SunJul52009
Scripture: Psalm 46:1-11 ( NRSV )
1 God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. 2 Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change, though the mountains shake in the heart of the sea; 3though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble with its tumult.
4 There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy habitation of the Most High. 5 God is in the midst of the city; it shall not be moved; God will help it when the morning dawns. 6 The nations are in an uproar, the kingdoms totter; he utters his voice, the earth melts. 7 The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge.
8 Come, behold the works of the LORD; see what desolations he has brought on the earth. 9He makes wars cease to the end of the earth; he breaks the bow, and shatters the spear; he burns the shields with fire.
10 “Be still, and know that I am God! I am exalted among the nations, I am exalted in the earth.” 11 The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge.
Introduction
The Necessity of Water. One night a father sent his young son upstairs to bed. Five minutes later the boy yelled down, ''Dad! Can you get me a glass of water?'' ''No. You had your chance. Be quiet and go to sleep.'' A minute later the boy screamed again, ''Dad!! Can you PLEASE get me a glass of water?'' ''No. You had your chance. Now, next time you ask, I'll come up there and spank you.'' A minute later the father heard the little boy yell, ''Dad, when you come up to spank me, can you bring me a glass of water?''
Cleveland - Built on a River. Water is essential for life. Many cities are built by rivers. In the summer of 1796, General Moses Cleaveland came to this area, the western reserve of Connecticut. With a group of surveyors he laid out a plan for the city which would come to bear his name. The first settler was Lorenzo Carter. He built a cabin on the banks of the Cuyahoga River and the city grew from there.
Chagrin Falls - Built on a River. In the mid-1800's a settlement developed around the falls on the Chagrin River three or four miles west of here. Flour and woolen and paper mills were built, as well as a foundry. The river was instrumental in the growth and development of the little community which came to be known as Chagrin Falls.
The importance of rivers. Cities are born and grow along rivers for a variety of reasons. Rivers provide fresh drinking water and water for agriculture. Rivers provide a source of power for industry. They provide a means of transportation for people and products.
1. Water is absolutely essential for life and health.
Illustration on the Necessity of Water. One afternoon, a man went to his doctor and said he hadn't been feeling well lately. The doctor examined him, left the room, and came back with three different bottles of pills. "Take the green pill with a big glass of water in the morning when you wake up,” the doctor instructed. “Take the blue pill with a big glass of water after you eat lunch. Then just before going to bed, take the red pill with another big glass of water." Startled to be put on so much medicine, the man stammered, "Wow doc! Exactly what is my problem?" The doctor replied, "You're not drinking enough water."
Water is essential for life and health. Depending on the individual and external conditions a person can live anywhere from a few hours to a week or more without water, I am told.
A tragedy plays out countless times each year on the border between the United States and Mexico. Economically disadvantaged citizens of our neighboring country ford rivers, scale fences and trek across vast, barren stretches of hot, dry, dessert, seeking economic opportunity and a better way of life in the United States. All too often the endeavor ends tragically, when miscalculations concerning the time or distance or conditions lead to a shortage of water and dehydration and death.
Just as water is essential in the physical realm, so also is it essential in the spiritual realm. Did you know there are over 600 references to water in the Bible? The Bible refers to water almost as frequently as it refers to love.
The Psalmist writes of it in Psalm 46: “There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God.” One of my goals during my recent sabbatical was to reconnect to that “River.” It may surprise you to know that ministers, who live in the realm of the church and whose job it is to pray and read the bible and participate in worship services can become detached from the life-giving Stream of the Spirit to which the Psalmist refers.
Now I probably shouldn’t confess for Mark or Hamilton or other clergy-types, but it is easy for my life to become dry and parched because I have moved away, or drifted away from that water.
Jesus spoke of it in his encounter with the woman at the well in Samaria, a story Susi read earlier in the service. “Those who drink of the water that I give will never be thirsty,” Jesus told her. “For the water I give will become in them a spring of water gushing up to eternal life.”
I spent Holy Week this past April at the Mt Angel Abbey, a Benedictine monastery located 20 miles northeast of Salem, Oregon. It was a physically and emotionally and spiritually refreshing way to begin my sabbatical. Though the monks at Mt. Angel do not practice a strict silence, as do the Trappists, there is considerable emphasis on solitude and a spirit of quiet bathes the monastery grounds. At Mt. Angel I had no television or radio or internet access and read no newspapers during the week I was there. The world could haven ended and I would not have known, except Jan would probably have told me, when I called to talk with her each evening on my cell phone.
During most of the year the Benedictines have 6 daily prayer services. The monks at Mt. Angel had 3 in the morning at 5:20, 6:30 and 8:00 a.m.; one at noon; and two in the evening at 5:15 and 7:30 p.m. Guests of the abbey are not required or even expected to attend any of the services, but are welcome at all of them. During my week there I usually participated in the 6:30 a.m. service, called Lauds, the midday service called Midday and the 5:15 p.m. service, called Vespers.
The services generally lasted 15 or 20 minutes and included Psalms sung in Gregorian chant-style, spoken prayers and a hymn. I never quite got the hang of chanting the Psalms and sometimes found myself going up when everyone else was going down or going down when everyone else was going up, but the Benedictines, who place a strong emphasis on hospitality, never expelled the lost sheep.
In many ways the week at Mt. Angel set the tenor for my three-month sabbatical. With the exception of, I think, two days I arose early each morning and spent 1-2 hours reading from the scriptures, praying and writing in a journal. Every day I read first from the Psalms and then from different parts of the New Testament, especially the 4 gospels. Sometimes I read wide, covering many chapters. Other times I read deep, focusing on a single chapter or verse.
One of the psalms that captured my attention was Psalm 46 and one of the phrases in Psalm 46 that “chose or picked me,” as Hamilton likes to put it, is from verse 4 - “There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God.” My time on sabbatical provided my with the opportunity to reconnect and drink deeply from that river.
2. An inexhaustible river. I would like to point out several things about this life-giving river. I have already alluded to the fact that it is essential for life. A second thing I would like to point out about it is that it is inexhaustible.
The prophet Isaiah wrote, "And the LORD will continually guide you, and satisfy your desire in scorched places, and give strength to your bones; and you will be like a watered garden, and like a spring...whose waters do not fail (Isaiah 58:11).
An Illustration from my Growing Up Years. The small 40-acre farm where I grew up in southwest Washington state got its water from a natural spring that flowed directly out of the side of a hill on our property. Located about 1/5 of a mile below our house, the water was pumped up to a large concrete cistern near our large 2-story farmhouse. It provided our family of 9 with an inexhaustible supply of fresh water for drinking and cooking and cleaning. The water was always clear and cold and refreshing. Even in July and August, the hottest and driest part of the year in southwest Washington, that freshwater spring never failed to provide us with all of the water we needed. From the time we moved there in 1948 up to this very day that spring is a source of fresh, cool water for that farm. The river of which the Psalmist speaks with its life-giving water will not run dry.
3. A near and ever-present river. There is a third characteristic about this river: It is near and ever-present. This past week a friend in this church, a member of Elderlife, emailed me a poem that illustrates the point. The poem tells the story of a little boy on his way home from Sunday School. As he slowly walks along a rural path, he is captivated by simple things in nature–a caterpillar, a milkweed pod, a birds nest. A neighbor notices him and asks where he has been. "I've been to Bible School ," the little boy said as he turned a piece of sod. He picked up a wiggly worm replying, "I've learned a lot about God." "Mmm,” the neighbor said, “very fine way for a boy to spend his time." "If you'll tell me where God is, I'll give you a brand new dime." Quick as a flash the boy replied! Nor was his answer faint. "I'll give you a dollar, Mister, if you can tell me where God ain't." Tell me where God ain’t.
Where is this river? It’s in the midst of the city, very near, the Psalmist says. The Psalmist goes on to say that because of the presence of this river, the city will not be moved. Psalm 46 begins, “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in time of trouble.
Life has not been easy for my friend, who sent that little poem. In recent years he has dealt with the illness and death of friends and loved ones. Right now he is confronting serious health issues of his own. Like many older folks in this economic climate, he is concerned that medical and living costs will exhaust his financial resources.
Though the burdens of life get overwhelmingly heavy at times, I am struck by his resilience. I am convinced that a primary reason he is able to weather the mountain-shaking, sea-roaring times is because he knows the way to the river. It is there he has found the refuge and strength of God.
CONCLUSION
There is a river, the Psalmist says. And at that river you’ll find water that is essential for life; it is an inexhaustible river; and it is near and ever-present.
Elsewhere, in Psalm 139, we find these words: “Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast.” (Psalm 139:7-9)
There is a river. It is a source of refuge and strength. It is a source of joy and peace. It is there for you and me. We are invited to come and drink deeply from its refreshing, healing, life-giving water.
A few years ago Max and David Sapp wrote about it in a song:
There is a river that flows from deep within, There is a fountain that frees the soul from sin. Come to this water, there is a vast supply. There is a river that never shall run dry. (There Is a River, chorus