GOD IN THE EVERYDAY

Dr. Richard J. Henderson February 27, 2005

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Psalm 95:1-7
John 4:5-42

Introduction

When I was fourteen, we were in the neighbor's back yard pulling the plastic cover off their swimming pool. It was one of those beautiful, hot days of Indian summer. We pulled back the cover enough to be able to dive over it into the cool water of the pool. It was a fun day of enjoying the warm weather and getting one last chance to use the pool.

As we continued, the cover began to edge back across the water and. I suppose, we became a little less energetic in our dives. I dove off the diving board and instead of going over the cover, I went head first into the plastic. I was four feet deep in the cover, the water and plastic pressed around me! I couldn't breathe!

I flailed frantically, trying to get myself free, but I only made things worse. It was then that I realized that I was going to die. I was fourteen years old and my life was over. After about an hour (or so it seemed) I had the common sense to stop kicking my feet and hold still, in case someone was trying to help me. In a little while, I felt someone grab my ankle and pull me from the plastic.

I drew in a huge breath of that air I thought I would never feel again. After I caught my breath, I dried off and went home. I went up to my room and lay down on the bed. I dug out my Bible and flipped it open. It opened to Matthew 18 where I read these words, "If any of you put a stumbling block before one of these little ones who believe in me, it would be better for you if a great millstone were fastened around your neck and you were drowned in the depth of the sea."

Obviously, that was a conversion experience for me - although I realized later that my conversion had been taking place earlier. On a perfectly ordinary fall day, we played in a neighbor's back yard, not expecting anything unusual to happen. In that ordinary time, God spoke loud and clear.

I

After traveling with Jesus all day, the disciples get a break from their travel and go up to a room to enjoy some food and rest. They're sweaty, tired and hungry. As they sit resting, Jesus surprises them. He comes to each one and washes his feet. A servant does this, not the Lord of life. He takes ordinary - soon dirty water - and washes their dirty feet.

Then they move to the table. There is nothing special to eat tonight - some bread and the usual wine. But Jesus makes of this common food something far greater. As they begin the meal, he raises the bread, breaks it, and says, "This is my body, given for you." He lifts the cup, "This cup is the new covenant, sealed in my blood. Do this remembering me."

On an ordinary day, with common, everyday food, Jesus touches their lives. In that meal, he changes the lives of millions of people.

II

I spoke with a woman who was in the hospital for tests before she had surgery. She was very nervous about the procedure and her fear was obvious. When I went to visit her just before her surgery, I found a completely different person. She was calm and composed. As we talked she explained what had happened. She was under-going tests, and in the process, she was taken in a wheelchair from room to room. Waiting for her next test, the nurse left her in the hallway by herself. As she sat there, she felt the presence of God with her in a way she had never experienced before. God said to her, "Don't be afraid. I am with you. You are going to be fine." From that moment on, she wasn't afraid. She sat in an ordinary concrete block hallway. In that common place, God spoke to her and changed her whole outlook.

III

A woman comes at noon to draw water for the day. It is an act that most women in the world still do everyday. But most come early in the morning before the sun gets too hot. To come alone at noon indicates that she may not be well liked, or may not have a good reputation. Maybe she comes in the heat of the day to avoid over-hearing whispered gossip about her. While she's there, a man talks to her, "Give me a drink." She's shocked. In this part of the world, men don't speak to women. A man, especially, doesn't speak to a woman who is alone.

Plus, he's a Jew and she's a Samaritan, Jews won't have anything to do with Samaritans. Samaritans are despised. He speaks to her about living water, but she doesn't understand. But she does understand when he talks about her personal life. "Call your husband," he says. "I don't have a husband."

"You've had five husbands, and the one you have now isn't your husband."

Then Jesus' disciples return, and the woman runs back to the city. She begins to tell everyone, "I have met someone who told all about me. This couldn't be the Messiah, could it?" The Samaritans hear what she says and they come to see Jesus. They talk him into staying two more days and teaching them about God.

It was the most ordinary day when this woman went to get water. There was nothing unusual about it until she met a man who changed her life. As a result, she became a preacher! She spread good news to others, and they believed.

It was such an ordinary day when her life changed completely.

Conclusion

A common thread runs thru all of these experiences. People were living their lives on an ordinary day when God intervened. None of them was in church. They weren't in a religious setting when the presence of God surprised them. It didn't seem like a holy time or place - at least not at the beginning.

God works thru ordinary days - a warm fall afternoon or the heat of mid-day.

God comes to us in the routine of our lives - going to fetch water like every other day, resting after a long day on the road.

God speaks to us thru very common elements - a loaf of bread, a cup of wine, a bowl of water. Is there anything more common than bread and water?

Some people see God in a lightning bolt or in a huge religious program. But for most of us, it's a whisper to a woman in a wheelchair, an amazing word over a cup of water, an afternoon of swimming, or the bread and cup on the table.

Listen for the whispering of God in your everyday life.

Amen.

©Richard J. Henderson 2005