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Sermon - The
Water of Life
Isaiah 58:9b-12, John
4:3-26
Sermon preached by Rev. Jeanette Mathews
As I was preparing the services for today with
the theme of the Water of Life I was quite surprised at the many references
and resources I came across - in fact I wondered why we don't talk more
about water in the church.
The Scriptures are full of references to water
and water sources too - not surprising I suppose when we realise the bible
stories were set in a hot and dry environment that made water an important
symbol of blessing and abundance. But think of the many stories of characters
meeting at wells or rivers, Isaac and Rebekah, Jacob and Rachel, Naaman and
Elisha, John the Baptist and Jesus. God's judgement and blessing are often
seen in stories of water: the flood, the withholding of rain, the provision of
water from the rock in the wilderness and prophetic texts of promise like we
heard from Isaiah held a message of hope in the refreshing and revitalising
nature of water. The story of God's saving action seen at the red sea as the
Exodus community escaped Pharoah's army became a foundational event for the
Old Testament. Water was also important in the purity laws - and often an
expression for removing sin (you have washed me whiter than snow). But the
powerful side of water is heard too in the psalms and poetic books. God is
present in the destructive storm as well as the refreshing spring rains.
Rivers are mentioned right through the bible
also: on the first and last pages in fact and frequently in between.
A river of life is mentioned in Genesis 2 -
part of the original creation of the world which was good and provided life
for all. No living thing can survive without accessible water - it is the
most basic resource of all life. On 27 November 2002 the United Nations agreed
that "The human right to water is indispensable for leading a
healthy human life in human dignity, and indeed is a pre-requisite to the
realisation of all other human rights." The Genesis story reminds
us that humans are created in God's image, and are charged to live
responsibly in the midst of the good creation. The text tells us that the
river divided into four streams, including the Euphrates, and each time the
Euphrates river has been shown on TV in recent days I've been reminded of
this significant story of origin in Genesis and wondered if we are living up
to God's challenge in creation.
Psalm 46 proclaims there is a River of safety
in the midst of Jerusalem, we will sing of that later. The Jordan is seen as
a river of challenge - the place where Jesus was baptised and John called
for people to turn their lives around. (Mk 1) More baptisms are scattered
through Acts as the early church spread its message of hope, and the bible
finishes with another mention of the River of Life - perhaps to be thought
of as a River of hope and healing with its vision of the reign of Christ over
all the earth. (Rev 22).
Water in fact is a central metaphor in most
religions and cultures - holy rivers, holy water, purifying waters, even the
importance of running water in Feng Shui philosophy. As we've already
noticed, water was important in the Old Testament for purification, cleansing
and repentance. We know of Jewish communities around the first century that
regularly used baptism like rituals for purification. As baptism is introduced
in the New Testament, it was a once and for all act rather than ritual
cleansing, so it was given a lasting significance. Baptism is spoken of as
rebirth, and is linked to the baptism of the Holy Spirit which becomes a gift
for all the people of God, not just the prophets.
And actually, I think that water is a
significant but neglected image of the Holy Spirit - we're familiar with
wind, fire, dove but water as refreshing rain or fountain welling up to water
the land is a wonderful image that we could make more of in our dry continent.
But thinking about water shouldn't stay at
the figurative level only - its importance as a physical necessity for life
is also something to be brought into our reflection as Christians who are part
of a needy world. Our country is a signatory to the WHO statement mentioned
already - that water is a fundamental human right -and also to the
Millennium Goals, of which the7th has a target of halving by 2015 the
proportion of people without access to safe drinking water. Christian churches
are taking up these Millennium Goals through the "Micah Challenge"
that we have heard of in our church before. In this International Year of
Fresh Water this target to increase access to safe drinking water has come to
the forefront, resulting to campaigns such as the Water Matters campaign
mentioned in my pastoral letter.
We have been aware for some months now that our
country has areas of serious drought - so we may be more mindful of this
basic human right to water. But on the other hand, it may make us blind to the
very privileged situation we still live in, despite our water restrictions.
Over 1 billion people worldwide lack access to a safe water supply, and over
2.4 billion do not have adequate sanitation. We are merely inconvenienced by
restrictions relating to washing our cars and watering our gardens. If the
conditions world wide are going to improve it will mean a change in attitude
amongst those of us who take water for granted now. My sister-in-law works as
a researcher for Melbourne Water and spoke to me during the week of the huge
importance of water recycling to maintain appropriate levels of potable water
even in our country. I also read an article in the Canberra Times on this
topic during the week. The pastoral letter gives some good resources for
ideas.
But let's turn to the woman at the well - a
story of an encounter with Jesus that may find resonances with us as we think
about the water of life today.
John in his gospel carefully crafts this story
to highlight the Samaritan woman as an ideal disciple. He uses the
conversation between her and Jesus to lead to the identification of Jesus as
one who gives "living water" to those who ask. All of the references
to water in the gospel of John signal transformation - challenging the first
hearers of the gospel as well as us today to see if that transforming power is
still present in the church. At the wedding at Cana in John 2 Jesus
transformed purification jars of water into fantastic wine, symbolising new
life offered through the Spirit. John's is the only gospel with an account
of Jesus washing the feet of the disciples - transforming leadership into
service.
The story of the Samaritan woman and Nicodemus
in the chapter before can be seen as parallel encounters, although when the
stories are contrasted to each other she is the more exemplary follower of
Jesus. Nicodemus, a respectable leader of the Jews came by night to see Jesus,
was confused by the talk of being born again of water and the spirit, and went
away alone - there are only hints later in the gospel that it may have been
a transforming encounter for him. The woman, on the other hand, with no name,
no status, and no respectability encountered Jesus in broad daylight,
persisted through her confusion at his talk of living water and when she left
was a transformed person - an evangelist no less, who not only went back to
her community to tell them of her encounter, but brought them back to Jesus.
The Samaritan woman had access to water through
the ancient well in her village. But the story is more about spiritual
refreshment than physical water or food. Yes, Jesus began the encounter by
asking her for a drink. But he had much more than physical thirst in mind. He
was aiming at the thirst that lay hidden deep within her. The "living
water" wasn't just refreshment on her spiritual journey, it was the
answer to her deepest need. It took her a while to recognise that. In fact,
when she thought she had grasped the meaning of this "living water"
she hadn't at all. Why was she at the well in the middle of the day?
Possibly because she was a social outcast, a misfit, embarrassed to be in the
company of others. The fact that she had had 5 husbands and was now living
with a man who was not her husband has often been understood as an indication
of an immoral life, but it may just have reflected a life of great hardship
where she had been rejected by a series of men, perhaps because of an
inability to bear children, and was now eking out an existence at the
benevolence of a man who was not willing to marry her. Whichever way we
understand it, she would have been an object of pity in her community. When
Jesus spoke of living water was he offering her a way to avoid the public
humiliation altogether? A private tap in her kitchen perhaps? When the
conversation took another turn and she realised he knew her situation and yet
accepted her and respected her, she tasted freedom and was released from her
self-imposed isolation. This must be a man from God, a prophet at least. This
new knowledge gave her courage to ask theological questions - about worship
and the possibility of the coming Messiah. Imagine her amazement when Jesus
identified himself to her - what a transformation the story paints for us: she
leaves her bucket behind and goes back into her village to tell her people the
good news that God has done one of his surprising and amazing acts in history
- he has sent the long-awaited Messiah who will revive and renew his people.
Physical needs are forgotten in the satisfaction of that knowledge -
spiritual food for the mind and living water for the soul.
We need to respond to this story on two levels:
Do we know the refreshment of living water in
our lives: water that answers our deepest needs?
Do we know the acceptance of
Jesus no matter what our past pain and failures? Are we free to share that
message of love and hope with our neighbours and friends?
But what of those who cannot see the spiritual
because they do not even have access to the physical? What is our
responsibility then? Can we play a part in such people having access to the
Saviour of life before we meet their physical needs?
When Michael Smitheram left to take up the role
of promoting the Micah Challenge for the global church he left a small booklet
that was hot off the press, written by Alfonso Wieland, a Peruvian lawyer who
has founded an organisation called "Paz y esperanza" (Peace and
Hope). This faith-based non-profit organisation carries out programs in legal
defence, conflict resolution, prison ministry, human rights education,
counselling, prevention of domestic violence and church leadership. One of the
most challenging chapters in the book was the assertion that human beings have
the choice of three different ways of relating to others.
The first choice is that of a
"tourist" - someone who has the attitude of a consumer. The
tourist is capable of having their picture taken beside a poor child in India
and then the next year attending the World Cup soccer matches where they can
be pictured beside world famous players. Both experiences are new discoveries
to be captured and shown to their friends, but the humanity of those
encounters is ignored once the experience is over. It's as if there is a
great chasm between the tourist and the people they are observing.
The second choice he calls an "Idiot" - from the Greek word "idion"
which means total indifference to one's surroundings. The Idiot may be
perfectly capable in business, participate in church, love their family, but
remains self-centred, uninterested in the fate of others. In some ways it is a
very natural reaction - because there is a risk in involving yourself too
deeply in someone else's life. The reason given by Indonesia for closing
doors on a boatload of Asian refugees was that they may be carrying the SARS
virus. No doubt the same sorts of concerns will be expressed by our government
should they reach our shores. The attitude of this person is to be
uninterested in the fate of that boatload of people as long as it will not
directly affect us.
But the third choice, Weiland writes, is that
of a citizen - the one who understands themself as part of a community, with
rights and obligations to that community. One who has compassion on those in
need, to serve them because their worth as human beings created in God's
image is as valuable as my worth. In our global consciousness we are involved
with the world-wide community, and while there is poverty, pain, physical
hunger and lack of basic water, our message of spiritual fulfilment can only
be carried as we would carry it to our own brothers and sisters, with a
concern that they have what they need. This is the message of the Isaiah text
- "If you offer your food to the hungry, and satisfy the needs
of the afflicted, then you shall be like a watered garden, like a
spring whose waters never fail."
We don't want to be tourists, separated from
others by our wealth and opportunities, nor self-centred "idiots",
uninterested in anything outside of ourselves. So let us keep asking ourselves
if the stories of our faith are transforming our lives so that we can in turn
change the dry deserts of our world into places of hope. May God guide us as we seek to share his good
news in our world today.
27 April 2003
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