Sunday, August 11, 2024
/Pentecost – Proper 14
1 Kings 19: 4-8; Psalm 34: 1-8; Ephesians 4:25-5:2; John 6: 35, 41-51
The Rev. James M.L. Grace
In the Name of God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. AMEN.
When I was a teenager, one day I hiked up Camelback Mountain in Phoenix, Arizona with my father. It was sometime during the summer, it was the middle part of the day, and the sun’s heat bore down on us. We did not adequately prepare for the hike, meaning we did not carry nearly enough water, and by the end of the hike, I had a mild heatstroke from the heat and the dehydration. Since then I have been hypervigilant about carrying enough water, never wanting to repeat what I experienced at Camelback Mountain.
However, I also have an incredibly short memory, and last week I went for a hike in the Rocky Mountain National Park, and – you guessed it – I did not bring enough water. It wasn’t a terribly long hike, but it was long enough for me to run out of water and for an hour or two my mouth was very dry, and the heated dust kicking up from the trail irritated my throat. Obviously, this was a first world problem – I was thirsty only for a few hours. Once we got back to the cabin, I drank a lot of water, and I was fine.
Regardless, the experience left me thinking about water and thirst. More specifically I wondered how many people in the world contend with water scarcity as part of their daily lives. So I did some research, and found an article which referenced a recent report from the United Nation on global water insecurity. According to the United Nations report, approximately two billion people around the world do not have access to clean or safe drinking water[1]. That means that about one out of every four people on our planet deals with water scarcity on a daily basis.
We are going to do something about that today. We are going to donate all of our loose plate cash and coin collection along with designated checks to The Water Project. The Water Project is a non-profit organization that provides clean, safe, and reliable water across many projects, specifically in sub-Saharan Africa. The Water Project has a four-star rating on Charity Navigator, which is the highest rating that web site gives to non-profits for how they use funds they receive to go directly toward their mission.
Today St. Andrew’s will help make clean water a reality for people we most likely will never meet. That is a miracle.
As a church, St. Andrew’s not only is wanting to treat physical thirst, but also to do something about the spiritual thirst - or dehydration – from which all of us suffer. Next week on Sunday mornings we will begin a series of classes for adults, youth, and children that cover a variety of subjects at the 9:30 hour. At our 10:30 service next week we will begin children’s chapel which will follow the children’s sermon. We have Bible studies for men and women starting this Wednesday which offer opportunities to explore the Bible in community. We are doing this because we are all thirsty people. We all thirst for what is real, we thirst for truth.
Next month St. Andrew’s will begin a service on Saturday evenings at 5:30 PM, for people thirsting for God, but who don’t necessarily find God very easily on Sunday mornings. You can read more about these, and many more offerings at St. Andrew’s in this year’s Fall Ministry Brochure. Please pick up a copy, read it, and see where you can find water to nourish your spiritual thirst.
A final, and brief, word on today’s scriptures from 1 Kings and the Gospel of John. In the reading from 1 Kings we encounter the Hebrew prophet Elijah who has fled from the evil king Ahab and his wife Queen Jezebel. Elijah is hungry, tired, and thirsty. He says is ready to die. What does God do? God door-dashes food and water to him! God provides the food and water Elijah desperately needed. In the Gospel of John, Jesus says that whoever believes in Him will never thirst. Jesus is our spiritual water source. It is always available to us, but we have to be willing to drink.
And to close out this sermon, when we can finally admit to God how honestly hungry and thirsty we are, God will feed us and offer us the water of life. And that - that is where our spiritual journey truly begins. Don’t forget the water project. Be generous. AMEN.
[1] U.N. report finds 1 in 4 people don't have access to clean drinking water : NPR