Proper 21C 2007 Luke 16:19-31

Here in this part of Virginia we are in the midst of a severe drought. I have heard talk on the streets of town, in the post office, at Lee’s, and in the Tri-Star checkout line about this being the worst drought in years. Seems a quandary, surrounded as we are by water here on the Northern Neck.

Elsewhere in the United States, water issues have loomed large for centuries, particularly in the West. And in modern-day Palestine, access to water is a continuing burning issue between the Israelis and the Palestinians. It has always been true in that part of the world. Jesus himself said, “For truly I tell you, whoever gives you a cup of water to drink because you bear the name of Christ will by no means lose the reward.”

There is a place near Fowler, Kansas, called the Artesian Valley, a man who has lived there since he was two years old, remembers why the valley was so named. "There were hundreds of natural springs in this valley. If you drilled a well for your house, the natural water pressure was enough to go through your hot-water system and out the shower head." There were marshes in Fowler in the 1920s, where cattle sank to their bellies in mud. And the early settlers went boating down Crooked Creek, in the shade of the cottonwoods, as far as Meade, twelve miles away.

Today the creek is dry, the bogs and the springs have gone, and the people of Fowler dig deeper and deeper wells to bring up water. What happened? Seen from the air, the surrounding land is pockmarked with giant discs of green--quarter-section pivot-irrigation systems water rich crops of corn, steadily depleting the underlying aquifer. Everybody in Fowler knows what is happening, but no one thinks it in their interest to cut their own consumption of water. That would just leave more for somebody else.

Five thousand miles to the east, near the Spanish city of Valencia, the waters of the River Turia are shared by some 15,000 farmers in an arrangement that dates back at least 550 years and probably longer. Each farmer, when his turn comes, takes as much water as he needs from the distribution canal and wastes none. He is discouraged from cheating--watering out of turn--merely by the watchful eyes of his neighbors above and below him on the canal. If they have a grievance, they can take it to the water tribunal, which meets on Thursday mornings outside the Apostles' door of the Cathedral of Valencia. Records dating back to the 1400s suggest that cheating is rare. The region of Valencia is profitable, growing at least two crops a year.

Two irrigation systems: one sustainable, equitable, and long-lived, the other a free-for-all descent into drought. (1)

Some years ago before the death of Mother Theresa, a television special depicted the grim human conditions that were a part of her daily life. It showed all the horror of the slums of Calcutta and her love for these destitute people in places where clean water was lacking. Throughout the program commercials interrupted the flow of the discussion. Here is the sequence of the topics and commercials: lepers (bikinis for sale); mass starvation (designer jeans); agonizing poverty (fur coats); abandoned babies (ice cream sundaes) the dying (diamond watches). Polluted water throughout.

The irony was so apparent. Two different worlds were on display--the world of the poor and the world of the affluent. Sometimes it seems that our very culture here in the United States, is teaching us to live as the Rich Man in this gospel story of Lazarus. We see our poor Lazarus’s beyond the heads of our lanes but what do we do about it? We are running into the danger that we have separated ourselves from the agonies of others. Worse, that we did not care about others who suffered. (2)

There was a large farm pond that had lost its freshness. The water had been clear. It attracted animals and people alike. But it became covered with a green scum. The farm animals became sick from drinking the pond water. Finally someone came by who understood the problem. Debris pushed by the hard spring rains and thaw had collected in the dam spillway and slowed the free flow of water out of the pond. When the spillway was cleared soon the pond was fresh and clean again. The flow in and out was necessary to keep the water pure and fresh and healthy.

The blessings of life flow to us. Do they stop there? (3)


1. Matt Ridley and Bobbi S. Low, The Atlantic Monthly, September 1993. Adapted. eSermons Illustrations for 23 September 2007
2. Brett Blair, www.eSermons.com, eSermons Illustrations for 23 September 2007
3. Richard W. Patt, All Stirred Up, CSS Publishing, eSermons Illustrations for 23 September 2007