CAMINANDO WITH JESUS: Thirsting for God
Third Sunday in Lent | March 24, 2019
By the Rev. Chantal Morales McKinney, D.Min.
O God, you are my God; eagerly I seek you; *
my soul thirsts for you, my flesh faints for you, as in a barren and dry land where there is no water.
Therefore I have gazed upon you in your holy place, *
that I might behold your power and your glory.
For your loving-kindness is better than life itself; *
my lips shall give you praise.
So will I bless you as long as I live *
and lift up my hands in your Name.
My soul is content, as with marrow and fatness, *
and my mouth praises you with joyful lips,
When I remember you upon my bed, *
and meditate on you in the night watches.
For you have been my helper, *
and under the shadow of your wings I will rejoice.
My soul clings to you; *
your right hand holds me fast.
- Psalm 63:1-8
“No testing has overtaken you that is not common to everyone. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tested beyond your strength, but with the testing he will also provide the way out so that you may be able to endure it.”
- 1 Corinthians 10:13
Lent is the time in our year we come face to face with profound suffering and, ultimately, the ability of God to transform suffering into resurrection. Today we have an opportunity in the church to plunge deep into the dark abyss of the aspects of life that bring people to cry out for God, like today’s Psalm (63:1):
O God, you are my God, I seek you, my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you,
as in a dry and weary land where there is no water.
For the last five years, a significant part of my ministry has been outside of the church: in Section 8 housing, tiendas, the women and children’s homeless shelter, and on the streets in Southside Winston-Salem in general. One of the most profound things I have learned during my time engaging with those not part of a church is that so many people have gone through deep trials in their lives, and their souls are crying out to God. Addiction, poverty, disease, hunger, fear, violence, mental illness, challenges with health care and employment, family difficulties - these are some of the problems known to hundreds of people right around my church. And chances are, they are problems known to hundreds of people not too far from your church, too.
So why aren’t they coming to church if their soul thirsts for a connection to God? There are many answers to this question. One that keeps me up at night is that again and again, I have discovered that for many people, the circumstances and events of their lives have brought a profound sense of shame upon them. Many believe they must first get their life together before coming to church. Shame is like a demon. And I wonder if somehow, we in the church have inadvertently fostered the notion that people have to get their lives together before they come to church. Could it be the culture of parishioners putting on their Sunday best and showing up with shining faces and combed hair has inadvertently reminded those who thirst for the living God in a weary land that their lives aren’t that perfect and so they don’t come? How have we unintentionally participated in the illusion that we aren’t broken, too? Unfortunately, I have lost count of the number of conversations I have had with people who want to be part of a church and need God like they need air to breathe, and yet they are trying to overcome undeserved shame in order to get there.
This is why, as part of following Jesus, we must go to them. This is why standing at our red church doors with a welcoming smile and a nametag is a good start, but it won’t result in those who most need God coming inside our churches. Because shame is like a demon that needs to be cast out. Shame prevents thousands of people from making their way to our doors. And yet of all people who need grace and a blessing, it is those not yet in our churches.
And then when they finally come, are we prepared to offer the riches of Holy Scripture? Are we prepared to speak and witness to the Living Christ who can raise up people dealing with today’s challenges and heartaches? When they come to our churches, they won’t care what color the hangings are. It won’t matter how polished the silver is. The programs we offer won’t fill their void. It will be Jesus Christ who is their balm. It will be Christ alone who can heal, sooth, mend and lift up their weary souls.
What they continue to show me, and what I have experienced, is those who go through trials of suffering and hardship can also witness to the resurrection of God found not only in Jesus Christ but found in themselves, too. The beauty and paradox of going out to bring grace and an invitation to those not in the church are that they can, and often do, witness to us of the ways God has blessed their lives despite their deep suffering. Even in the Lenten times of their life, I have heard the hungry, the formerly addicted and incarcerated, and the worn down sing Alleluia! and Glory to God! for the internal resurrection unfolding in their lives. They remind me that death and resurrection are intricately woven together.
The last verse in Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians states “No testing has overtaken you that is not common to everyone. God is faithful, and God will not let you be tested beyond your strength, but with the testing God will also provide the way out so that you may be able to endure it.” (1 Corinthians 10:13)
Paul reminds us we are each called and equipped by life’s circumstances to witness to the testings we have endured so that others may come to know the trials of our lives are not the end of the story. Death is not the end of our story. God is faithful, and we will endure by God’s grace.
Five years ago, I had no idea the number of times I would be on the receiving end of hearing the beautiful testimonies that spring up from parched locations, even as I have been overwhelmed with the pervasiveness of shame that endures among others who are in the thick of life’s challenges. We might suspend the Alleluias in our churches during Lent, but out in the world, those who are thirsty for God open their mouths in unending praise, even as they long for the waters of the living God.
The Rev. Chantal Morales McKinney is the founding pastor and church planter/mission developer for Christ's Beloved Community, Winston-Salem.
Tags: Caminando with Jesus
