death.
In Scripture, the rainbow is a sign of God’s covenant with humanity and all creation. This covenant appears in the story of Noah and the flood.
Many cultures tell stories of a great flood. One of the closest parallels to the biblical account is found in an ancient Mesopotamian tradition. In that story, the flood comes because human beings have become too numerous. Their noise disturbs the gods, and a flood is sent to reduce the human population.
But the God of the Bible is different. In Genesis, the flood comes because the earth has become filled with violence (Genesis 6:11). The Hebrew word translated as “violence” is hamas. It refers to violence, injustice, and cruelty that harm other lives. It is not limited to individual wrongdoing. It can also take the form of social oppression, when the powerful exploit and mistreat the vulnerable.
For the God of the Bible, the most important thing is the peace and harmony of the world, not God’s own selfish comfort. God is angry because the dignity of God's creatures is being destroyed. God grieves because the world God created in love has been wounded by violence.
Because of violence and injustice, God sends a flood to set things right. But the flood story does not end with judgment. Seeing the devastation, God promises never to repeat the same act again. Instead, God establishes a new covenant with all living things as follows:
“I have set my bow in the clouds, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth. When I bring clouds over the earth and the bow is seen in the clouds, I will remember my covenant that is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and the waters shall never again become a flood to destroy all flesh.” (Genesis 9:13–15)
This covenant is not only for Noah. It is a promise for every living being and for the earth. The rainbow is God’s sign that God will not abandon the world, no matter what. It is a symbol of God’s grace that gives everyone a second chance for renewal.
God did not leave this covenant only in the sky. In Jesus Christ, God revealed clearly what it means. Christ came as the light of God’s grace. He healed the wounded, fed the hungry, and became a friend to the lonely. He did not respond to the violence and injustice of the Roman Empire with swords and spears. Instead, Jesus went up to Golgotha for the sake of all living things. In this sense, Jesus became the rainbow of God’s love on the cross.
Jesus was the one who made many hearts leap with joy and hope. Through him, they experienced the light of God and began to follow him. Matthew was one of them, as we can see in today’s Gospel reading.
Matthew was a tax collector. For Jewish people at that time, tax collectors were regarded as sinners because they collected money for the Roman Empire. In particular, many of them took more than the required amount for their own gain. They were treated as betrayers, full of selfish greed.
Yet Jesus did not ignore Matthew or turn away from him. Seeing him sitting at the tax booth, Jesus said, “Follow me.” Matthew immediately got up. His encounter with Jesus changed his life. It was a moment of piety, a holy moment in which the direction of his life turned toward God.
Soon afterward, Jesus was sharing a meal with his disciples, tax collectors, and sinners. When the Pharisees saw this, they asked, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?”
Their question is understandable. They sought to preserve the integrity and identity of their community by keeping the clean separate from the unclean. But Jesus showed them a vision of God’s grace that reaches beyond the boundaries they had drawn.
Jesus answered, “I desire mercy, not sacrifice.” Mercy is the work of restoring relationships. It means making room for those who have been excluded. It means crossing walls to bring about reconciliation. It means listening to a person’s story, rather than stigmatizing them through bias and prejudice. At that table, through Jesus Christ, the promise of the rainbow became a living relationship among people. Where others draw lines, Jesus built a bridge.
101 years ago, churches from different traditions chose to walk together as one church in Canada. That is how The United Church of Canada began. The purpose of this union was not to make everyone identical. It was to allow different colours to shine together within the love of God. With an inclusive and open vision, the United Church has sought justice, made a difference, and had a positive impact in Canada and around the world.
But the United Church has not always lived as a rainbow of God’s grace. In 1986, the church apologized for failing to honour the spirituality and cultures of Indigenous Peoples. In 1998, the church apologized for its role in the operation of Residential Schools and for the deep harm caused to Indigenous children, their families, and their communities. And in August of last year, at the 45th General Council in Calgary, Alberta, the church also acknowledged and apologized for not fully welcoming Two Spirit and LGBTQIA+ communities, and for failing to prevent discrimination and exclusion.
These apologies are not only about the past. They are the beginning of a new promise. They are not an expression of despair over failure. Rather, they are a response once again to Christ’s call: “Follow me.” They require courage to trust in the grace of God who does not abandon us, to listen again to voices we have missed, and to begin new relationships with neighbours who have been wounded.
As we mark the 101st anniversary of The United Church of Canada, we remember both the gifts and the failures of our history, and we are renewed in our call to listen, to include, and to embody God’s mercy in our lives.
Today, Jesus Christ calls us. We are called to be a rainbow. May the grace we have received become a blessing in our lives. May that blessing become mercy at our tables. May that mercy become welcome in our communities. And may that welcome become a new and living hope for the world.
Thanks be to God. Amen.
Rev. Min Hwang
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