Loading...Sermon January 31, 2016
The Rev. Rebecca S. Myers, LSW
The Church of the Nativity and St. Stephen, Newport, PA
Fourth Sunday After the Epiphany, Year C
for you shall go to all to whom I send you,
and you shall speak whatever I command you,
Do not be afraid of them,
for I am with you to deliver you…. Jeremiah 4:7-8
Earlier in the week, the Environmental committee met for the first time. Kay Cramer is leading this effort and she asked each of us who were there to talk about how we came to be interested in serving on the committee.
The first thing that came to mind for me was about clean water. My mother’s parents lived in a town in upstate New York near Lake Ontario. There was a beach in the nearby town of Sterling called Fair Haven. Lake Ontario isn’t exactly the ocean, but I loved going to that beach. I loved swimming in that Lake where you couldn’t see across to the other side, but where I knew was the country of Canada.
One summer when we went for a visit, I was looking forward to and hoping we’d get to go swim at Fair Haven. But I was told the Lake was so polluted that the beach was not open that year. That great big lake. I was so disappointed.
During that time, there were also droughts and required water conservation measures. I remember one summer when there were limits on even getting water in a restaurant.
And, of course, in 1969, the Cuyahoga River in Cleveland even caught on fire!
In April, 1970, Earth Day started and there was increased activism regarding protection of our environment. I love water, so the pollution of water certainly made an impact on me as a child. I knew, like so many of us know from a young age somewhere in our being, that water was absolutely necessary for life.
Living in Central Pennsylvania, I was often able to take the abundance of water for granted, so I wasn’t so aware of running out of water. I mean, with the Susquehanna and the other rivers, water appeared to be plentiful, but if it was polluted, then it didn’t matter how much there was of it.
Today we hear about Jeremiah’s call from God to be a prophet. God needed someone to speak to the people about the way they were living. They’d forsaken God and instead relied upon themselves. They’d forsaken God’s teachings.
God sends Jeremiah. Jeremiah protests. It’s never much fun to speak the truth to people who believe they’re having a grand time living the life they’re living. It’s never fun to be a prophet. It’s hard to tell people they’ve/we’ve got to change.
But just as in other places in our faith story, God responds in a way that reminds Jeremiah that God is in charge. God chose Jeremiah in the womb! God will give Jeremiah the words. God will be with Jeremiah, no matter what the crowd or his people might decide to do against him.
And today, we are called like Jeremiah. Justice regarding water is one way we are called. Some believe that the lack of water in parts of the world will be the cause of future wars. Some are concerned about how we’ve monetized water and if you cannot pay your water bill, you just go without, even though you die without water.
Recently, we’ve heard about the awful and horrible crisis in Flint Michigan, where a decision was made to switch the water supply from Lake Huron to the Flint River to save money. Unfortunately, the Flint River is not as clean as Lake Huron and the chemicals needed to purify the water, also leached lead from the aging water delivery system. A chemical could have prevented that leaching, but was not used.
Lead poisoning is one of the most horrible disasters. It’s particularly tragic for children. Effects of lead for children at this point are not reversible. There are many to blame for ignoring the problem. Yes, prophets were sent to Flint – a pediatrician, a University scientist, a worker with the EPA… all these were silenced and like Jeremiah, made out to be liars and unreliable.
Finally, the people’s cries were heard. The truth was confirmed.
But what do you do with a city of 100,000 people and a totally contaminated water system? All of the pipes need replaced, even though the water supply has returned to the waters of Lake Huron, the pipes are so damaged, it is still dangerous to drink the water. Imagine if you could not draw water from your tap at all! Much less, imagine if you had a child who had been drinking in and bathing in the water during the past year. Imagine the costs of health care and providing services.
Nothing is being resolved quickly in this debacle…in this failure. It’s hard to know where to begin to help. I do think, however, that we need to study what happened and to think about what God’s Justice requires of us in this regard.
We must have water for life. What actions and behaviors can we take right here and right now that make water available for all of God’s creatures here in our area? I’m sure we have an aging water delivery infrastructure. It’s expensive to replace, especially in our little towns. Are there policies that can help our region with our aging infrastructure? Are there ways we can help people have clean water for less money? How do we live today so that there is water for the future?
What will be required of us to speak these truths about water in our community? What is God requiring of us?
for you shall go to all to whom I send you,
and you shall speak whatever I command you,
Do not be afraid of them,
for I am with you to deliver you…. Jeremiah 4:7-8
May we answer God’s call and be fearless in speaking the words God gives us!
Amen.
