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A sermon preached at
Westmoreland Congregational United Church of Christ
Bethesda, Maryland
by the Rev. Melinda Reed
September 25, 2005
Exodus 17; 1-7 Psalm 78: 1-4, 12-16
With heads bowed and hearts uplifted; let us be open to hearing these words:
It doesn't interest me what you do for a living.
I want to know what you ache for, and if you dare to dream of
meeting your heart's longing.
It doesn't interest me how old you are.
I want to know if you will risk looking like a fool for love, for dreams,
for the adventure of being alive.
It doesn't interest me what planets are squaring your moon.
I want to know if you have touched the center of your own sorrow, if
you have been opened by life's betrayals or have become shriveled
and closed from fear of further pain! I want to know if you can sit with pain, mine
or your own, without moving to hit it or fade it or fix it. I want
to know if you can be with joy, mine and your own;
if you can dance with wildness
and let ecstasy fill you to the tips of your fingers and toes without cautioning us to be careful, be realistic, or to remember the
limitations of being a human.
It doesn't interest me if the story you're telling me is true.
I want to know if you can disappoint another to be true to yourself;
if you can bear the accusation of betrayal and not betray your own soul.
I want to know if you can be faithful and therefore trustworthy. I
want to know if you can see beauty even if it's not pretty every day,
and if you can
source your life from God's presence. I want to know if you can live
with failure, yours and mine, and still stand on the edge of a
lake and shout to the silver moon, “Yes!”
It doesn't interest me where you live or how much money you have.
I want to know if you can get up after the night of grief and despair,
weary, bruised to the bone, and do what needs to be done for the children.
It doesn't interest me who you are, how you came to be here.
I want to know if you will stand in the center of the fire with me
and not shrink back.
It doesn't interest me where or what or with whom you have studied.
I want to know what sustains you from the inside, when all else falls away.
I want to know if you can be alone with yourself; and if you truly
like the company you keep in the empty moments.
The Invitation, inspired by Oriah Mountain Dreamer,
Native American Elder, May, 1994[i][ii]
To me, those words speak of the importance of community, of discovering the depth of living water tapped out of the rocky times of life; to recognize what flows and sustains us in our desert experiences; and, that when we are sniffing for a whiff of the remembrance of water, we have the power to make a change not only for ourselves, but for the world.
I have really struggled with this text in light of the events of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. I am very upset about the suffering, loss, and lack of care the folks in the Gulf Coast have encountered. I know you are, too. I have been angry and complained to God, not unlike Moses and his people in our scripture lesson this morning. But I have to admit that negative energy does not help those folks – or me.
However, I have seen, experienced, and am beginning to learn how Quantum Theory and the scientific studies of water can make a significant and positive change within each one of us and in our world.
I am not a scientist. The last science class I took was Atomic and Nuclear Physics in 1977 as an undergraduate; it was the only physics class offered that spring semester, and I needed it to complete my core classes before student teaching in Elementary and Special Education that fall.
I had always been taught that science and religion are very separate. Science deals with the physical world; it is objective and deals with facts. Religion deals with the spiritual world; it is subjective and deals with values.
I have just had a week of study leave where I have been immersed in a course in Counseling Theories and Practice, which included lectures on Quantum Theory. Examining spirituality, psychological theories, and quantum theory has been not only an epiphany for me into the integration of body, mind, and spirit, but quantum theory has been an invitation to look at our interactions with God and one another in new and expansive ways.
In the introduction of Masaru Emoto's book, The Hidden Messages in Water, he writes, "I understand that some people have difficulty with the concept of God. The main focus in this book is water. And the more you understand water, the more difficult you will find it to deny the existence of a god."[iii]
Emoto, a Japanese scientist and physician studies the effects words, music, and pictures have on water. Through his research, he found that water formed different crystal formations when exposed to the vibrations of music and words. He would also take a photograph or words written on a piece of paper and show them to the water; put the water into a freezer, and then photograph the frozen molecules. (For more information on this project, click here.)
All the classical music they exposed the water to resulted in beautiful, delicate, and well-formed crystals, however, water exposed to heavy metal rock and roll resulted in poorly formed crystals.
Emoto then put a drop of water in several petri dishes and wrapped a piece of paper around each dish with different words typed on it: there were several dishes which said, 'Thank you', in different languages, each resulting in a beautifully formed and delicate crystal; another said, 'you make me sick' (typed in Japanese). The crystal was mustard colored and created a shape of a man with a gun.
He also froze water that had been prayed over and water that had not. The water which had been prayed over looked like a perfectly formed crystal, light and bright; the water not prayed over looked dark and distorted.
Water is our life force; human are made up of mostly water. If water can pick up the energy of the music and the written words surrounding its container or the energy of a photograph, how might our words and thoughts affect each one of us?
In Exodus 17:6 we read, "Look, I will stand with you on the rock of Horeb. You [Moses] shall strike the rock with your rod, and water shall flow out of it, that the people may drink."
The water found in a rocky place is a sign of God's love and grace, even when we imagine God is absent. God is with us, ready to quench our thirst. At times, God's presence of living water can seem like a mirage when you are in the wilderness.
Like the people Moses was leading, we become weary, disappointed, and angry. We wonder whether God is journeying with us or not. Like the people of Israel, we cry out and protest; we beg for a sign that God is at all concerned about us. I know I have cried out to God with my concern for the folks affected by the hurricanes.
Have you ever been spiritually thirsty? I have, and I often am. As Christians, our journey is likely to take us through very dry and desolate times. There have been many times when I wondered if I could go on one more step without even a drop of water to revive my spirit. My experience has shown me that God is never early, but God is always right on time. It is God who breaks open the rock and barren places of life, offering us the flowing streams of water.
My spiritual refreshment often comes from familiar, yet unexpected sources: a much loved poem, a piece of music, a verse of scripture or a favourite prayer, the comfort of hearing a loved one's voice, a hug from a friend when I am feeling most un-huggable. Through these, I have been able to find enough water to refresh my spirit.
I am beginning to understand what the ancient mystics believed, and what the Quantum scientists are inviting us to embrace: our very words and presence affect every aspect of the universe — a universe and world held tenderly by God.
If our words and actions have such an affect on the universe, how will we move toward an invitation of peace and healing to those in need? What ways will we choose to invite healing and wholeness into our body, mind, spirit, the life of this congregation, the people suffering from the effects of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, those in Iraq, Afghanistan, genocide,.. the list is endless.
We have a prayer chain that is very effective in this congregation. The Washington Conservatory will be having a benefit concert for the hurricane relief in October. This congregation is interested in re-settling a family that has survived the hurricane. What else might we do to offer our words, presence, energy, or music to aid those in the desert, thirsty and in need of refreshment, life, and energy?
Would you come early in the morning before work to come together and pray or be together in this sanctuary in silence? Would you come in the evening for contemplative or intercessory prayer, either prayer in silence, holding others up as an offering, or praying aloud, or by silently reading concerns for prayer?
"In Japan, it is said that the words of the soul reside in a spirit called katodama or the spirit of words, and the act of speaking words has the power to change the world."[iv]
God does meet me in the wilderness. Not always with the abundant springs I long for; at times, there is just a whiff of the remembrance of the scent of water to keep me on the journey. The living water of God's Spirit is a gift of grace, and it is that grace which has brought me here today.
What about you?
Amen.
[i] Danah Zohar and Dr. Ian Marshall, Spiritual Intelligence: The Ultimate Intelligence, Prologue Bloomsbury Publishing, New York, N.Y.
[ii] Quoted in Jean Houston, A Passion for the Possible. Thorsons, London, 1998
[iii] Emoto, Masaru, The Hidden Messages in Water, Beyond Words Publishing, Hillsboro, Oregon, (2004)pg.x.
[iv] ibid. p.xxvi.
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