In St. John’s, Nebraska, there is a window in the choir loft depicting Christ in Majesty, or Christ the King, seated on a rainbow. I liked the symbolism: Christ, the embodiment of the New Covenant, seated upon a rainbow, the sign of the covenant between God and Noah. I have learned to appreciate “rainbow weather,” when little pockets of ragged clouds and rain would blow in off the sea, followed by a bit of sunshine, then more rain, etc. There was something about looking around for a rainbow when I got caught in the rain walking home, in finding a little brightness in a little struggle. Some research showed none of that was the intended symbolism for medieval iconographers. Rather, the image came from Revelations 4:3 depicting Christ, luminous as gemstones, seated on a throne surrounded by a brilliant rainbow. The light pointed to divine brilliance shining through. That’s what’s lovely about a good symbol, though: it can hold multiple meanings.
I thought of the rainbow – a symbol of God’s covenant with Noah, of beauty in wet weather, of divine brilliance breaking through – because it is the sign that follows the first reading, in which Noah’s obedience and trust allow the human journey towards unity with God to begin anew. It is a visible sign of what the psalm promises: “The Lord will bless his people with peace.” It is also helpful to be thinking about signs by the time we get to the Gospel passage.