There's a lot that separates us
from the world of the Bible. They didn't
worry with keeping their car engines tuned and their tires at the right
pressure or rush to read the stock reports and the sports scores in the paper
each day. They didn't surf the net or chat with friends by e-mail or forget to
set their alarms and miss their morning classes. They never lost their cell
phones or jumped up to answer them wherever they were. We live in a very
different world. But the deep human issues of relationship, community, society,
and spirituality are the same. Those basic dynamics never change. And neither
does our common need for water. Issues about water - accessibility,
purity, storage - are something we and the ancient Hebrews have in common. We
have to protect our access to good water. It was the same in ancient
A spring was the best because it was living water - fresh, clear, cool. In a few
places wells were dug which could supply a whole area with good water as long
as the water table held. The land had few reliable streams and only one real
river. Because of the scarcity of water some communities dug out cisterns, open
pits lined with impervious clay, to hold the runoff from the occasional rain.
But this water was of poor quality, carrying dirt and bugs and sticks and
leaves from the land it drained. It easily became brackish, even polluted.
This is the image Jeremiah uses
in our scripture today. Like Israel's
other classical prophets, Jeremiah sees the widespread idolatry in the land,
their worship of the popular gods, their driving greed, the oppression of the
poor by the rich, the casual disregard of their fellow Israelites who are
suffering, their misplaced trust in the strength of their arms and alliances.
The prophets don't shrug off these problems as normal, the way the real world
always is. They see them as a spiritual tragedy of the first order. In our text
today God complains through the prophet, calling on creation itself to see the
foolishness of Israel: "Be appalled, O heavens, at this, be shocked, be
utterly desolate, says the Lord, for my people have committed two evils: they
have forsaken me, the fountain of living water, and dug out cisterns for
themselves, cracked cisterns that can hold no water" (Jer 2:12-13).
Like
Disaster fell on Israel when they lost focus, when they abandoned the core values
that made them the strong people of God, when they trusted in politics and
wealth and war to save them instead of trusting in God. Now I ask you, what would
Jeremiah see if he looked at our land today? What would he say to us, about us?
This summer I had the privilege
of attending our Conference meeting in
On one occasion they were coming back from a mission - hot, tired, frustrated,
everybody on their last nerve. Dressed in full armor like everyone else,
it was hard to tell he was a chaplain, except chaplains are not allowed to
carry any weapons. Nevertheless, when the convoy of jeeps and trucks pulled up
by the gate and they were all ordered to get out and fire their weapons into
the clearing barrels, the commanding officer was not happy at how slowly this
one soldier was moving. Not recognizing the chaplain, he told him in so many
words what a slacker he was, that his hindquarters better obey headquarters
posthaste, that he better get out of the truck right now and clear his weapon.
Whereupon the chaplain got out of the truck, took out his Bible, pointed it
into the clearing barrel and yelled "Bang! Bang! Bang!”.
Everybody laughed, even the commanding officer, and the tension was broken. Not
only the chambered rounds but the pent up frustrations had been released into
the clearing barrel. Wouldn't it be great if every family had a clearing barrel
outside the door so all the frustrations and irritations and hostilities of the
day could be released before they come in?
We do have a way of dumping the
trash on the people who are closest to us,
or of keeping it all pent up inside until it pollutes our own spirit like a
clogged well. Nothing good can get through, and everyone who comes into contact
with us is affected negatively by our rancor or our cynicism or our depression.
If we don't tend the well to keep the good water flowing, the trash will choke
out everything that depends on it. What is the trash that clogs our
wells? The news can do it most days…other people, the kind who never have
anything good to say…the things people say to us, not thinking, or those
who intentionally wound us with their words. Ordinary frustrations, too: a flat
tire, a traffic jam, a computer crash. Most days we are resilient enough to
deal with these unexpected interruptions but there are times when we are
vulnerable and the least little thing feels like a total disaster. But the
trash we choke on is more than life's little irritations. We are bombarded by
messages that run counter to everything the gospel tells us about loving other
people, about building a society with compassion for all people, about what
gives our lives value and meaning. We are told we are only worth what wealth we
control, what jobs we have. We are told that might makes right and violence is
the best way to stake our place in the world. We are barraged with words
intended to humiliate and damage people with whom the speakers disagree, with
hate speech and tough talk in a variety of forms. We are shown that profits are
more important than people, the comfort of a few more important than the health
of the many. We are marinated in the racism, sexism, and classism
of our culture…every day single day.
Of course, I'm not saying our
American culture is totally evil. I'm not
saying we are worse than any other nation. But it seems to me at this moment we
aren't striving with our best ideals of all people created equal, of liberty and
justice for all, of mutual dignity and respect, of people being more important
than things, of caring for one another. And all these other idolatries and
self-centered values and abuses of power are not the stuff of life they are
advertised to be, but soul-killing substitutes for life. They fill us with
trash and clog our wellsprings of joy. That's not who we are. As followers of
the Christ, those aren't our values. And maybe we lack the power to change our
whole culture. Maybe we can't do much to make the world different. But we can
keep ourselves from believing the lies. We can remember our source and our
values and our way as followers of Christ in the world.
That's why we come here…to remember…to renew…to come together at
the source of life and clean out the spring. Here we listen to a scripture from
Hebrews that tells us:
Let
mutual love continue. Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by
doing that some have entertained angels without knowing it. (Humm? Do you think that might be a hint from God about
volunteering for the Community Thanksgiving Dinner?) Remember those
who are in prison, as though you were in prison with them; those who are being
tortured, as though you yourselves were being tortured. Let marriage be held in
honor by all, and let the marriage bed be kept undefiled; for God will judge
fornicators and adulterers. Keep your lives free from the love of money, and be
content with what you have; for he has said, "I will never leave you or
forsake you." So we can say with confidence, "The Lord is my helper;
I will not be afraid. What can anyone do to me?" Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are
pleasing to God (Hebrews 13:1-8, 16)
Here we listen to a gospel
story where Jesus says,
When
you give a luncheon or a dinner, do not invite your friends or your brothers or
your relatives or rich neighbors, in case they may invite you in return, and
you would be repaid. But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the
crippled, the lame, and the blind. And you will be blessed, because they cannot
repay you, for you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous (Luke 14:12-14).
Could anything be more
countercultural to the values of our day?
Can you imagine hearing such things from our political candidates or the
nightly news? Who cares about the poor, about strangers, or prisoners these
days? Where are you going to hear that money's not all that important but
sexual fidelity is and trusting in the Lord is the most important thing of all?
That's why we come here. To remember who we are. To remember where real life is
found.
We take this time, this
appointed hour with God, this good
gathering with God's family, for granted. It's easier to sleep in. But this
time with God in worship is so important to our mental and emotional and
spiritual health. Because maybe we can't change the world.
But we can keep the world from changing us, from killing our souls with its
words and its ways.
I want to encourage you to join us here every week, to make it a habit of your
heart. We all need to gather with God's people regularly and rake out the trash
that's been dumped on us all week, clear the spring of living water from the
loving Christ alive in our heart of hearts. We all need to remember who we are
and why we are here and that we are included and beloved and worthy of the love
of God. We all need to remember our mission to embody God's love in whatever we
do and for whomever we meet in the new week ahead. We all need to refresh our
souls at the wellspring of life through the experience of worship.
May we pray?
Renew our souls, O Lord. Clear
away the anxieties and animosities, the confusions and sorrows we've picked up
this week. Remind us you are God and we are your children, that Christ is with
us and we are not alone. Refresh the joy we knew when we first followed you and
help us to stay connected with you each day, to listen to your voice within
over the many voices without who offer us sorry substitutes and soul killing
poisons they peddle as real life. Lead us through this week ahead to be
carriers of your grace that we might model and proclaim a better way, a love
that leaves no one out, a compassion that cares for all, a
confidence that knows where real riches lie. And bring us back again to this
place where we might sing your praise and worship you in the name of Jesus, our
savior and sovereign and source. Amen.
Mary Anne Biggs, Pastor
Nekoosa United
Nekoosa