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Texts: Exodus 17:1-7, John 4:3-26

A month ago Dan H. sent me an email asking if I was aware that this weekend, March 22, yesterday, was United Nations World Water Day. I wasn’t, and replied back that it is a happy coincidence that the readings for this week also include water as a central theme: water from the rock in the desert for the Israelites, water from the Samaritan well for Jesus, and living water from Jesus for a Samaritan woman and villagers.

The genre of sermon can be characterized as the proclamation of gospel, good news, but the news from World Water Day is mostly bad, or, at least, cautionary. The combination of population growth (seven billion and counting), increased global development, and climate change, is putting major strains on finite water supplies. The United Nations estimates that about 1 in 10 people do not have access to an improved source of drinking water. If there are 160 people here, that means 16 of you are out of luck.

This year’s focus for World Water Day is the connections between water and energy. Key messages they are promoting are 1) Water requires energy and energy requires water, 2) Supplies are limited and demand is increasing, 3) Saving energy is saving water and saving water is saving energy, 4) The “bottom billion” urgently needs access to both water and sanitation services and, 5) Improving water and energy efficiency is imperative as are coordinated, coherent and concerted policies.

Dan noted that “few people (in this area) appreciate water because we are in a humid climate and water is under-priced.”

One of the good news water happenings locally is the dam removal along the Olentangy River which will return it to a more natural condition, increasing the variety of plant and animal life, and…

Texts: John 3:1-10, Genesis 12:1-4

One of the advantages of having a sanctuary with very little natural light is that we can make it unnaturally dark in broad daylight.  It can actually get quite a bit darker than this, but we decided to make it a little more user friendly for kids who like to draw or anyone who needs to move around.

It’s dark, (ish), because we are dealing with a text containing a conversation that happened in darkness.  In John chapter three, we are introduced to Nicodemus, a leading Pharisee, who came to Jesus by night to ask him questions.  That “by night” part is fairly easy to miss and might not seem all that important.  But John’s is a highly symbolic gospel, and giving these kinds of details is one of the ways he shapes the meaning of these stories.  You may call to mind certain conversations you’ve had in the late evening and night hours, and how the tone and the content differed from daytime conversation.

Knowing that Nicodemus is a Pharisee and that he comes to Jesus “by night” means he already has two strikes against him.  Even though Pharisees shared much in common with the Jesus movement, they are one of Jesus’ chief opponents in the gospels.  Nicodemus is one of them, even a leader.  And in the realm of spiritual symbolism, “night” and darkness aren’t exactly known for their positive connotations.  Psalm 27 declares, “The Lord is my light, and salvation, whom shall I fear?”

If Nicodemus doesn’t have anything to hide, why not speak with Jesus in the light of day?  Who should he fear?  The fact that Nicodemus doesn’t seem to quite get anything Jesus is saying seems to further his identity as a not-quite disciple.

When I got together with the group of people…

Texts: Genesis 2:7-9; 15-17; 3:1-7; Matthew 4:1-11

The wilderness is a real place in the physical landscape, and a reality of the soul.

If you’ve ever visited a place considered wilderness, you most likely have some distinct memory of that place:  The towering trees of an old growth forest; the long expanses of sands in a desert; the almost unfathomable layers of geological history in the faces of rock formations.  The wilderness has a way of confronting the human ego and putting our small lives in perspective.  The wilderness is so different than our human shaped environment.  The wilderness is wild.  The wilderness can be dangerous.

If you have ever been in a wilderness of the soul, it too has no doubt left its mark.  A wilderness time of life can be highly disorienting.  One can feel overwhelmed by the immensity of what one does not comprehend and cannot control.  One might not feel safe or secure and certainly not savvy for finding the way through.  This kind of wilderness may be a place you have been before.  You may be in the wilderness right now.

Experiences of wilderness are woven throughout scripture, and Lent is intentionally structured to be a wilderness – like the 40 years of the Israelites and the 40 days of Jesus after his baptism.  The season of Lent spans from Ash Wednesday until Holy Saturday, the day before Easter, 40 days, not including Sundays, which are meant to be observed as little Easters, signs of resurrection, within the context of wilderness.

Lent is a built in feature of our liturgical calendar such that every year, if you are so inclined to keep hanging around the church, you will be invited back into the wilderness.  You will be reminded and invited to again visit this geography of the soul.  And,…

Text: Luke 2:41-52

If you were a young Lakota Indian, around the age of our jr. youth, you would soon be setting out into the wilderness on a Vision Quest.  You would undergo a process of purification in a sweat lodge with a holy man, and would then be led out to an isolated place chosen by the community elders.  You would be left alone in that space with nothing more than some ceremonial offerings.  You would not have food or water.  For the next several days and nights it would be your task to listen.  To watch.  To pray.  To wait for a vision.  A sign, or a voice, or an object of significance from your natural surroundings which would direct your path for the years to come and mark the transition from childhood to adulthood.

If you were an Apache girl of this age you would undergo the Sunrise Ceremony.  You would be painted with clay and pollen, which would stay on your body the entire four days that the ceremony lasts.  You would go through physically demanding tests of strength and long periods of dancing.  You would be given instruction in the areas of self-confidence, sexuality, and healing.  Each dawn, you would pray toward the rising sun in the East.

If you were a Jewish young person, age 12 for girls and 13 for boys, you would undergo your bat or bar mitzvah, which means “daughter or son of the commandment.”  After the ceremony you would be looked on as being responsible for following Jewish law and commandments.

These might be considered strange events if it weren’t for the fact that rituals like these have been pervasive throughout time in cultures around the world.  Different parts of the human family have found great value in clearly marking that otherwise fuzzy…

Text: 1 Corinthians 1:1-10, John 1:35-42

It feels appropriate to begin speaking on this theme of reconciliation with a tone of humility.  We are a people in a tradition that has valued peace from our very beginnings.  Out of the fray that was 16th century Europe – Reformers, peasant wars, apocalyptic prophets, state church territorial battles, the ever present threat from the outside of those Ottoman Turks – out of this mix emerged small fellowships of Anabaptists, who believed that their baptismal commitment to Christ called them to reject violence outright.  One of their early leaders wrote:  “The regenerated do not go to war, nor engage in strife.  They are children of peace who have beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning forks, and know no war.”  These people lived out their convictions under threat of death, and over the following centuries migrated to different parts of the world where they were given haven, economic opportunity, and exemption from military service.  They also went to different parts of the world to share their faith such that today there are over 1.7 million of these Anabaptist Christians globally, with the largest numbers being in the continent of not North America, definitely not Europe, but Africa.

We continue to believe that peace is inseparable from the gospel of Jesus and goes beyond merely not engaging in warfare.  We have helped pioneer the Fair Trade movement in which artisans are paid a fair and living wage for their wares that are sold in wealthier nations.  Our alternative service during wartimes led us to help reform the public mental health system to be more humane.  We have developed alternatives to the punishment oriented criminal justice system by teaching the value of restorative justice and creating programs where victims and offenders meet together…