A Little Project: Jesse Tree Week 1 Day 3

Ornament: Rainbow or Ark

After Adam and Eve, human kind grew and grew. More and more humans were born with their original sin, their fallen nature. Most of them lived a life of not being afraid of evil or knowing the Lord, and they did evil things for many generations. This broke the Lord's heart. He had intended for men and women to live lives in a joyful relationship with Him, flourishing in the mysterious union of stardust and Breath that made up their being, and caring more about one another than themselves. But they didn't, and the Lord hurt so badly that He thought it might have been better to have never created human kind at all. He thought that he should wipe out the earth.

Only one man, named Noah searched for God the Father, the Lord. He was properly afraid of evil, and he faced it with bravery rather than giving in to it. And the Lord was relieved that there was one human with a heart like His own still. God the Father knew that Noah didn't do things perfectly, but that he didn't deserve death.

And so the Lord decided to help Noah survive what was coming. The Lord spoke to Noah seven times, telling him to build an Ark - something like a very large boat with a tight lid on it. The Ark would keep Noah, his wife, his sons and their wives safe while it rained for forty days. The Lord also told Noah to take animals in couples on the Ark, one male and one female if each kind, and to wait for the storm to be over beefier they left it again.

"Then the Lord said to Noah: Go into the ark, you and all your household, for you alone in this generation have I found to be righteous before me."

And so Noah did this without questioning God because he was faithful to him. It happened like the Lord said it would: it rained for forty days and nights, and the animals and Noah family waited. Finally, the rains stopped and to test of there was dry land, Noah sent out a dove from the ark. When it did not come back Noah knew it was because there was dry land for the bird to rest on.

But the flood had made the Lord sad, and he was brokenhearted that there had been so much damage and so much death. So he promised Noah and his family to never destroy the earth with water again, and as a sign if that promise her made the rainbow: light bending through the mist of rain, creating a beautiful arch of colors.

Reflection & Connection: In the story of Noah and the Ark we see humans making choices that hurt the Lord, our Father. This story of Noah could have happened this way, but it is more importantly a story of how the evil actions of humans cause destruction in our own lives and in the lives of others. It teaches us that a life lived without the Lord in it hurts others, and hurts those around us - and can also hurt the earth and the planet we live on.

But again, we see the Lord making us a promise after showing us the hurt our sins can cause. He gave us the rainbow! Rainbows are created when the light from the sun is bent while passing through a lot of water - usually rain. This represents the light of Jesus Christ - and how when he is involved in something as ordinary as water - or our everyday lives - that something beautiful and mysterious is created. Even this old story shows us that Jesus loves us and "makes all things new."

Prayer: Jesus - please be with us this Advent. Show us how we have turned away from being with you and talking with you. Help us to recreate our hearts to be more like yours, and to accept the love you have for us. 

Conclude with your favorite family prayer or an Our Father, Hail Mary & Glory Be.


Q Can you see all seven colors in a rainbow? What are they?
Q Why do you think the Father was heartbroken? What do you think this tells us about the Lord?
Q How does Jesus help make your life new?