Jeremiah 17:5-10

Psalm 1

1 Corinthians 15:12-20

Luke 6:17-26

Mt. Zion UMC, Stokesdale, NC

11 February 2007

Drink More Water

 

          I’ll admit it; I spent a long time in school.  I also spent a lot of time reading in school… which is probably a good thing because my vocation as a pastor requires that I read a whole lot.  While in school I learned some things besides just textbook information… I also learned techniques to learn that textbook information at a faster rate.  Truthfully, I’m a slow reader which can be an obstacle when you’re expected to read a whole lot in a short period of time.  So, while in school, I developed some shortcuts to expedite my reading.  One such method is to find the bold faced words and read just enough to understand them.  You see, these bold faced words are usually signals to some important information.  I’ve found that the Bible has similar signals to important passages as well.  Now, I’m not simply talking about those red-lettered words in the New Testament.  This week’s reading from Jeremiah, for instance, starts off with one of those important signals; “Thus says the Lord.”  Now, I’m not advocating that you simply skim the Bible looking for phrases that begin with “Thus says the Lord,” but these signals do typically indicate information that we should probably take notice of.  For instance, what other Bible story might come to mind that used the phrase, “Thus says the Lord?”  [Wait for responses]  That’s right, Moses mentioned this phrase when he spoke to the Pharaoh.  And what happened to Pharaoh when he didn’t pay too much attention to the “Thus says the Lord” information?  [Wait for responses]  Yup, a bunch of bad stuff.  Maybe we should take a closer look at this “Thus says the Lord” passage from Jeremiah and find out what God has to say.

          This passage is divided into two parts: the first, a desert.  Imagine, if you will, a scene from an old western movie… possibly starring John Wayne.  The camera pans across the edge of some one-horse town with a dusty dirt road leading over the horizon.  There is nothing that stands out in the scene, not even a cactus.  Then a gust of wind.  Below a cloud of dust rolls a dried-out, dead tumbleweed.  It rolls from one side of the screen to the other with no hope of finding a place to rest.  It has no control of where the wind blows it.  And it has no place where its roots can find water.  It’s blown off screen, never to be seen or even thought of again.  This image is not unlike the image painted by Jeremiah in our scripture lesson.  The author likens those who turn away from God and put their trust in mortals to a shrub in the desert.  And this shrub is not simply in the desert, it’s “in the parched places of the wilderness.”  As if simply being in the desert isn’t dry enough!

          The second part of the reading from Jeremiah paints quite a different scene.  It doesn’t go into too much detail.  Actually the only thing that it describes is that there is water nearby.  As far as we know, this picture could also be in the wilderness.  The only difference that Jeremiah makes is that this new plant, a tree, is rooted by water.  This water makes all the difference for the tree.

          You know, I have a very special place in my heart for water – it’s a kind of love/hate feeling actually.  You see, at Navy Chaplains’ School, I learned the importance of water.  For the Navy, water’s importance goes beyond simply being the stuff our ships sail through.  It also happens to be the cure for anything that may ail you in the Navy or the Marines.  Anytime I went to see the medical chief or the corpsman they would always prescribe water.  “Chief, I’ve got a sore throat.”  “Drink more water, sir.”  “Doc” – that’s what we called the corpsman, they’re the Navy’s version of a medic.  “Doc, I feel sick to my stomach.”  Sir, you should drink more water.”  Although there’s no documentation of this ever happening, I’m sure that sometime in our Navy and Marine Corps’ history this exchange occurred.  “Doc, it’s my arm.  I think it’s broken.”  “Drink more water, sir.”

          Water was not simply an after the fact cure.  We were told to constantly be sipping water while we were on road marches.  Actually, we were to carry two canteens on our person at all times when we were in the field and three if we had our all of our gear on.  And all these canteens were to be full before we even thought about stepping off on a march.  We were to be filling these canteens whenever we found a clean water source.  And in the times in-between, we were to be sipping water… whether or not we were thirsty.  I can still hear Gunnery Sergeant Collier to this day… usually in my nightmares… “Chaplains, if you are dog-gone thirsty, then you are already dog-gone dehydrated.  Drink water!!!!!”  At which point we were to unscrew the tops of our canteens and drink what ever water was left in them.  Woe to those with an abundance of water left in their canteens.  This fanatical devotion to water was not some obscure training ritual that our drill instructor practiced on us.  Instead, it was an essential aspect of survival.  The human body is 60% water.  All life needs water in order to live.  In the list of priorities for sustaining human life, water comes 2nd only after oxygen.  Human beings can live for 30 days without food, but only 3 days without water.  Water is essential for life.

          Jeremiah uses the portrait of a tree by the water to describe those who trust the Lord.  Just as water is necessary for our life here on earth, God is necessary for our lives eternally.

          Yet, the tree has roots that reach out to the water.  What are our roots?  Our roots are what we set our hearts and minds to.  It’s the things that we reach out to in both time of need as well as time of contentment.

          In our reading from the Gospel of Luke, we hear Jesus teaching on the plain.  The Gospel of Matthew describes this teaching as occurring on a mount.  Plain or mount, the message is essentially the same.  Jesus calls the poor blessed, while saying “woe to the rich.”  Actually a better translation for Jesus’ “woe” is much, much stronger.  Scholars have been a bit puzzled by these teachings.  Some have come to the conclusion that the poor are blessed because they have no one but God to turn to and so will turn to God immediately.  The rich, on the other hand, will typically turn first to their own resources – their wealth – and will fixate on the things of this world for their deliverance.  Maybe this is the case.  After all, what do we rely on… the gifts and graces we’ve received from God, or the resources, money, and skills we claim are ours?

          The most distressing thing about this reading from Luke is the understanding that we here in the United States are not the poor who are blessed.  Yes, there are some in the United States who are desperately poor and homeless, but the fact remains that most people in the United States have a warm bed to sleep in, shelter over their heads, and food to eat.  Is there anyone here today that worries if they will have a place to sleep tonight, or where their next meal will come from?  We don’t typically feel we have to rely on God for these things because we expect them to be provided for us by companies and utilities that we have paid for with our own money.  It’s very easy for us to overlook our need in more spiritual and eternal matters when we have little need in temporal or worldly matters.

          So, how do we reach out to God’s grace – that spiritual, eternal, life-bringing water?  What are our roots?  Our roots are the things that allow us to receive God’s grace.  Our roots are the means of grace.  Acts of piety: Holy Communion, prayer – public and private, scripture study, hearing scripture read aloud and preached upon, worship, and fasting are some of our most powerful roots.  These are the ways in which we must constantly be drinking from God’s river of grace.  And these roots, these means of grace are intended to be used constantly and frequently – weekly, if not daily, if not continually – Yes, especially Holy Communion and even fasting.  These are the roots that reach deeply into our faith and bring the grace of God to our very deepest self to nurture our souls.

          Yet our roots do not just grow deep in the spirit, they also grow outward to our neighbors.  The means of grace are not limited to just the acts of piety, they also include acts of mercy.  Through acts of mercy, we nurture the perfect love of neighbor just as the acts of piety nurture the perfect love of God.  We reach out to our neighbors to share in the blessings of God’s grace – both physically as well as spiritually.  We live lives of generosity because God was generous with the life of Christ.  Yes, even acts that give of ourselves are acts that truly build us up because we are not to be rooted in the “parched wilderness” of this world, but instead we’re to be rooted into the stream of God’s divine grace.

          So, where is the desert in your life?  Where do you need to drink of God’s grace?  Where are the deserts here at Mt. Zion?  Where do we need to be drinking from God’s grace as a congregation?  The funny thing about God’s grace is that like water, we need to be sipping on it constantly and in as many ways as possible.  Just as I could not afford to become dehydrated at Chaplain’s school, no one can afford to become dehydrated spiritually.  Our reaching out for God’s grace should never be done just when we feel thirsty, but should be done at all times and in all ways.

          You know, I’m looking forward to a possible conversation in the Navy.  “Chaplain, my life feels a bit dry.  It’s funny, I’ve got all I need, food, clothes, money; but something’s missing.”  Doc, drink more water.”

 

SDG