Prop 17 C + Do what the Spirit say do + 9.1.19

(An image of the Annunciation in Nazareth,
given by the church of the Philippines)

M. Campbell-Langdell

All Santos, Oxnard

(Jeremiah 2:4-13; Ps. 81:1, 10-16; Hebrews 13:1-8, 15-16; Luke 14:1, 7-14)

Play song:

“Children, I’m gonna do what the Spirit say do,

Children, do … I’m gonna do what the Spirit say do,

Children, do … I’m gonna do what the Spirit say, do my Lord,

And Oh May the Spirit of the Lord

Do what the Spirit say!...”

Sweet Honey in the Rock, “Do What the Spirit Say Do”

It is good to be home! I thank this congregation for the gift you gave my family and me in our time of sabbatical. I missed you all and it was a time of spiritual and personal growth for which I will be ever grateful.

If you followed my blog while I was gone, you know that I was blessed to travel to many locales in a pilgrimage time this summer. And there is nothing like traveling. It opens up your horizons, especially religious travel. You feel as if your relationship with God is strengthened as you literally learn to walk with God again. Because that is what this journey felt like. I had to learn again how to trust God every step of the way. Because as well as Alene and I planned this trip (and I mean we really tried to think of everything!) when you are traveling, there are always unexpected surprises, not always good. We had our car broken into and Genesis’ possessions stolen. We walked around areas that are not always safe for women to walk around alone historically. (Don’t worry, we were careful!) We had trains cancelled and planes delayed and we had to trust, trust, trust that God was in control. And when that happened, things worked out.

When I stopped wigging out because something didn’t go the way I expected and trusted God, God provided. Our credit card points covered Genesis’ possessions being re-stocked. Our friends had an older model but still great cell phone to give her to replace her old one. Our flight was rebooked easily so we wouldn’t miss our hotel reservations. Our train journey worked out, despite a very uncomfortable 45 minutes standing up next to the door of the train on the way to Newcastle. I will hesitate before I speak badly of Amtrak again! (Actually I love Amtrak.) Trust, trust, trust in God and somehow a way forward does appear. Not always the way you expected. But it will appear.

In today’s reading from the prophet Jeremiah, the people have forgotten how to trust God. The prophet refers to them as moving away from God and placing their faith in Baal, and this is the metaphor he uses:
“For my people have committed two evils:
they have forsaken me,

the fountain of living water,
and dug out cisterns for themselves,

cracked cisterns
that can hold no water.”

(Jeremiah 2:13)

In the ancient Middle East, the people did not dig wells but instead dug cisterns. These cisterns were then filled with plaster and then filled with water or grain.[1] Here God is saying via the prophet that the people have moved away from the fountain that gives them water freely and they have relied on the work of their hands. And more than that, this Baal worship is flawed to the extent that the cisterns are cracked. They cannot hold water and therefore cannot give the people what they need.

Now not having water in the desert landscape of the Near East is no joke. Believe me, we went to the Dead Sea when it was 102 degrees and dry, and there were no water fountains! I was a bit appalled. They obviously need to make a living but I was surprised that there were almost no water fountains in Israel, forcing people to buy water in many places. The place where I went, Kalia Beach, is operated by a collective, or kibbutz, that hires young people, but as far as I know only Israelis of Jewish descent. The experience I saw in the Holy Land, as so many have mentioned, is that while the Middle East conflict is a long-term ordeal with many facets making it very complicated to say much of anything intelligent, there is nonetheless a systemic inequality built into Israeli society in which people of Arab descent have fewer rights and opportunities in general. And, far from the days of the community well where Jesus could beg a glass at midday, now there are opportunities for commerce at every turn for those of Israeli Jewish descent. Which is understandable. Do we not have the same here?
But when nations forget to trust God and recognize that everything we have comes from God, sometimes we end up in disordered ways of being. We end up in the desert without water. Unless we have money.

I was saddened to hear as I returned to this country, after having experienced the hospitality of four nations and two states within nations, that our country was now stating that we do not want to welcome immigrants if they are not wealthy. Because that is essentially what the rules say. Forget avoiding those who might possibly end up on welfare, these current statements make it sound like ordinary members of working and middle class families from other countries who might seek opportunity here are not welcome.
This kind of thinking happens when we begin to believe the lie. That everything we have is gained by the work of our hands, rather than a blessing from God. From God who gives and God who can take away.
I returned to Oxnard facing even more of a crisis in knowing how to manage its homeless population. Another complex issue. Churches, businesses, individuals and the city need to be able to have safe spaces and especially we need our children to feel safe. But we cannot forget that everything we have, from a glass of water to a bag of food to a bathroom, is ours by the grace of God. Yes, there has been a lot of hard work over the years, but it was God who blessed that work, made it fruitful, and provided the flow of living water so that our ministry might persevere until this day.

And I trust that God will lead us forward, no matter how we must respond, as a nation, as a community, and as individual Christians, so that we can all learn to “Do what the Spirit Say Do.”
Because who knows, we might entertain angels unawares!

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[1] Karoline Lewis, Rolf Jacobsen, Matt Skinner, Sermon Brainwave Podcast for September 1, 2019, “678 - Twelfth Sunday after Pentecost” (found at: https://www.workingpreacher.org/brainwave.aspx?podcast_id=1171).