Thirsty?

Here are some thoughts for my next sermon from my series on service. The scripture, such as it is, is Matthew 25:34-35.

MAIN IDEA – There is a thirst that we are told we are supposed to have. This is a thirst to look a certain way, to act a certain way, and to live according to a set of values. This is a thirst that I have when I think about my work with the church. When there is a low attendance, when the numbers don’t grow, I feel as if I am failing in some way and I thirst for more. I thirst for more glory and recognition. This is a thirst that is not fulfilled by controlling the environment, but by letting go. The real, the true thirst is about my desire to be recognized, affirmed, and loved. No matter how “successful” I may be, no matter how “great” I may be, my thirst will never be satiated. The truth is that it is only from God that I will find thirst quenched. Christ is the life-giving water, and in Christ I find that I am loved, redeemed and accepted for who I am. With Christ I am reminded that when I show love to one person then I am successful in Christ’s eyes. What is it that I thirst for? It is for salvation in the here and now. Where do I find that? I find that salvation with Christ.

Holy God, help me to trust your salvation, not just the salvation you have promised, but the salvation that you are promising. Help me to trust that when I work for your glory then I am doing what you have called me to do. Help me to embrace the grace and the glory you have offered me, and then to offer that to others so that our thirst will be fulfilled.
Amen

THEOLOGICAL IDEA – part of this is the reality of helping the thirsty by working for clean water in the world. Part of this is showing that the grace of God is a reality in the here and now. It is showing people that there is sanctification, salvation, and redemption. The redemption is what we want to embrace in this instance – a redemption of who we are and a glorification of who we are in Christ.
Walter Wink and Rene Girard speak of this redemption on a social level. With Girard we are freed from the desire to look again and again for a scapegoat to our violent actions. With Wink we are to look for redemption to the powers and principalities of which we are all a part.
There is also the personal aspect – salvation as being freed from the human condition. I do not view the human condition as just being sinful or fallen, but along with this as desiring something that cannot be met through humanity but only with God. This includes the desire to be loved and accepted.