Proper 10a God's Water July 16, 2023

 The prophet Isaiah writes:
“As the rain and the snow come down from heaven,
and do not return there until they have watered the earth,
making it bring forth and sprout,
giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater,
so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth;
it shall not return to me empty,”
I wrote in my weekly note to you, that I am fascinated (not surprised, yet still fascinated) by the power of God-given water.
The rain we’ve had, bursts of heavy and powerful downpours which feels all at once refreshing—ridding of the air of pollutants and humidity— and torrential —heavy, hard, powerful— And then, once the rain stops and the sun emerges there’s a brightness to the blooms, a vibrancy to the green of the leaves and grasses that I forgot existed. I dutifully water my pots of petunias, impatiens and decorative grasses and feel happy with how they look and how their beauty brings me joy….but then water from the sky falls and I’m blown away—-every single time—-by just how lush, vibrant and brilliant the blooms and grasses become with just ten minutes of that God-water. Days of hauling the hose, giving the water of the tap, keeps the plants alive and allows them a modicum of growth. But a few bursts of rain? I find the difference staggering. Thursday when I left home at 9 am to drive out here, my lawn was just beginning to need a mow—just a touch up really. I came home from Batavia that evening? The grass was over my ankles.
How does that happen?
To paraphrase the psalmist:
“God’s water visits the earth and waters it abundantly;
making it very plenteous; *
Because the river of God is full of water.”
The river of God is full of water, making the earth very plenteous.
How does the River of God make us plenteous?
Are we so busy watering ourselves with this “to do” list and that, are we so busy watering those around us with emails and text messages,is the world about us so busy watering us with broadcast news and social media messages of division and despair, of the us and the thems, of the outcast and the in crowd that we forget to let God’s word, God’s hope and God’s love water us to overflowing? Filling us with peace, saturating us with hope and sprouting us with joy?
God’s water is what we need to make this world make sense—- and God’s love is what others need from us…we bloom with the refreshment of God’s love and then we do our darnedest to shower others with at same love.
    Also on Thursday a woman who was stranded in Batavia after taking a 72 hour bus ride from Phoenix to be with a family member as they died, came here asking for help.It’s time for her to return but the help she was promised to get her back to Arizona fell through. She told me her story of recovery from heroin addiction, several months in prison, being released and finding a job, love and hope. She wasn't asking for handout she was asking for a leg up.
Between my discretionary fund and the generosity and love of our Thrift Store volunteers she now has enough money to eat, clothes to wear and a suitcase to take family memorabilia back to her daughter and husband. And above all else, she has joy, faith and the knowledge that there is a church in WNY that believes in second chances, that believes God loves everyone as much on their very worst day as on their very best. A community of faith that watered her with what she needed: hope. Love. And another chance. I think we gave that to her. I think we watered her with the most precious of all things: love.
And to that, all I can say is thank you and Amen.