A simple but profound symbol, the rainbow

“This is the sign of the covenant that I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for all future generations. I have set my bow in the clouds, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and all the earth.” (Genesis 9:12-13)

I wear one of those rubber bracelets on my right wrist. It is rainbow-colored with the word EQUALITY stamped on it. I forget about it, but I would guess that two or three people a day notice it, probably without thinking about what it might represent. If they asked, here is what it means for me: no one can define loving relationships for anyone else. Who loves whom is personal to the lovers, society must not define that. In my opinion, there should never have been any question about people of the same gender being married.

The profile picture for my social media presence has the rainbow flag for background.

As a result, some couples seeking a wedding officiant have contacted me specifically because they wanted to make sure there was no question about same gender ceremonies or gay and lesbian participants in their weddings. That pleases me because that is exactly the message I hope to convey.

I love to see rainbows. Once in a while, there is a complete arc across the sky. I try to pull off the road and watch it and always think of the leprechaun sitting on the top of a pot of gold at the end and wonder. Once, when I was flying a small plane across rural Wisconsin there were little puffs of clouds everywhere, most of them smaller than my aircraft. Since I could see all around them and knew it was safe, I flew directly into one. For that second of entering before I popped out the other side, I saw a complete rainbow circle. Wow. Thankfully there were many more so I could do it again a few more times.

Humans have always reacted to this weather phenomenon with wonder. The Jewish scripture quote above gives an ultimate meaning to the rainbow but whatever religious outlook one has, there is still a kind of awe and gratitude. Is it any mystery then why those of us who believe in marriage equality fly the rainbow flag? We are celebrating the greatest of hopes, that love wins over all.