Will our God not lead us?
Psalm 95:1-7a
1 O come, let us sing to the Lord; let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation!
2 Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving; let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise! 3 For the Lord is a great God, and a great King above all gods. 4 In his hand are the depths of the earth; the heights of the mountains are his also. 5 The sea is his, for he made it, and the dry land, which his hands have formed. 6 O come, let us worship and bow down, let us kneel before the Lord, our Maker! 7 For he is our God, and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand.
Additional Reading: Exodus 17:1-7, Romans 5:1-11, John 4:5-42
Dear Fairhope UMC Friends,
I am a little overwhelmed today. We find ourselves in a place in the church that is uncharted territory. Nursing homes will not allow our visits, assisted living facilities have canceled our communion services, hospitals are making decisions about whether or not clergy can visit room to room, we are re-thinking our long-standing tradition of serving weekly communion in the Gathering services, we house weekday programs for the very young and the very old on our campus that must now be analyzed in depth to provide for the participants’ safety…the list goes on and on.
All of this goes against the very core of what it means to be God’s people—bumping elbows instead of shaking hands, catching myself as I lean in to give a hug, becoming suspect of every sneeze and sniffle.
These are unusual times! And then the larger Methodist church is considering options for a parting of ways and my retirement accounts are in the tank…but who even has time to think about that right now when the health and well-being of our members is at stake?
Do any of you feel what I feel in your corner of the world today?
The lectionary readings for this week bring together narratives from Exodus of the Israelites who wandered in the wilderness without water, Paul’s word to the fledgling Roman church promising them that their suffering produces good fruit like endurance and character (oh, God, don’t we have enough character?) and a meeting between Jesus and a Samaritan woman at a well, where he brings her good news of living water in the midst of her sinful living situation.
The Psalm we read today weaves all of these together, reminding us that we are God’s people and we continue to be led by a God who always goes ahead and brings good news, living water and hope in a barren land. Will he not still do that for us?
I have staked my very life on these very promises and I know many of you have, too. Today feels a little like wilderness wandering, but Jesus meets us at the well, and he tells us everything we ever did. And if he holds our past, will he not hold our future? I believe he will, so I will continue to follow, abiding in the deep belief that our God will yet still lead us.
He always does whatever it takes. May I return such trust to him!
Blessings,
Laura
Photo by KEEM IBARRA on Unsplash
