Friday, June 13, 2008 Pena: Rainbow By Rox Pena E-ssue
AS I went out of the office after an afternoon drizzle, I was greeted by a magnificent sight -- a rainbow -- in the clear blue sky. I hurriedly went home and showed it to my six-year-old son, not wanting him to miss nature's spectacular light show. I even captured the rare display on my cell phone camera, with my little boy as props, and used it on my PC screen.
The rainbow's vibrant colors have inspired many artists, poets and songwriters. I can proudly say that I can identify all seven in their proper order within seconds. I just have to recall ROYGBIV -- for red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet -- a memory aid, which I learned from my elementary science teacher.
A rainbow appears when sunlight is dispersed as it goes through raindrops. This colorful display can also be artificially created by dispersing water droplets into the air, like tossing upwards the jet stream of a water hose, during a sunny day.
The arc shape is due to the curvature of the earth. If the horizon will not obstruct our vision, like the view from an airplane in flight, a rainbow will appear as a complete circle.
In the old days when the appearance of a rainbow cannot be fully explained, legends were attributed to it. It is said at the end of a rainbow, there's a pot of gold. But now we know that you can never actually reach the end of a rainbow.
As you move, the rainbow that your eyes see moves as well. And yes, there's no pot of gold.
The greatest importance given to the rainbow is when God used it as the symbol of His covenant with man that terrestrial life would never again be destroyed by flood. (Genesis 9.12-16) "And God said, this is the token of the covenant which I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for perpetual generations: -- I do set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a covenant between me and the earth. And it shall come to pass, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the bow shall be seen in the cloud: And I will remember my covenant, which is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and the waters shall no more become a flood to destroy all flesh. And the bow shall be in the cloud; and I will look upon it, that I may remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is upon the earth."
God kept His promise. Yes, we still have killer floods but they are not as big as the one that took place during Noah's time. But the danger still lurks. Man and all earthly life are still threatened with annihilation. But it is not due to God's wrath, but by man's own doing. That is his neglect of nature.
Some of the global environmental problems we now face threaten to wipe out all living things: global warming and it's accompanying climate change; mass extinction of species which will affect the food chain; ozone layer depletion; lack of safe drinking water; massive deforestation; over-extraction of resources; pollution; etc.
So I feel the rainbow has taken a new meaning. It is not simply a reminder of God's covenant with Noah, but an expression of his great concern to what is happening to our environment. I think He is saying, "Hey look, I promised not to wipe you out again, but please don't overuse and abuse my creation. Otherwise you will kill yourself!"
To which I hope all of humanity will answer: "Dear Lord, look at the rainbow, mightily displayed in the clear, smog-free sky, brought by UV-free sunlight reflecting on the sprinkle of acid-free rain. This is our commitment Lord that we will be good stewards of your creation. We promise to moderate our greed."
