The Sixteenth Sunday after Trinity.
The Collect.
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O
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LORD, we beseech thee, let thy continual pity cleanse and defend thy
Church; and, because it cannot continue in safety without thy succour, preserve
it evermore by thy help and goodness; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
5 Then cometh he to a city
of Samaria, which is called Sychar, near to the parcel of ground that Jacob
gave to his son Joseph. 6 Now Jacob's well was there. Jesus therefore, being
wearied with his journey, sat thus on the well: and it was about the sixth
hour. 7 There cometh a woman of Samaria to draw water (John 4:5-7)
It was water of Jacob's
Well for which the woman came, and it was the Water of Life with which she left
that Well.
Situated approximately
thirty miles north of Jerusalem in the hill country of Ephraim is the ancient
walled city of Shechem of the Old Testament, Sychar in the New Testament, and
today known as Nablus. It is the burial site of Joseph. Beneath the foundations
of Shechem there runs an Underground River which carries its nourishing waters
to the distant pasturelands, and it is this water course from which the water
for Jacob's Well is supplied. The waters of the river run totally unnoticed
beneath the busy commercial streets and shops of flourishing Shechem during its
active workday of barter and trade. But once the oxcarts and trampling feet of
merchants and patrons have been stilled by the curtain of night, one can very
plainly hear the gurgling ripples of the stream deep below the foundation of
the city as it hurries along to its indefinite destination.
How like the still and
silent draw of the deep waters of the Holy Spirit are the waters of this
Underground River, and it was these waters that quenched the great thirst and
convicted the woman of Samaria as she spoke with the Fountainhead of those
Waters of Life.
Quite often in our busy
lives of social, commercial and professional activity, we are unable to hear
the soft, sweet voice of God calling to us over the tumult of life. It is at
those busy times that we need Him most - and are sadly unable to hear. What must
we do to enter again into the sanctuary of the Almighty? Simple! "Be
still, and know that I am God." Ps 46:10. Sometimes we simply need to close our minds, hearts and ears
to the rush of daily life, stop what we are doing on the computer, and commune
with the Majesty from on high. He never shouts, screams or intrudes without our
invitation; because He is a perfect Gentleman (Jesus es el Senor - Jesus is a
Gentleman.. as our good Spanish brothers love to aver). "Hearken unto
this, O Job: stand still, and consider the wondrous works of God" Job
37:14.
Remember the call of God
to young Samuel? He called three times in the night. Samuel heard clearly each
call, but aging and restless Eli did not hear. I Sam 3:4-15. And poor dejected
Elijah, having given up all hope, God commanded to go and "stand upon the
mount before the Lord." Elijah witnessed a great and strong wind which
rent the mountains and broke in pieces the rocks, but the Lord was not in the
wind; and after, an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake; and
after, a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire; and after the fire, a STILL
SMALL VOICE.
God does not speak to us
in the heated shouts and elevated voices of everyday life. He speaks not
through the twisted and tortured notes of heavy metal (Christian?) music. Not
in the peals of drum and discordant voice. He comes softly! He resorts (as he
always has) not to the sin-filled
and busy main street, but to the GARDEN.
The Holy Spirit is forever
that silent, bountiful stream of Living Water that courses ever near us, but
which we often neglect to hear or heed.
Our present generation
wants ACTION! Entertainment - even in worship! But they are a sad lot who seek
God in vaunted words, music and deeds of modern society which, it seems, many
of our churches attempt to emulate. Worship in many of America's churches is
centered on man and his word - not the Word of God or praise to Him. What does
God think of such churches?
"An evil and
adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given
it.." St. Matthew
12:39.
So if you want to hear the
voice of God, be near Him who first loved you; seek Him in the quiet sanctuary
of His Garden. Seek Him in your closet of prayer, not in the boisterous 'noise'
of some modern worship services. The sound of His voice is like the Underground
River of Living Water of ancient Shechem. To hear Him, OUR feet must stop, OUR
voices must be stilled, if we are to hear HIS. Thoughts of the market place,
the bazaar, the social gatherings, must be put aside. We empty our hearts of
worldly lusts and turn them to the Source of all Mercy and Grace.
So we conclude, today, our
devotions on the Three Rivers of God – the Mighty Nile river (God the Father),
the Jordan River and that Giver of Life – the Zayanderud (God the Son), and the
Underground River at Shechem (God the Holy Ghost). Reader, do you know these
Three?
