Then Noah built an altar to the Lord and, taking some of all the clean animals and clean birds, he sacrificed burnt offerings on it. (Genesis 8: 20)

Noah’s altar in Genesis is a ritual that other people had sacrificed animals before. Many had directed their prayers heavenward in the smoke of offerings. But that day of exiting the ark after a massive flood was special for Noah’s family. They were starting over. They were beginning a new journey. They were survivors in a world devastated by sin and punishment. They were the Adam and Eve of a new Era. They were children of God.

Each married couple opens the door of what Shakespeare called “the undiscovered country,” that is the future. After the whirlwind of wedding planning and events, they stand a little breathless, staring down a road that they will travel together. Each bride is Eve, each groom is Adam, and generations of Cains and Abels and Seths and their sisters are a world waiting to be born.

How will the journey begin? What will blaze the trail and mark the path? What ritual acts will stand as a testimony that something significant has happened here and point to where the road is going? For Noah it was a altar. A pile of thanks to God. Recognition that the true pilot of his boat now needed to be guide and guardian of the land journey ahead.

We who are descended from Noah still raise his altar and chant his prayers. We do it when we make our marriage vows before God. We do it when we pray over our new homes, even if they are one bedroom apartments. We do it when we baptize or dedicate our children. We do it when we establish habits of family devotions. These rituals declare our house to be holy ground and those who dwell in it to live on the threshold of eternity.

Ritual without meaning becomes mere tradition. Meaning without ritual is soon forgotten. But when ritual and meaning are bound together, we remember who we are and whose we are, so we can move forward together.

LET’S TALK

• Did we build something like Noah’s altar at the beginning of our journey together? In what ways can we renew its significance for our marriage and home? Can we raise an altar together now if we didn’t do it then?
• What rituals or traditions are we establishing to identify the character of our home?
• What devotional experiences have we shared together? What will we pass along to our children?