"Thirsty Voices", First Congregational UCC, Rock Springs, WY 3/27/2011

Thirsty Voices
By Rev Steven R. Mitchell
First Congregational UCC, Rock Springs, WY 3/27/2011
Based on Exodus 17:1-7 & John 4:5-42


This past Wednesday, one of Hollywood’s greatest and larger than life actors passed away, Elizabeth Taylor, at age 79. Quoting from DAVID GERMAIN and HILLEL ITALIE, Associated Press: Taylor was the most blessed and cursed of actresses, the toughest and the most vulnerable. She had extraordinary grace, wealth and voluptuous beauty, and won three Academy Awards, including a special one for her humanitarian work. Taylor was the most loyal of friends and a defender of gays in Hollywood when AIDS was new to the industry and beyond. Mss. Taylor was personally afflicted by ill health, failed romances (eight marriages, seven husbands) and personal tragedy. Her troubles bonded her to her peers and the public, and deepened her compassion. Her advocacy for AIDS research and for other causes earned her a special Oscar, the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award, in 1993. As she accepted it, to a long ovation, she declared, "I call upon you to draw from the depths of your being — to prove that we are a human race, to prove that our love outweighs our need to hate, that our compassion is more compelling than our need to blame."
In an interview around the time Liz was turning 50, she said, "I don't entirely approve of some of the things I have done, or am, or have been. But I'm me. God knows, I'm me," Whether we approve, or disapprove of the life that Mss Taylor lived, there is much to be learn by her on how to face life’s adversities and be a survivor, of how one picks themselves up and moves forward after making mistakes, of being a courageous voice in social justice issues when it isn’t popular, and of living life to its fullest.
As I read through this morning’s Gospel lesson, I can almost substitute Elizabeth Taylor for the woman that Jesus has encountered at the well. Both women seem to mirror so much of the other’s life style. Both had had multiple husbands, neither seemed uncomfortable in stepping out of the usual roles and norms of their day, especially when it comes to encountering men. Both could be said to have, “Thirsty Voices”, not only easily speaking their minds, but also in seeking answers about life’s deepest questions.
The woman whom Jesus encountered understands the inequality of those who seem to hold the power and those who do not as she says to Jesus, “Our ancestors (also children of Abraham) worshipped on this mountain, but you (the Jewish religion) say that the place where people must worship is in Jerusalem.” Liz Taylor pleaded with Christians at the onset of AID’s, “— to prove that we are a human race, to prove that our love outweighs our need to hate, that our compassion is more compelling than our need to blame.”
As I was trying to map out today’s text with what I most wish to share with you, the most obvious theme deals with “sustainability”, both physical and spiritual sustainability. Looking at the Exodus story, we read where the Israelites are fearful of dying due to the lack of water, one of life’s necessities. With the woman at the well, water is again the focus of discussion. Next, the Disciples come along and they are worried about food, again a basic need in order to sustain physical life.
In Exodus, with the Moses story, you have a group of refugee’s wondering about in a dessert, finding themselves in a place where there is no water. This could be a metaphor about finding oneself at the end of their rope and not knowing what to do next. Moses goes to God and asks for help, telling God that his people are very unhappy with the way things are playing out – after all, they left their lives in Egypt where they might have been slaves, working dead end jobs, and had no hope, but at least they had water to drink and some food to eat; now they are out in the wilderness with no food, no water, and seemingly no hope! They are asking, “Is the LORD among us or not?” They are at the end of their rope.
In the encounter with the woman at the well, she too is at a point in her life, where things probably haven’t panned out the way she had hoped. She was not looked upon by the other women with any positive feelings, exhibited by her being at the well by herself at noon, when the rest of the women would have been at the well early in the morning, before the heat of the day. She was probably not respected by the men of the town, as she seemed to run through men like sand in an hour glass. In fact, she was not married to the man she was currently living with.
Through the discussion of water with Jesus, we see that this woman was able to comprehend that what was needed in her life was something deeper than just the basic physical necessities of life. The disciples on the other hand were not so quick on the upbeat, requiring Jesus to explain to them that the discussion about food was that of a spiritual matter.
Although the theme about spiritual sustainability is the obvious theme, there is a more subtle lesson being provided. It is the theme of being aware and able to recognize the blessings that we receive in our daily living, of being open enough to receive those gifts from God, of receiving God’s life giving water.
I would like to present this point in a most poignant video about the problems with receptiveness due to first impressions. Show Britain’s Got Talent, Susan Boyle’s performance.
I started out this morning’s sermon with giving tribute to one of Hollywood’s most physically voluptuous women, next I talked about a woman who lived on the edge of society, and then ended with a woman who was frumpy looking in appearance. All three of these women have given the world tremendous gifts, one through activism and film, another with her music. The message of “living water” came to a Samaritan town through a woman who was the most unlikely person to deliver a message about the “love” and “saving” grace of God. The town’s people heard her testimony about this man Jesus and went out to see for themselves. In the story in Exodus, through Moses’ pleas with God, the “life giving water” came to the Israelites from taking a rod and striking a rock.
The purpose of these stories is to remind us that God is always here! We need to be open, we need to be receptive of what gifts God wants to bestow upon us. These gifts are many times presented in the most unassuming manor. If Susan Boyle’s had accepted the initial audiences rejection and left the stage without singing, we would have never been able to be blessed by such a beautiful voice, a voice that speaks to the very core of one’s soul. If the Samaritan’s had not been receptive to this woman who normally was censured, they would have not heard Jesus’ message. If the woman at the well had not been willing to enter into a conversation with a stranger, who was breaking all the social rules of the day, she would never have been able to accept the Good News that was in front of her. We need to be aware that we are a people thirsting for the living water that only comes through Spirit, to Spirit. We like the Israelites, experiencing God’s miracles one after another, truly are Thirsty voices in the wilderness of our journey! Amen