March 23, 2025 ~ Third Sunday in Lent
Drink From the Fountain of Grace
Rev. Beckie Sweet
When my son, Paul, was a toddler, I had a concern because he was yet to begin talking. There was a little girl in my congregation who was only three months older than Paul, who could sing two verses to the song “Deep and Wide” without missing a word. But Paul didn’t say much more than “Mom” and “Cookie.” Then, when he was a little over three, Paul started talking ~ not only in complete sentences, but in paragraphs!
We spent most of our vacations on our farm. We pitched our tent in the barn, due to the lack of soil depth into which to pound tent stakes, and the ferocious winds that would blow through that area. Of the 117 acres, about 40 acres were fenced off pastures. The farmer across the road would put a dozen Heifers and a bull in the pastures each summer. When we would go for walks through the pastures, the Heifers would often follow us, mostly out of curiosity. Paul was not supposed to climb under the barbed wire fence into the pasture without adult supervision, but, Paul was the family “wanderer.”
It was not unusual for Paul to disappear while I was preparing a meal or taking a bathroom break. On one particular sunny day, Paul was again among the missing. As I began searching for him, I could hear his voice coming from the direction of the front pasture. Looking over in that direction, I could see the Heifers standing in a circle. In the middle of the circle of young cows was our little guy “preaching to the cows!” Growing up in a pastor’s family, he had heard plenty of sermons in his young life. Little did I know that God had given Paul a message to deliver to the cows that day.
A decade later, Paul continued to receive messages from God. At Annual Conference, at the end of the Ordination Service, during the traditional call for folks to commit their lives and service to representing Christ in the world, Paul marched forward. He continued to respond to the call every year after that at Annual Conference. God had placed a call on Paul’s life, and Paul had turned his proverbial cup toward God. What was a cute, humorous scene watching a very young child “preaching to the cows,” was beyond the beginning of God working on Paul’s life and heart for the purpose of Christian Service.
We all have a choice in who or what we follow in life. To live a Christian life involves choosing to listen to, and follow Jesus. For some of us, that choice was/is easy. For others it was/is hard. The first time we made that choice may have been long ago, or just recently. Or maybe we are considering this choice and wondering what it means, involves, or asks of us.
That brings us to Psalm 16, and today’s message, “The Cup You Choose.” Some scholars believe that Psalm 16 could have been written by a Canaanite, someone who was already living in the land where God led the Israelites and who chose to follow the God of Israel, even though doing so would have been a departure from their background and culture. For some people, their upbringing, culture, and background may make choosing God a sort of “default option,” whereas for others, choosing God may involve a choice for something new and different. Regardless, we all have the option to choose the “gods” (little “g”) we’ve made (such as the god of vanity, pride, consumerism, hatred, etc.) OR one can choose the GOD (big “G”) who is the Creator, Redeemer, and Sustainer.”
The psalmist speaks of choosing God, using the image of a cup, in contrast with those who “choose another god. The “cup” here is a way of describing what a person’s life is going to be like. In some places this involves punishment or suffering, and in others blessing and salvation. When the psalmist says, “the Lord is my chosen cup,” the psalmist is not claiming the power to control what happens to them. Rather, the psalmist is choosing to follow God and confessing trust that in doing so, God will protect and take care of them in their lives.
We can think of this as being “positioned to receive God’s grace.” We do not earn grace, but in turning away from false gods and turning toward God, we are in a position and posture to receive what God offers. Even our ability to choose to turn toward God is made possible by grace, what John Wesley would call prevenient grace (the grace of God that precedes and prepares individuals for conversion, enabling them to respond to God’s call). Choosing God is not a human achievement; it is a response to the gift and promises of God.
The psalmist describes what being positioned or attuned to God looks like for them:
- Confessing faith and trust in God;
- Looking to God for instruction and help via prayer, Scripture, and community; and,
- Worship, praise, rejoicing & gratitude.
So, how can we position ourselves to be shaped into the vessels we were created to be? Will we choose the living water that only Jesus can give? And how can we share that Christ’s living water with others?
Whether you were brought up in the faith, or have just recognized faith begin to bubble up within you, daily we must choose to follow Jesus. You chose today ~ that is why you are here. But there are times when all of us lose sight of following God, and get distracted by “other gods.” We get lured-in by opportunities to make names for ourselves, to get rich quickly, to have more control, power, authority, influence. We need to be reminded to turn away from those temptations and position our cups to receive God’s grace and direction.
Today, God is calling us to ready our cups as vessels which can dip from God’s fountain of grace, so that we may drink, and share, the thirst-quenching love of Christ. Is Jesus the cup you will choose each day?