A sermon on Exodus 17:1-7 and John 4:5-42 preached with Inuktitut interpretation in Kuujjuaq, QC.
The photo is of the Soper River in Nunavut, from the CHRS website (no photographer named).

Have you ever thought about the connection between the people of Israel in Exodus, and our own communities today?

I want you to think about what we heard this morning from Exodus 17.

I think it sounds a lot like the world around us today – maybe you will agree!

In Exodus 17, the people are wandering in the desert.  God has promised them good things, but they have not been faithful and have not opened their hearts to the Lord.

They are thirsty – very, very thirsty.  And they are grumbling, complaining about it.

They use the name of God, but only to complain. They said “Is the Lord among us or not?” “What has the Lord done for us?”

The people are so thirsty that they can’t even think rightly about God.

A familiar situation.

I think our communities, all across the diocese, are a lot like that.

The people in our communities – especially the younger ones, are so very thirsty, but they don’t know where to find the living water.

We see the struggles in our communities — addiction, broken relationships, people who feel worn down and hopeless.

My friends, no one wants those things. These are signs of a deeper thirst — a spiritual thirst — and many people simply do not know where to find the living water.

And sometimes we Christians get “dried up” too, don’t we?

Sometimes we look at all the challenges in the church, the hard work it takes to share the Good News of Jesus, and how some volunteers feel like they need a break but no one will take over from them…

…and maybe we begin to sound like the people of Israel: “Is God among us or not?”  Why is this so hard? Did God really call me to do this work?

And, my friends, let me remind you that it’s ok to ask those questions – as we heard in the Gospel today, even the Lord Jesus got tired and thirsty from his journey and took time to rest.

Where to find water.

People are spiritually thirsty, but many do not know where to find water.

We need to be quick to remind each other in the church, and quick to tell the world outside of the church.

The Good News in Jesus is that we know where to find water – the living water!

And we need to tell the world that it’s ok if you feel dried up!  It’s ok if up to now you have been thirsty and have been looking for refreshment in all the wrong places… because that’s why Jesus came!

Sometimes our children and grandchildren and friends get the wrong idea. Sometimes they feel like they need to clean up their lives first, and then they can come to church. Sometimes they feel like they need to fix themselves up before they can come to Jesus.

But that is completely backwards, isn’t it!

God didn’t tell the Israelites to take shovels and dig a well. 
No, when they cried out to Him, He gave them water in the desert.

And the Bible tells us that this rock in the wilderness points us to Christ, who gives living water to everyone who comes to Him.  (1 Corinthians 10:4)

Our job, as the Church, is to bring this water of life to our communities, because the people are spiritually very thirsty… but they do not know where to find water, so they look in all the wrong places.

But how do we do that?

God’s instructions to Moses… and for us.

Lets look at Exodus 17.

In Exodus 17, verse 5, God gives Moses 3 simple instructions for how to bring living water to those who are thirsty.

And I think those instructions are for us today, too.

“The Lord said to Moses, ‘Go on ahead of the people and take some of the elders of Israel with you; take in your hand the staff with which you struck the Nile, and go”.

There are 3 big ideas there in that short verse.

#1: God says “Go on ahead”, go forward. 
#2: God says “take the elders with you”, to lead the way
#3: God says “take the staff that divided the waters”, or in other words, that staff is the testimony of what God has done before.

My friends, our communities are spiritually thirsty for living water. And, as churches, it’s time for us to stop sitting in our nice buildings and waiting for them to come in. 

Let’s learn from what God says to Moses.

First, he says “Go on ahead”.  Go forward, the people are thirsty and complaining and not sure where to go, so go and meet them where they are and call them to follow.

Church, we need to dream big and be bold, to go out and meet people where they are.

And then God says “take the elders with you”. This is so important, because the young people are thirsty but too often the older generation doesn’t know what to say or how to lead them to Jesus. The older generation maybe feels disconnected because so much has changed in the world.

But, in every community, the young people are thirsty in their spirit. And what they are thirsty for is to hear the testimonies of the elders. To hear that they can call out to God, and He will listen.

And God says “take your staff with you”. That staff isn’t just a stick of wood – it is the sign and testimony of all that God has done before.

My friends – people don’t just need to hear the stories of what God did thousands of years ago. Take your staff with you – be bold and let them hear what God has done for you.

Living water, flowing forth into the world.

All across this land people are thirsty.

Children are thirsty. Families are thirsty. Our communities are thirsty.

But, my friends, we know where to find the living water.

And the vision of the Bible is that this living water should not stay inside the church. It should be flowing out into the streets, into the homes, and into the lives of people who are thirsty.

Let’s pray that God will make it so here in Kuujjuaq: living water flowing from this church into our community, as ordinary people like you and me share the good news of Jesus with those who are thirsty.

To God be the glory, now and forevermore. Amen.