Thirsty Souls
Lent 3C
Exodus 3:1-15; Psalm 63:1-8; Luke 13:1-9
3/7/10
Lorraine Ljunggren

        Have you ever been thirsty? Truly thirsty…to the point that someone had to say, “Slow down, don't drink that so fast!” when finally a glass of water was in your hand?! We've seen marathon runners and tennis players, cyclers and football players grabbing cups of water on the go or squirting into their mouths sports drinks from bottles adorned by corporate logos. On summer afternoons when the temperatures soar and the sounds of lawn mowers fill the air or gardeners can be seen bent over the earth digging and planting, we know how readily ice water or lemonade is gulped by those doing the mowing or the gardening. Students on playgrounds or kids in backyards running around certainly welcome a chance at a water fountain or a cold beverage offered by a parent.

        This is the kind thirst to which we can pretty easily relate whatever our age. But, how about the kind of thirst described in today's psalm which says:
        “O God, you are my God; eagerly I seek you;
        my soul thirsts for you, my flesh faints for you,
        as in a barren and dry land where there is no water.” (Ps. 63:1)

        The psalmist's poetry describes someone longing for God – eager for a relationship with God – so eager, so excited about the possibility, that what comes to mind is the image of being in a desert where there is no water. And, when humans are in deserts where there's no water, our minds will even create images of water where there is none – we'll see mirages as if pools of water lie just on the horizon. In a land where there is no water light and distance play tricks on the human mind causing us to see what we desire and need to live.

        In just a few words the psalmist paints a vivid word picture for us of what it
is to have a thirsty soul – of what it is like to long for a relationship with God –
with the Divine – with the One Who Creates Us and Gives Us Life. This is a
thirst which lies deep within our hearts and minds – in our very souls – a thirst that water certainly cannot quench. It is a longing I believe is part of who we are as human beings. Many a theologian has written of that space or place in the human being that ultimately only God can fill.

        But, we human beings will try to fill that 'place' within us. We'll pursue money or power, position or prestige. We'll idolize the latest celebrities. We'll go to great lengths to cover up the empty spaces within us by buying the 'right' cars or fashions, putting on the most camouflaging make-up or using the right cologne or after shave. We'll deny the empty place in us – we'll go to great lengths to deny that our souls thirst for something – someone beyond ourselves. We'll fill up our days and over-schedule our lives with things which will pass away and leave us comfortless. We'll pass by opportunities to build meaningful community with others of God's people because we are afraid to let anyone in – to let others know how vulnerable we truly feel. We'll sit for hours and hours in front of television sets rather than spend that time serving others whose souls are as thirsty as ours.
We'll spend days and nights surfing the internet or playing video games rather than spending a fraction of that time in prayer or just being aware of God – rather than opening ourselves to the possibility that there is a God who does, in fact, love us.

        The psalmist identifies for us our thirst for God. I would submit the lesson from Exodus reveals God's thirst for us.

        Moses has run away to Midian and started a new life away from his former life in Egypt. He's playing it safe tending the flocks of his father-in-law Jethro. Moses has arranged for himself a relatively uncomplicated life. Moses isn't looking for a relationship with God, but the God of Moses' ancestors is seeking in a personal way to be in relationship with him.

        This is no ordinary local deity, no local god carved from stone or wood or
made from gold. This is a Living God who goes to some rather mysterious lengths
to get Moses' attention. The writer of Exodus tells us Moses sees a bush which appears to be on fire but is not burned up. As if that isn't strange enough, he hears someone call his name, “Moses, Moses.” Can we imagine, while minding our own business, hearing someone calling our name when it appears our only company is a herd of sheep??!!

        God proceeds to explain that Moses is standing on holy ground and that, out of love for God's people in bondage in Egypt, God has a holy quest in mind for Moses. God wants Moses – despite his objections – to help bring a nation of people out of their suffering and into freedom.

        Perhaps we have been caught off guard in our lives feeling or thinking as if God is calling our name. It might be that on some occasion we've even looked around thinking we heard such a voice speaking to us out-loud. If we haven't had this sort of experience, perhaps we have heard a still small voice speaking within our minds and hearts. Sometimes God has to go to some rather great lengths to get our attention, though the idea of an unconsumed burning bush may not be something we've ever seen. Sometimes – perhaps even most often – God speaks to us through others of God's people. Sometimes God speaks to us by tugging at our conscience, calling us to be like Moses, to bring an individual, a group, or even a nation out of suffering and into freedom.

        In the exchange Moses has with God, we may be able to identify with the way in which Moses raises objection after objection – are they excuses or reasons that Moses thinks God is picking the wrong person for the mission at hand? My guess is almost everyone of us has at some time protested that we aren't qualified or we aren't experienced enough or we just aren't ready to say 'yes' when we are called by God to some mission or ministry. I've certainly ducked and run on occasion – sometimes pretending that the voice tugging at my heart surely can't be God! But, sometimes I turn around and say 'yes' because something in my soul compels me to do so – some level of trust that it is, indeed, God calling and that God, will, indeed, be with me – some awareness that saying 'yes' is an act of love.

        Moses is certainly aware that it may not be easy to convince people to follow him when he does not even know the name of the One Calling. So, Moses learns the sacred name of God – a name which is beautiful and perplexing, mysterious and strange, all at the same time. The One whose name is given in Exodus is “I Am Who I Am” – or “I Will Be Who I Will Be” or “I Am the One Who Causes to Be What Comes into Being.”

        What must it be like in that moment when Moses receives this holy name? Does he suddenly become aware of his own soul? Does Moses at some deep level realize what or who has been missing in his relatively uncomplicated life? Some-thing amazing must happen to him because Moses goes on to overcome some amazing obstacles in helping the Hebrew people escape the tyranny of slavery in Egypt. Something life-changing happens on Mount Horeb – we know it is life-changing because this story has come down to us preserved by generation after generation.

        Truth be told, our openness to the Divine – our openness to the call of the great 'I Am' can change our lives as well. I said earlier that the psalmist identifies for us our thirst for God and that the lesson from Exodus reveals God's thirst for us. This God-relationship is a two-way street, my friends, waiting only for us to turn onto it. The desire for God and the desire of God are real. Too many people have testified to the truth of it for it to be anything other than true. I can't 'prove' it scientifically any more than any other preacher can. But I can testify to the truth of it in my own life. And I see the truth of it in your lives as well.

        All of us have thirsty souls. Whether we are long-time church goers or new,
or newly returned, what is left up to us each day is whether or not we'll open our
souls to God's desire for us. It is a process which can happen over and over again,
leading us always to be aware that wherever we are is holy ground because wherever we are God is. In this Lenten Season of the year 2010 may we seek the One who is the only one who can truly satisfy our thirsty souls. May each of us be able to join the psalmist in saying in confidence to the great 'I Am,' “My soul clings to you; your right hand holds me fast." Amen.

©2010 Lorraine Ljunggren