What God Showed Up?

On Christmas Day our congregation worshiped by praying the Christmas liturgy followed by a service of Lessons and Carols adapted from the historic Service of Nine Lessons and Carols presented each Christmas Eve by the choir of Kings College, Cambridge, England.  In our slightly shortened version, seven scripture lessons tell of the Incarnation in the birth of Jesus.  A familiar Advent or Christmas carol is sung in response to each lesson.  The entire service is a moving declaration of the foundation of the Christian faith – Jesus, the Christ, was born among us and recognized by those who heard the good news as Immanuel, God with us.

A few days after Christmas I saw a post on Facebook quoting the Rev. Franklin Graham as saying that Donald Trump’s win was the answer to the prayers of many: “Trump won because ‘God showed up.’”  I found this troubling because what I have learned of Trump’s words and actions so far seems to be at odds with the God who is described in the liturgy and scripture lessons we had read in church just two days before.  Thus I undertook a comparison.

Meditation on Water

Because Easter was so late this year, the annual Earth Day celebration fell on Good Friday.  After considering this unusual convergence, and seeking some point of commonality, it occurred to me that water is central both to the life of Jesus and the life of our planet.

Examples of the role that water played in Jesus’ life are easy to find in the gospel narratives.  His ministry began with his baptism by John in the River Jordan, and his first recorded miracle involved turning water into wine.  Most of his public ministry took place on and around the Sea of Galilee; indeed, a number of his disciples were by trade fishermen, earning their livelihoods in intimate connection with the sea.  Familiar sea stories include Jesus’ calming the waves during a storm, walking on water as he approached a ship carrying his friends, and preaching to the crowds while seated in a boat a bit offshore.