The most famous Noah surely is the biblical Noah. Noah is the biblical figure we meet in the early chapters of Genesis. Because of the rampant sin around the world, God is ready to deal with the problem. For some reason Noah found favor in God’s sight. So Noah becomes the first savior of the world. Most folks know the story about God telling Noah to build the ark. Doubtlessly, this is one of the earliest stories we learn if we attended Sunday School. I have seen countless little kids make some kind of ark. Some of them do not look trustworthy on the high seas. But Noah and his kin survive. We know the story of the dove returning with the olive leaf, which is the sign that Noah can disembark from the ark and begin normal life.
In my lifetime Noah has not been a popular name. I have only known a very few. Growing up in school I don’t think I knew one kid named Noah. When I lived in Indiana, I had an older friend named Noah. That Noah would not have been one God would have chosen to put on the ark! During my time at my current university, I have only known one student named Noah. He was a pretty good athlete, so I was often amused that I cheered for Noah. Maybe it is because I teach religion, but that always seemed funny to me! And he has since graduated, so as far as I knew, there was no person named Noah in my life.
All this is a prelude to an experience I just had. I try to walk each day. Normally, I go late in the afternoon, which I suspect is a holdover from all those years I was an athlete and practice happened after school was finished. And so it was I was off for my walk. When I walk near my house, the route I take finishes by crossing through a small park. It a lovely little park, but nothing special. There is an outdoor basketball court, which is usually full of guys playing ball.
Every time I walk through the park or even drive by it, I love seeing the guys playing ball. It reminds me of all those times I spent on a basketball court. I made so many friends during those times. I learned how to deal with winning and how to cope with losing. I learned so much about teamwork and how to add value to a team. I learned how to care, how to share and how to enjoy the vitality of life itself. I always liked the Latin word for play, ludens. We get our word, ludicrous, from ludens. Too often, we think ludicrous simply means “weird” or “crazy.” Its root meaning is playful and even exuberant play. I loved being ludicrous!
And so it was I headed through the park on my recent walk. I noticed the usual basketball game being contested. As I neared the court, the game came to an end. I thought nothing about it. It was just a bunch of guys having fun. But soon a figure on the court got my attention. To my surprise, it looked like one of the young guys was heading my way. Soon I realized he was heading directly for me. I did not recognize him.
No doubt, he was a high schooler. The high schoolers dominate the court---but in a good way. As this young man approached me, he looked me directly in the eye. Speaking to me, he asked, “Didn’t you speak to my senior seminar?” At first, I had no idea what he was asking. I am not currently teaching a seminar at my university. But then it dawned on me. I did recently speak to the senior honor’s seminar at the local high school. I do this every semester. This is a wonderful experience to show up with some fifty high school seniors and talk a little about spirituality. I always tell them, if they see me in the grocery store, etc., come up and say hi.
This young man was doing just that! After I figured out what he was asking me, I said, “yes, I did speak to the honor’s seminar.” To confirm that he was part of it, I queried, “were you there when I spoke?” He was. And then he paid me a great compliment. “You did a really good job,” he acknowledged. From a seventeen-year old, this is pretty good! And then our exchange set me up for this inspirational piece.
I asked him his name. “Noah,” he said. “Thanks Noah,” I said. “Thanks for coming up to me and greeting me.” I continued my walk and he went back for the next game. It would be too easy to dismiss this. But I pondered it a little and realized I am glad to have another Noah in my life. This is a different Noah. He did not come off the ark; he came off the basketball court. He did not survive the end of the world. But Noah---my Noah---is a witness nevertheless.
My Noah is a witness to all that is right about young people. Sometimes people my age are too grumpy. We can get hung up on “the good old days.” We think we were hot stuff and the youngsters today don’t amount to much. Noah---the different Noah---is young, full of promise and likely to make a bigger difference in the world than most of us have done. I don’t know whether he is religious or not. In some ways it does not matter. He is a child of God. His encounter with me indicates that he is going to be engaged and make a difference.
That is what God asks of all of us. In our own way we are called to be Noahs. The world always will need to be saved. We are all a different Noah.
In my lifetime Noah has not been a popular name. I have only known a very few. Growing up in school I don’t think I knew one kid named Noah. When I lived in Indiana, I had an older friend named Noah. That Noah would not have been one God would have chosen to put on the ark! During my time at my current university, I have only known one student named Noah. He was a pretty good athlete, so I was often amused that I cheered for Noah. Maybe it is because I teach religion, but that always seemed funny to me! And he has since graduated, so as far as I knew, there was no person named Noah in my life.
All this is a prelude to an experience I just had. I try to walk each day. Normally, I go late in the afternoon, which I suspect is a holdover from all those years I was an athlete and practice happened after school was finished. And so it was I was off for my walk. When I walk near my house, the route I take finishes by crossing through a small park. It a lovely little park, but nothing special. There is an outdoor basketball court, which is usually full of guys playing ball.
Every time I walk through the park or even drive by it, I love seeing the guys playing ball. It reminds me of all those times I spent on a basketball court. I made so many friends during those times. I learned how to deal with winning and how to cope with losing. I learned so much about teamwork and how to add value to a team. I learned how to care, how to share and how to enjoy the vitality of life itself. I always liked the Latin word for play, ludens. We get our word, ludicrous, from ludens. Too often, we think ludicrous simply means “weird” or “crazy.” Its root meaning is playful and even exuberant play. I loved being ludicrous!
And so it was I headed through the park on my recent walk. I noticed the usual basketball game being contested. As I neared the court, the game came to an end. I thought nothing about it. It was just a bunch of guys having fun. But soon a figure on the court got my attention. To my surprise, it looked like one of the young guys was heading my way. Soon I realized he was heading directly for me. I did not recognize him.
No doubt, he was a high schooler. The high schoolers dominate the court---but in a good way. As this young man approached me, he looked me directly in the eye. Speaking to me, he asked, “Didn’t you speak to my senior seminar?” At first, I had no idea what he was asking. I am not currently teaching a seminar at my university. But then it dawned on me. I did recently speak to the senior honor’s seminar at the local high school. I do this every semester. This is a wonderful experience to show up with some fifty high school seniors and talk a little about spirituality. I always tell them, if they see me in the grocery store, etc., come up and say hi.
This young man was doing just that! After I figured out what he was asking me, I said, “yes, I did speak to the honor’s seminar.” To confirm that he was part of it, I queried, “were you there when I spoke?” He was. And then he paid me a great compliment. “You did a really good job,” he acknowledged. From a seventeen-year old, this is pretty good! And then our exchange set me up for this inspirational piece.
I asked him his name. “Noah,” he said. “Thanks Noah,” I said. “Thanks for coming up to me and greeting me.” I continued my walk and he went back for the next game. It would be too easy to dismiss this. But I pondered it a little and realized I am glad to have another Noah in my life. This is a different Noah. He did not come off the ark; he came off the basketball court. He did not survive the end of the world. But Noah---my Noah---is a witness nevertheless.
My Noah is a witness to all that is right about young people. Sometimes people my age are too grumpy. We can get hung up on “the good old days.” We think we were hot stuff and the youngsters today don’t amount to much. Noah---the different Noah---is young, full of promise and likely to make a bigger difference in the world than most of us have done. I don’t know whether he is religious or not. In some ways it does not matter. He is a child of God. His encounter with me indicates that he is going to be engaged and make a difference.
That is what God asks of all of us. In our own way we are called to be Noahs. The world always will need to be saved. We are all a different Noah.
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