Water Boy
Sermon
WRESTLINGS, WONDERS AND WANDERERS!
Sermons For Pentecost (First Third)
Today's scripture provides for many sermon possibilities. I could have dealt with Moses' swift departure from Egypt and preached about running from our foes and our fears. I could have taken the second half of our story and played with the notion that here shepherds are not the honored guests of the Christ child but bullies who mistreat all seven of Reuel's daughters. And a most tempting choice would have been to speak of the "spoils of hospitality." Just for defending women's rights, Moses is presented with a prize -- nothing less than one of Reuel's daughters, Zipporah. I can assure you, however, that it will take much more than providing water for my herds for me to give away in marriage my daughter, Alison, especially to a total stranger!
Instead of the many preaching possibilities, I have chosen to concentrate on only one verse, verse 17, where Moses takes his stand on behalf of Reuel's daughters: "The shepherds came and drove them away; but Moses stood and helped them, and watered their flock."
In this one act, Moses came into full social consciousness; he changed from fugitive to hero. He first sought to save his own life by leaving Egypt; here in Midian he sought to save the women from their plight.
Moses' status is one that changes many times: from Hebrew baby in danger to privileged prodigy of Pharaoh's court, from defender of Hebrew rights to fugitive from justice, from foreigner in flight to protector of the oppressed.
But it is at the Midian watering hole that Moses "comes of age." There he stood up for the daughters of Reuel and made the shepherds back down. There he found new courage and a new sense of social justice. This was a justice based not on color or creed but on the sacred rights of the individual.
What exactly happened at the watering hole? The women probably had gone through the painstaking task of letting down skin pails to deep springs below and then filling the drinking troughs. Then the shepherds arrived and decided to use the women's water for their own herds.15 Moses interceded on the women's behalf and made the shepherds leave the water for the women and their flock. Without his aid, the women would have had to wait for the shepherds to water their herds, redraw more water and then give drink to their livestock. Moses' intervention saved them time and ensured them of receiving water from a limited and scarce supply.16
Moses had fought for Hebrews' rights in Egypt over the issue of cruel treatment. Here in a foreign land he defended the "water rights" of these women. Water was a valuable and scarce commodity -- precious!
Water once was a precious commodity to me and "water rights" a very important issue. When I was part of the Crossett High football team and those terrible August practices -- "two-a-days" we called them -- water was a very precious commodity. After practicing on the distant practice field, we would have to walk past a 12-inch water main that was about one foot above ground and, wouldn't you know it, it had a convenient leak exactly where we crossed it. Precious water squirted four feet in the air -- cool, clear water!
But like the women of Midian we were cruelly denied "water rights" by the stately shepherds of our team. (Back in the "Dark Ages" coaches thought that drinking water was bad for one's health and would "undo" all the good of a 100-degree workout.)
I know from personal experience that water can be precious. I understand the pain of seeing water only to have someone bigger deny access to it.
But if we are to look for parallel issues for today, we might look beyond water rights. What are the precious commodities of today to which some people are denied access? What are some of the limited resources that must be distributed with some sense of justice? And who will ensure that the weak or the oppressed will be able to receive their share?
Our state is now trying to solve the problem of both limited funds and the need for improved education. The issue is one involving justice. How does one ensure quality education for all including the disadvantaged? How do we provide adequate education for those who will experience little quality education at home and who already are disadvantaged?
Another issue in our country and state is affordable housing. How can we make housing possible for those willing to train and work and save? Who will stand and defend their rights? Who will join the cause of such groups as "Habitat for Humanity" or "Common Ground" to see that a place to live is within the reach of all?
There are so many issues for social justice and basic human needs. There are ample opportunities to be advocates for fairness and justice in the areas of hunger, education and job opportunity. If we are to play the part of advocate and helper, we first will have to learn to see the need and feel the injustice. We will have to have greater compassion than we have right now for the lesser ones of our society.
One of my favorite quotes from Albert Schweitzer comes from his book, Out of My Life and Thought. He shares an experience from one of his many trips.
At the station at Tarascon we had to wait for our train in a distant goods shed. My wife and I, heavily laden with baggage, could hardly get along over the shingle between the lines. Thereupon a poor cripple whom I had treated in the camp came forward to help us. He had no baggage because he possessed nothing, and I was much moved by his offer, which I accepted. While we walked along side by side in the scorching sun, I vowed to myself that in memory of him I would in the future always keep a lookout at stations for heavily laden people, and help them.17
An eye for the overburdened -- do we have it? An eye for injustice -- can we see it? Compassion for the weaker ones -- is it alive within us? Or have we grown cold and indifferent -- satisfied with our own place of privilege?
We can respond in many ways. We can support local food banks, housing projects. We can become involved in tutoring projects. And we can keep an eye out at all the train stations and all the watering holes to see that people in need are not forgotten.
There are many people in our society who suffer much more than these daughters of Reuel. There are many who have lost hope, many who are defenseless and vulnerable, many who are hungry, many who are homeless, many who are trapped in the world of drugs and crime and wretched living conditions.
And if we are to take Moses' act of courage not as the sole role of a prophet but as the calling of every Christian, then we must be willing to take on a new and heavy responsibility. It is my strong conviction that we are called to do much more than offer the cup of cold water; we also may have to defend the rights of those at the watering hole. We may have to be more than angels of mercy; we may have to be angels of justice.
I am convinced that Moses' act at the watering hole at Midian was not the isolated act of a prophet but a model for our involvement in human history. Jesus gives further witness that compassion should lead us into ministry and injustice spur us into action. Consider Jesus' compassion for the outcast lepers, his ministry to the Samaritan woman at the well, his defense of the woman guilty of adultery, his driving the money changers out of the temple.
But whether we are angels of mercy or advocates of justice, our stance is not one of arrogance or pride but that of humility. If we are to serve our world as Christians, if we are to defend the weak, it is justice we seek, not limelight.
Ruth Calkin gives us cause to ponder our motives and the proper posture for our service. She writes:
"I Wonder"
You know, Lord, how I serve you
with great emotional fervor
In the limelight.
You know how eagerly I speak for you
At a women's club.
You know how I effervesce when I promote
A fellowship group.
You know my genuine enthusiasm
At a Bible study.
But how would I react, I wonder
if you pointed to a basin of water
And asked me to wash the calloused feet
Of a bent and wrinkled old woman
Day after day
Month after month
In a room where nobody saw
And nobody knew.18
Today I believe we are asked to take on new ventures. We still are asked to offer the cup of cold water to the thirsty. But we also are called to care about justice issues, about the distribution of such precious commodities as education, job opportunity, medical care, housing and food.
We must be willing to be advocates without reward. We must be willing to get our hands dirty. We must be willing to stoop and we must not expect in return either hospitality or the gift of a daughter.
Moses has given us an example. Jesus has called us into servant ministry. Concern for justice makes of us advocates when we would rather be bystanders. Eyes that see human hurt ask that we play the part of servant, not master. And through it all we realize that justice knows no race or creed. We all are part of God's family. We all should have access to the watering hole. We all have needs that generate compassion.
A hymn in our new United Methodist hymnal points us in the right direction. It offers the posture of a servant and the compassion of a caring follower of Christ. Will you hear it again and afresh?
Jesu, Jesu, fill us with your love,
show us how to serve
the neighbors we have from you,
Kneels at the feet of his friends,
silently washes their feet.
Master who acts as a slave to them.
Jesu, Jesu, fill us with your love,
show us how to serve
the neighbors we have from you.
Neighbors are rich and poor,
neighbors are black and white,
neighbors are near and far away.
Jesu, Jesu, fill us with your love,
show us how to serve
the neighbors we have from you.
Loving puts us on our knees,
serving as though we are slaves,
this is the way we should live with you.
Jesu, Jesu, fill us with your love,
show us how to serve
the neighbors we have from you.19
Instead of the many preaching possibilities, I have chosen to concentrate on only one verse, verse 17, where Moses takes his stand on behalf of Reuel's daughters: "The shepherds came and drove them away; but Moses stood and helped them, and watered their flock."
In this one act, Moses came into full social consciousness; he changed from fugitive to hero. He first sought to save his own life by leaving Egypt; here in Midian he sought to save the women from their plight.
Moses' status is one that changes many times: from Hebrew baby in danger to privileged prodigy of Pharaoh's court, from defender of Hebrew rights to fugitive from justice, from foreigner in flight to protector of the oppressed.
But it is at the Midian watering hole that Moses "comes of age." There he stood up for the daughters of Reuel and made the shepherds back down. There he found new courage and a new sense of social justice. This was a justice based not on color or creed but on the sacred rights of the individual.
What exactly happened at the watering hole? The women probably had gone through the painstaking task of letting down skin pails to deep springs below and then filling the drinking troughs. Then the shepherds arrived and decided to use the women's water for their own herds.15 Moses interceded on the women's behalf and made the shepherds leave the water for the women and their flock. Without his aid, the women would have had to wait for the shepherds to water their herds, redraw more water and then give drink to their livestock. Moses' intervention saved them time and ensured them of receiving water from a limited and scarce supply.16
Moses had fought for Hebrews' rights in Egypt over the issue of cruel treatment. Here in a foreign land he defended the "water rights" of these women. Water was a valuable and scarce commodity -- precious!
Water once was a precious commodity to me and "water rights" a very important issue. When I was part of the Crossett High football team and those terrible August practices -- "two-a-days" we called them -- water was a very precious commodity. After practicing on the distant practice field, we would have to walk past a 12-inch water main that was about one foot above ground and, wouldn't you know it, it had a convenient leak exactly where we crossed it. Precious water squirted four feet in the air -- cool, clear water!
But like the women of Midian we were cruelly denied "water rights" by the stately shepherds of our team. (Back in the "Dark Ages" coaches thought that drinking water was bad for one's health and would "undo" all the good of a 100-degree workout.)
I know from personal experience that water can be precious. I understand the pain of seeing water only to have someone bigger deny access to it.
But if we are to look for parallel issues for today, we might look beyond water rights. What are the precious commodities of today to which some people are denied access? What are some of the limited resources that must be distributed with some sense of justice? And who will ensure that the weak or the oppressed will be able to receive their share?
Our state is now trying to solve the problem of both limited funds and the need for improved education. The issue is one involving justice. How does one ensure quality education for all including the disadvantaged? How do we provide adequate education for those who will experience little quality education at home and who already are disadvantaged?
Another issue in our country and state is affordable housing. How can we make housing possible for those willing to train and work and save? Who will stand and defend their rights? Who will join the cause of such groups as "Habitat for Humanity" or "Common Ground" to see that a place to live is within the reach of all?
There are so many issues for social justice and basic human needs. There are ample opportunities to be advocates for fairness and justice in the areas of hunger, education and job opportunity. If we are to play the part of advocate and helper, we first will have to learn to see the need and feel the injustice. We will have to have greater compassion than we have right now for the lesser ones of our society.
One of my favorite quotes from Albert Schweitzer comes from his book, Out of My Life and Thought. He shares an experience from one of his many trips.
At the station at Tarascon we had to wait for our train in a distant goods shed. My wife and I, heavily laden with baggage, could hardly get along over the shingle between the lines. Thereupon a poor cripple whom I had treated in the camp came forward to help us. He had no baggage because he possessed nothing, and I was much moved by his offer, which I accepted. While we walked along side by side in the scorching sun, I vowed to myself that in memory of him I would in the future always keep a lookout at stations for heavily laden people, and help them.17
An eye for the overburdened -- do we have it? An eye for injustice -- can we see it? Compassion for the weaker ones -- is it alive within us? Or have we grown cold and indifferent -- satisfied with our own place of privilege?
We can respond in many ways. We can support local food banks, housing projects. We can become involved in tutoring projects. And we can keep an eye out at all the train stations and all the watering holes to see that people in need are not forgotten.
There are many people in our society who suffer much more than these daughters of Reuel. There are many who have lost hope, many who are defenseless and vulnerable, many who are hungry, many who are homeless, many who are trapped in the world of drugs and crime and wretched living conditions.
And if we are to take Moses' act of courage not as the sole role of a prophet but as the calling of every Christian, then we must be willing to take on a new and heavy responsibility. It is my strong conviction that we are called to do much more than offer the cup of cold water; we also may have to defend the rights of those at the watering hole. We may have to be more than angels of mercy; we may have to be angels of justice.
I am convinced that Moses' act at the watering hole at Midian was not the isolated act of a prophet but a model for our involvement in human history. Jesus gives further witness that compassion should lead us into ministry and injustice spur us into action. Consider Jesus' compassion for the outcast lepers, his ministry to the Samaritan woman at the well, his defense of the woman guilty of adultery, his driving the money changers out of the temple.
But whether we are angels of mercy or advocates of justice, our stance is not one of arrogance or pride but that of humility. If we are to serve our world as Christians, if we are to defend the weak, it is justice we seek, not limelight.
Ruth Calkin gives us cause to ponder our motives and the proper posture for our service. She writes:
"I Wonder"
You know, Lord, how I serve you
with great emotional fervor
In the limelight.
You know how eagerly I speak for you
At a women's club.
You know how I effervesce when I promote
A fellowship group.
You know my genuine enthusiasm
At a Bible study.
But how would I react, I wonder
if you pointed to a basin of water
And asked me to wash the calloused feet
Of a bent and wrinkled old woman
Day after day
Month after month
In a room where nobody saw
And nobody knew.18
Today I believe we are asked to take on new ventures. We still are asked to offer the cup of cold water to the thirsty. But we also are called to care about justice issues, about the distribution of such precious commodities as education, job opportunity, medical care, housing and food.
We must be willing to be advocates without reward. We must be willing to get our hands dirty. We must be willing to stoop and we must not expect in return either hospitality or the gift of a daughter.
Moses has given us an example. Jesus has called us into servant ministry. Concern for justice makes of us advocates when we would rather be bystanders. Eyes that see human hurt ask that we play the part of servant, not master. And through it all we realize that justice knows no race or creed. We all are part of God's family. We all should have access to the watering hole. We all have needs that generate compassion.
A hymn in our new United Methodist hymnal points us in the right direction. It offers the posture of a servant and the compassion of a caring follower of Christ. Will you hear it again and afresh?
Jesu, Jesu, fill us with your love,
show us how to serve
the neighbors we have from you,
Kneels at the feet of his friends,
silently washes their feet.
Master who acts as a slave to them.
Jesu, Jesu, fill us with your love,
show us how to serve
the neighbors we have from you.
Neighbors are rich and poor,
neighbors are black and white,
neighbors are near and far away.
Jesu, Jesu, fill us with your love,
show us how to serve
the neighbors we have from you.
Loving puts us on our knees,
serving as though we are slaves,
this is the way we should live with you.
Jesu, Jesu, fill us with your love,
show us how to serve
the neighbors we have from you.19
