Thirsty!

Exodus 17:1-7 Click to read passage

Reflection:

Have you ever had that feeling of extreme thirst? Maybe it was after a great workout, or after mowing the lawn in the heat of summer….but have you ever come in, grabbed a glass of cold water, and not been able to drink it fast enough to quench your thirst?

Can you imagine being in the company of the Israelites in the desert? They’ve been freed from slavery, but at times they think it would be better to go back, because at least as slaves, they had enough to eat and enough to drink. They are hungry, thirsty, and tired.

The thing that Moses knew, and that the people continued to forget, was that God had promised to walk with them, even through the desert – even through the thirst. The spring of living water we will hear more about this Sunday is actually travelling WITH them through the driest time of their lives! All they have to do is ask, and this spring of living water can even break forth from a rock!

Do you trust in the same promise? Whatever is happening in your life that has you thirsty for grace, acceptance, and unconditional love, do you trust that your God travels with you through the desert? Or do you think God is trapped in religious buildings, rituals and rules?

Come this Sunday to hear more about the God who travels with us through the desert, and brings the living water we seek from the most unexpected places.

Prayer: God of grace, you have promised to be a ‘god on the move’ travelling with your people wherever they go. Help us to trust that even in the driest and thirstiest times in our lives, you will never leave us without the water and grace we seek. Amen.

Free Food?!?

Isaiah 55:1-11 (click link to read passage)

Take a moment – close your eyes – and think of the best family meal time you can remember. Maybe it was during a holiday celebration. Maybe it was a birthday. Maybe it was at a reunion. What is the best memory you have of a meal with your family?

Now answer this question: how much did you pay for that meal? My guess is – it was free – and it was more satisfying than any meal you’ve paid good money for.

My meal memories swirl around Christmas, when uncles, aunts and cousins from far away would come. If I close my eyes, I can still smell the fresh bowl of chilled shrimp; I can still hear the loud sounds of kids playing and adults laughing. Those are some of my most treasured memories, and they surrounded a meal – not one bought at a store, or one that came in a package – but a meal that only existed because of the people who gathered around it.

The same image is present in the passage from Isaiah. This word of hope is coming to a people who are in exile in a foreign land. They are in crisis, and in times of crisis, often people return to the things that matter – to family, to friends, to relying on a community of others.

As I listened to the news on the radio this morning on my way into church, there was a report about the incredible suffering in Japan. One man who was interviewed had a very stoic and realistic approach, however – he said, “this is the time you return to the things that matter.” Japan’s economy is faltering. Money isn’t useful if the stores aren’t open. But the houses of neighbors, family, and friends are always open.

So maybe you can hear those opening words of Isaiah 55 a little differently now – “everyone who thirsts – come to the waters – and you that have no money – come buy and eat!” This is about family – God’s family – where the meals and the grace are always free.

Prayer: God of love, you invite us to step out of our consumer mindset to recognize that you don’t charge us for your gifts. Help us to humbly receive, and freely share the amazing life you have provided. Amen.

The Light Meets the Dark

John 1:1-5 (click link to read passage)

Reflection:

Have you ever turned on a flashlight in a dark room and been afraid it wasn’t going to work? Not because the batteries are dead, but because you’re afraid this time, the darkness will be stronger than the light? Of course not! That’s not how flashlights work. Even a dim flashlight scatters the darkness.

From a purely scientific point of view, darkness is not its own “thing.” It is merely the absence of light. Darkness cannot be strong, powerful, or deep enough to overcome even the smallest light. Darkness has no power. By definition, it is the void left when power and light aren’t present.

So why is it that so often, we think our own personal darkness has power? Why is it that we think somehow, our pasts, our secrets, our pains are strong enough to choke out God’s love?

The opening words of the Gospel of John, linked above, remind us of this powerful truth. The same God we hear about in Genesis speaking LIGHT and LIFE into the void shows up on the cross. The same God who showed up on the cross breaks into our daily lives as well.

Whatever is going on in your world today, take heart that God’s Light shines in the darkness – and the darkness CANNOT, WILL NOT overcome it…

The video I placed in this blog today is of a song by the group Tenth Avenue North entitled “Healing Begins.” The lyrics are printed below. Pay particular attention to the refrain: “This is where the healing begins…when you come to where you’re broken within – the light meets the dark”

LYRICS:

So you thought you had to keep this up

All the work that you do

So we think that you're good

And you can't believe it's not enough

All the walls you built up

Are just glass on the outside

So let 'em fall down

There's freedom waiting in the sound

When you let your walls fall to the ground

We're here now

This is where the healing begins, oh

This is where the healing starts

When you come to where you're broken within

The light meets the dark

The light meets the dark

Afraid to let your secrets out

Everything that you hide

Can come crashing through the door now

But too scared to face all your fear

So you hide but you find

That the shame won't disappear

So let it fall down

There's freedom waiting in the sound

When you let your walls fall to the ground

We're here now

We're here now, oh

This is where the healing begins, oh

This is where the healing starts

When you come to where you're broken within

The light meets the dark

The light meets the dark

Sparks will fly as grace collides

With the dark inside of us

So please don't fight

This coming light

Let this blood come cover us

His blood can cover us

This is where the healing begins, oh

This is where the healing starts

When you come to where you're broken within

The light meets the dark

The light meets the dark

Prayer: God of Light and Life, give me the trust I need to let your light shine even into the deepest darkness I keep secret from others. Heal me with your Word, your Light, your Life. Amen.