“That’s Us” and “Strike the Rock”

February 23/24, 2008

Exodus 17:1-7
Psalm 95
Romans 5:1-11
John 4:5-42


Today’s Scriptures are rich with drama. The Old Testament reading from Exodus and the Gospel story from John, each have to do with belief, the lack of belief, and a human relationship that provides a bridge between these two conditions. In both of these stories, water is the metaphor that reveals an inward condition. In both stories we are challenged to identify (or put ourselves in) the position of those in doubt, or disbelief or the position of the faithful one, be it Moses or Jesus. I have two names for this sermon based upon the different perspectives we can take of each story. The first name suggests the condition of tension that we all experience daily between faith and doubt. Despite how pitiful the Israelites seem in the Exodus passage; nevertheless, truth be told, we, too, thirst for earthly water, and we can easily say: “That’s us.” We can identify with them. So that’s title number one: “That’s us.” On the other hand, because we are not completely lacking in faith, and because we are, at times, able to achieve transcendence (so we are able to rise above circumstances in our stance of faith) we can identify with the position of Moses, whom God tells to: “Strike the Rock,” (which is the second name for this sermon – “Strike the Rock.”) Thus, we understand both positions, and each allows us new perspectives of God and his grace in our lives.

So, we have, first of all, the children of Israel, a group that had struggled under bondage in Egypt, yet who found deliverance out of their condition of slavery through their relationship with someone God brought to lead them, Moses. At the point where we catch up with them, they are thirsty; very, very thirsty; so thirsty that they can’t think straight. They are unable to remember all of the miracles God has done for them – how they were untouched by the plagues that afflicted the Egyptians, how they were delivered through the middle of the Red Sea (undoubtedly this was in real life an even more impressive scene than the Cecile B. DeMille version that apparently was accomplished with the aid of Jello). They weren’t able to remember how when they were hungry, they were fed manna from heaven. In their state of extreme thirst, none of this came back to their remembrance as they harassed Moses for water. From my perspective (and to Moses), their lack of faith seems quite pitiful.

But, “that’s us.” Certainly, as situations in our lives shift and change, we sometimes find it difficult to believe that God will be faithful to us, as He has been before. Somehow, it seems like our current situation (maybe difficulty with a teacher, or a student or in a relationship, difficulties with school or money, maybe a chronic illness or a struggle with self-doubt) maybe those current situations don’t matter to God the way other things have in the past. Or it seems that maybe our current situation is impossible, even for God.

In their unbelief, the Israelites lashed out at their leader, Moses, who exemplifies for us the role that people, you and I, play in the faith development of communities. For the children of Israel, Moses was the bridge of faith to God. And while his relationship with the Israelites is an important part of this story, just as important is Moses’ relationship with God. Clearly, the familiarity with which Moses addressed God suggests the level of intimacy he enjoyed with God. While the Israelites are unable to believe that God’s providence will come through for them this time, Moses listens to God, and strikes the rock. This physical action provides the life-giving water the Israelites so desperately need, but, more importantly, Moses’ actions maintain the relationship the community has with God. Sometimes, one person has to stand in the gap for others.

That brings us to our second story, in which we find the roles reversed. The person who is thirsty and tired in a strange land is the faithful one, Jesus. He has ended up in an area that Jews avoided as much as they could, Samaria, a land inhabited by people whom the Jews considered to be completely other than them. Samaria divided Judea and Galilee. On the eastern border of all three ran the Jordan River. Because Jews believed that they would become contaminated if they passed through Samaria, they would usually cross the Jordan River and travel parallel to the Samaritan border to get to either place, and then recross the Jordan River when they reached their destination. We see that the way in which John talks about Jesus’ route to Galilee suggests that traveling through Samaria was a big problem. In verse 4, he says that Jesus “had to pass through Samaria.”

Jesus settles himself beside Jacob’s Well, and requests a drink from a Samaritan woman. She identifies herself to him as a Samaritan and a woman (as if he didn’t notice), and she expressed great surprise that Jesus would ever ask for water from her. Most Jews would assume that water from her cup or pot or whatever she had would automatically be contaminated. Further, she knew she was considered the lowest of the low to a Jewish man, because even Jewish women were of lower social status than men, so why would Jesus even bother to speak to her?

Their interchange is complicated. Water takes on greater meaning than an element that sustains physical life. Jesus begins to talk about water that fulfills a spiritual longing, and He gets into territory that she never expected when He reveals His knowledge that, in fact, she has been married five times and is currently living with a man who is not her husband. Wow, that is a revelation that she never expected him to bring to light. Through revealing this truth, Jesus “strikes the rock.” He literally hits upon something that is so elemental to her life that this interchange they’ve been having suddenly takes on the personal tone of a relationship. She realizes that “the water” He has been telling her about was really something that she and her whole community needed, and she brings all of her Samaritan friends and acquaintances, in fact her whole village, out to see him.
In the midst of all of this excitement, the disciples catch up with Jesus. From John we can sort of detect their nervousness about the situation. They try to draw Jesus away by telling him He must eat, and as He talks to them about reaping a harvest of souls, they seem confused. Then Jesus teaches them (and us) a most important lesson as He indicates to them about the Samaritans – “That’s us. These supposedly contaminated people – they’re a part of us. And further, not only am I going to drink their water, but I’m going to eat their food, because I’m going to stay here for a little while.” John tells us that Jesus stays with the Samaritans for a couple of days; he completes his total identification with them by not just eating and drinking, but also by waking up in their homes and interacting with their children.

These Scriptures acknowledge the deep tension we face daily between doubt and faith, and they also show us that the bridge from doubt to faith can be found through relationships, through community. Relationships can provide a laboratory through which we work out our faith. This is a strong ethic at St. Paul’s – the ethic of sharing meals in community and of reaching across boundaries to those who are considered “other.” Otherness can take on all different meanings – it can mean anyone who is forgotten or powerless or people who seem to be caught in hopeless situations. At times these are people with whom no one wants to associate. Members of our church venture to Africa, India, Guatemala, and China (and many places I don’t know about) to reach out to “the other.” Some stay in the states and minister to youth at the Simple Room, the elderly, the profoundly disabled, or victims of Hurricane Katrina. I suggest that through these actions we “strike the rock;” we physically and visibly demonstrate our faith. What most of us find, when we become involved in these kinds of outreach, is that these actions bring forth a spirit of deep humility within us. As we authentically engage in relationships that may initially seem very awkward, this reveals our own human inadequacies and weaknesses, and how much work God has to do on us. We also learn that no matter how “other,” someone or group of people may seem – they are us and we are them. Further, while so often we see ourselves coming from the position of faith, these relationships often minister to us in ways we never expected. Those “others” truly teach us about what it means to have faith in Jesus, often because the purity of their experience touches us.

Romans 5 explains why all of this happens, and that is because while cultures construct (or make up) differences between people, we in the human race all share the condition of being sinners. On our behalf God has both “struck the rock,” and adopted us as His. Romans 5: 6 – 8 says: “For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly.” Further, “God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” He is our ultimate example of One who through his actions struck the rock and made complete identification with us. May God embolden us to do the same: strike the rock, engage with “the other,” and grow in faith as a community.