Exodus 17:1-7, Romans 5:1-11, John 4:5-42, Psalm
95
The Rev. Kristen Dobyns
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Good morning.
On this cold winter morning, I expect most of you have already had
something hot to drink: something to quench your thirst and also to warm you
before going out into the cold and snowy day. I also expect it was not a problem to obtain the water.
But, have you ever had to worry about fresh clean
water to drink? Sometimes the
pipes freeze in the cold, and burst.
Perhaps you live in the country with a well and the electricity is out
so your water pump wonŐt work.
Maybe you have experienced a boil advisory. Usually this is when sewers overflow in rainy weather
contaminating our water supply. Or
perhaps you have hiked or backpacked in a wilderness site. Perhaps in an area where you had to
carry your water with you because there wasnŐt any there to drink. Or perhaps you have camped in an area
with abundant water that is not safe to drink due to contamination with Giardia
Lamblia or ecoli. This week a
favorite fishing pond in Richmond was closed because of heavy metal
contamination of the fish. And of
course, we all know how important bottled water was to the people recovering
from Hurricane Katrina.
TodayŐs passages are a reminder that for many in
desert countries, clean water to drink is not always easy to find. And also a reminder that the water we
take for granted may not always be there for us either.
The Israelites were thirsty. They had left Egypt, crossed the Red Sea safely, and were
traveling through the desert. Now
God had already provided manna for them to eat but today they were worried
about water. Without water to
drink you cannot long survive in the desert.
Maybe it wasnŐt a good idea to leave Egypt. Even though enslaved, there had been
food and drink. Now, what if they
died of dehydration in the desert.
What if they survived for a while longer but their livestock died? Then they would really be in trouble.
I know Moses was upset when the people quarreled with
him. He was afraid their anger
would lead them to stone him.
Moses, stuck between the people and God again, cried out to the Lord,
asking what to do with these people.
But, I have trouble not identifying myself with the
people too. I can imagine myself
traveling in the desert with a husband and some children. I can hear the children complaining of
thirst. I can hear the baby crying
to nurse as I, who am becoming quite dehydrated cannot provide enough milk to
sustain the infantŐs life. Yes, I
can see how easy it would be for the people to become quarrelsome.
And then, in our gospel, even Jesus is thirsty. Traveling through Samaria, a land at
enmity with the Jewish people, he stopped at JacobŐs well, a well-known site
for both Samaritans and Jews.
Jesus stopped at mid-day, sending his disciples off to buy food. Most women went to the well in the cool
of the morning or evening but there is one woman there alone in the heat of the
noonday sun and Jesus asks her for some water to drink.
Why is she there alone in the middle of the day? As Jesus draws out her story, we can
imagine that the other women probably ostracized her for her circumstances and
made it uncomfortable for her to draw water with the rest of them.
We are almost halfway through our Lenten journey to
Good Friday and Easter. It is a
time we are called to be more intentional about our lives; a time to reflect on
where we have been and on where we are going.
It is a time to think about when you and I have
experienced a wilderness or desert in our lives; a time when we felt so thirsty
for a different life, for a different set of problems or for less grief or
troubles, a time when we looked for some assurance of GodŐs presence with us in
our lives.
Can we identify with those quarrelsome Israelites, can
we see ourselves in them? Or can
we identify with the Samaritan woman.
We really donŐt know her story.
All we know is that Jesus had a long conversation with her. We know she was a woman, a Samaritan
(the enemies of the Jews), and that she was drawing water from the well at an
unusual time. We do not know why
she had five husbands. Perhaps all
had died. We are not called to
judge. Jesus didnŐt. He just talked to her about living
water, gushing up as a spring to eternal life.
Self-reflection is not always easy. But, we are called to this discipline
during Lent. We are called to see
in what ways we look to God for living water to quench the thirst in our daily
lives. We are called to examine
how we might be testing God or how we might be trusting God in our own
wilderness experience. We are
called in Romans to examine the ways we thirst in our lives for that peace and
reconciliation with God that can give us the strength to endure our sufferings
and the character development to produce hope that does not disappoint us.
The Israelites were thirsty. They needed water and they complained. They wondered if God was with
them. And God showed Moses where
to strike the rock at Horeb so they might have water. ItŐs a story about people testing God, doubting God, looking
for a sign of GodŐs grace and finding one.
The Samaritan woman, who appears to be ostracized by
both Samaritans and Jews, who draws water alone in the heat of the noonday sun,
meets Jesus and becomes involved in the longest conversation he has with anyone
in JohnŐs gospel. Not only is her
thirst for answers fulfilled but then Jesus spends two more days with the
Samaritans who then proclaim, Ň for we have heard for ourselves, and we know
that this is truly the Savior of the world.
These stories are all signs to point us to the reality
that God knows when we thirst and seeks to quench our thirst, our thirst for
water, for relationship and love, and our thirst for God.
We too need signs. In liturgical churches, we have many such signs. The baptismal font at the back of the
church, filled with blessed water reminds us of our own baptisms when we were
adopted into GodŐs family. The
bread and wine of our Sunday Eucharist is a sign to us of JesusŐ body and
blood, broken for us, blessed, and to be shared with each other and with the
world.
When we are thirsty we need to drink. When we thirst for the spiritual, when
we thirst for a closer relationship with God, we need to drink from the
wellsprings of our faith. Daily
prayer to God, self-reflection in quiet meditation or prayer, and weekly food
from the Eucharist can meet these needs.
Celebrating the liturgical seasons of the church year together reminds
us of where we have been and where we are going in our ongoing journey of
faith. Hearing scripture each
Sunday reminds us that we too are part of the story of GodŐs people journeying
through lifeŐs gardens and deserts.
We can expect guidance from God just as the story of
Moses and the testy Israelites teaches.
We can expect guidance from God, when we hear about Jesus reaching out
to a woman (at a time when men did not talk to women) of a hated enemy. GodŐs message was for everyone. Paul reminds us that ÔGod proves his
love for us in that while we still were sinners Christ died for us.Ő We are justified by faith not actions
or deeds, faith in Jesus Christ, which gives us peace with God.
For me it is a lived experience. I once hoped that my thirst and need
could be taken care of magically all at once by God and then I would be
fine. What I learned instead is
that praying shapes belief and attitude.
I learned to experience the love of God in Christian community, in
Christian worship, in corporate prayer, in the confession and passing of the
peace, and in that Holy Communion where we share ChristŐs Body and Blood with
each other. As time went by, I
discovered my thirst quenched and my spirit healed. I discovered that as I was fed, I could be sent out into the
world and feed others too.
We live in a web of relationships with each other and
with all living things in this earth.
We are called to share our water with each other, to share our lives
with each other, and to go out into the world in peace to feed others with that
living water that gushes up to eternal life.
Amen.