There’s a story in the Bible about Noah I think we should consider. No, not the one about the flood. This one involves Noah getting drunk and passing out naked. Scandalous I know, especially considering in Genesis chapter 8 the Bible states Noah was a man who found favor in the eyes of the Lord. It’s not really so much Noah I want to consider, it’s his sons. You see Noah had three and in the particular story of Noah and his nakedness, two of the three extended a mantle of love over their father and the third…well, he ended up cursed slave.
A Mantle of Love
So the story goes, after Noah and his family get off the ark, and offer praise and sacrifice to God, Noah plants a vineyard. He drinks some of his wine and becomes drunk, so drunk he passes out in his tent–naked as a jaybird as my grandma would say. Guess what? Noah was not a man who habitually got drunk and passed out naked. He was not known for his indecency or even poor decisions. He was known as a man who loved and obeyed God. He made a mistake. He didn’t even commit an intentional sin according to the Church Father’s…a venial at the very most.
So Noah is lying there, exposed and totally vulnerable and a family member–one of his sons, Ham–happens upon him in his mistake. Instead of protecting his father, instead of covering his father–literally and figuratively–Ham tells his father’s mistake to the next person he sees. Remember this is right after the flood so there’s not a lot of people around. The next person or people he sees are his two brothers, Shem and Japheth. And can you just imagine how that story got told? Doesn’t matter really how much joking around or back slapping there was on the part of the Ham. The fact is, he found his father in an awkward position and then dishonored his father by exploiting his mistake. He didn’t extend charity or compassion for or over his father…and he ended up being cursed for it.
Shem and Japheth on the other hand…they don’t really care what happened. As far as the scriptures tell, they don’t discuss the problem, ask around to see what the story is or wonder what happened or try to figure out what this all means. They do what any good children would and should do, they extend grace in the form of a cloak to cover their father. Again, we’re not talking about a man known for drunkenness or living a wild and free life. We’re talking about a good man who made a public mistake.
Noah’s two boys extended a mantle of love over their father to protect him and others. They protected their father out of love and reverence and were blessed because of it. You know the scriptures say they even walked backwards to cover their father. Wow. That act of walking backwards to cover Noah shows the utmost love and respect for their father, placed over them by God. They also protected themselves. Nobody of moral integrity wants to see or share the mistakes of others.
Seems we need some of that double coverage these days huh? Let’s not believe everything we read. Let’s not share the misinterpreted words of another. Let’s extend grace and mercy–a mantle of love–over those who may say the wrong the thing or say the right thing in the wrong circumstance or context. As our family says in our Nightly Examen, “Did we assume the best and forgive the worst?”
always talks about–trying to pay off a load of debt so he can call 
and holler, “I’m Debt Free!” Hardworking guy trying to support his family or international scam artist, why couldn’t you have just politely said, “Please remove us from your call list. Thank you.”
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, I realized my saccharine scene was not only gross, but all wrong.
, “Live! I want you to Live! Here is the first and the most fundamental call to us from God.”
) So instead of sitting down and reading my Bible as a text to dissect, I read like the author Tim Gray mentions in his book, 
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