“Wading
in Waters of Change”
©Thomas B. Cundiff
Exodus 17: 1-7
WATER FROM A ROCK
From
the wilderness of Sin the whole congregation of the Israelites journeyed by
stages, as the Lord
commanded. They camped at Rephidim, but there was no water for the people to
drink. The
people quarreled with Moses, and said, ‘Give us water to drink.’ Moses said to
them, ‘Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you test the Lord?’ But the people thirsted there for
water; and the people complained against Moses and said, ‘Why did you bring us
out of Egypt Israel Nile , and go. I will be
standing there in front of you on the rock at Horeb. Strike the rock, and water
will come out of it, so that the people may drink.’ Moses did so, in the sight of the
elders of Israel
John 7: 37-39
RIVERS OF LIVING WATER
On the last day of the festival, the great day, while Jesus was
standing there, he cried out, ‘Let anyone who is thirsty come to me, and let the one who believes in me drink. As
the scripture has said, “Out of the believer’s heart
shall flow rivers of living water.” ’ Now he said this about the Spirit, which believers in him were
to receive; for as yet there was no Spirit, because Jesus was not yet
glorified.
I.
“Wading
in Waters of Change”. Perhaps a better sermon title given all the
turmoil the world seems to be going through:
“Paddling
like Crazy through Perilous Floods, Government shutdowns, Shootings, Terrorism,
Unemployment, Hunger, and -- ” (You fill in the blank.)
As a metaphor for life, the world is constantly changing. Change can be
as normal as a gentle flowing stream or as powerful as a deadly flood. While we may sometimes wish for life to stand
still so we can savor special moments, the world doesn’t work that way. We are constantly wading throughout life
in the fast and slow or often turbulent waters of change.
II. Change
Change. There is nothing we can
do about the passing of time, the flowing of waters of life, and often dramatic
/ traumatic / tragic change that has taken place in our lives and in this
world. For example:
Where were you on December
7th 1941 ? A few of
you were around when Pearl Harbor was attacked.
What about September
11, 2001 ? Most of us can recount exactly
what we were doing between 8:00 and 9:00
a.m.
when terrorists flew hijacked planes into the World Trade Center
Millions will never forget hurricane Katrina or the
“Super Storm Sandy”; or the floods and
fires and unexpected tragedies that have touched members of our families and
friends. There is nothing worse than a late
night phone call to learn that a friend or family member has befallen some kind
of tragedy.
I must mention the storm taking place in Washington
“Remove from them (the congress) that stubborn
pride which imagines itself to be above and beyond criticism,” he said.
“Forgive them the blunders they have committed.”[1]
Yes, we sometimes as God’s humanity create the storms and destructive flood
waters we must then navigate in life….personally, and in the context of the
community and also in the church.
III.
“Wading
through Waters of Change in the Church”?
From this point on I want to talk about our “Wading in the Waters of
Change” as a church. With my announced
leaving the end of November, this church has now entered into a period of
discernment. Many changes are on the
horizon! What does God have planned for
this church?
There is only so much I can say because I am leaving and not
participating in discussions about the future.
While I have no idea what decisions may be made, I can reflect theologically
on where we have been historically—and where I believe, in general terms, where
God leads.
Metaphorically and for well over 146 years this church has been “Wading
in Waters of Change”!
Like Moses, we’ve been led by our Lord through perilous, dry parching winds
in the wilderness of many storms.
Imagine
walking for days, without basic resources, a parched dessert….and what would you
long for more than anything else? Water!
This assurance from scripture:
God, through Jesus our Lord, always provides for us from the “Wellspring
of Living Water”!
In
the year 1896 the Rev. Joseph R. Tewell led this church through some major
renovations. The city of Saginaw January 2, 1898 , this church was destroyed by fire. Through the resilience of pastor and
congregation, this edifice was replaced and reopened in a remarkable ten months. This “house of God” was re-dedicated in
November of 1898.
Through
the years, the community around this church thrived. The peak in membership came in the late1950’s
early 1960’s-- @ 1400 members. Several additions and remodeling projects
took place in adding the gym and a professional kitchen and Sunday school
rooms.
Then
the proverbial ‘waters of change’ started to flow with a mass exodus of he most
affluent – urban flight – people moving to the comfort and security of the suburbs.
Storm after storm after storm hit this
city! Racial and economic distress – violent
storms that threatened to destroyed urban centers throughout the country. Devastating flood of drugs on the
streets; thundering guns taking innocent
lives; gangs and poverty taking over the
streets in this once ‘thriving and
affluent’ neighborhood.
After
the storms in the 50’s, 60’s and early 70’s many of our church members moved
away from the “troubled waters” of urban blight—but YOU didn’t all leave the
church. This church, with historical
determination, made the heroic decision not to move or stop doing God’s work in
this city!
I
recall preaching in one of my first sermons some twenty years ago, “Cities don’t just go away, neither does Christ
or His church!” There has always
been work to do in this neighborhood.
Simply, the flood waters of change couldn’t drive this church away. Most
of you have been around to help write the rest of this story bringing us to
this time and place. And honestly, the
question of whether this church has the resources to continue is on the table
for discussion once again!
I came to this church in 1985. The
operative word from my very first interview:
CHALLENGE! While this has always
been a wonderful and exciting place to do ministry, we have always had our fair
share of challenges. We’ve also been a
church richly blessed with this building, a decent endowment, and “your
passion” to be doing Christ’s work in the city.
I
will never forget that afternoon meeting in the Gym with community development leaders
from Northwestern University East Side Soup Kitchen and the Naseau Clinic onto our
campus. Tens of thousands of dollars were
invested by St. Mary’s Hospital in renovating the Gym so we could get local and
state licenses to open the youth center.
Now that many more years have passed, it’s appropriate once again to re-evaluate
where we are as Christ’s church in the context of doing Christ’s work in this neighborhood.
Turning again in thinking about Moses and the Exodus: the starving and thirsty leaders in exile gathered
and asked Moses: What shall we do now?
Moses told the elders to –
“go ahead…in searching for the rock at Horeb. With
the staff, strike the rock and water will come out of it so that the people may
drink.” This is from where the living
waters come!
Our lord, like Moses, is asking the officers of this church to go ahead
with wisdom and God’s spirit of discernment to strike the rock at Horeb so that
this church might be able to drink from the waters of the living Christ…..
And honestly, while the church might not find the wellspring of
resources required to continue doing ministry in this place – IN OUR HEARTS, AND PERSONALLY,
THE WELLSPRING OF GOD’S SPIRIT NEVER DRIES UP OR GOES AWAY!
IV. Three
Very Short Points
With confidence, three short points emerging from our scripture preach
today:
1.
Moses asks: “Is
the Lord among us or not?”
Regardless where the spirit of God leads this church in the future, God does
not abandon us—each of us. While I can
no longer be your pastor or have a direct hand in making plans for the future,
I give YOU today the words of the prophet Jeremiah who said after 70 years of
exile—one of my favorite texts, Jeremiah 29:11:
“For surely I know the plans I have for YOU, says the
Lord, plans for your welfare and not for harm,
to give you a future with hope.”
Our hope is in God and God is
always going to be in our hearts. Storms
in this often harsh world in which we live will come and they will go. But God has plans—and God has for each of you
a future filled with hope.
2.
Second, if God taught Moses anything – if Jesus
life and sacrifice for us has taught us anything: We are resilient people. This is a resilient church doing Christ’s
work in the context of this community. If this church were a boat I would want to name
it “RESILIENT” for all the storms and perilous waters we have traveled together. Through faith in Jesus Christ, it is the same
resilience that will hold things together for each of you in the important work
that is before this church as important decisions are made.
3.
Third and finally, you have each other. (1) God is with you. (2) Christ gives you resilience, and (3) you/we
will always have each other! Even in my
leaving, you will be in my heart and I pray, my heart in yours. We will always be friends in Christ, God’s
Children!
Through all
the years of change this congregation has been through – laughing and crying
and praying and growing – and growing old together J – may we always remember that --
“OUT OF
THE BELIEVER’S HEART SHALL FLOW RIVERS OF LIVING WATER.”
Remember your
baptism! We are One in the Spirit and
One in the Lord!
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