The Old Kitchen Pump

I remember the old kitchen pump. The principle was simple. Work the handle up and down and water came out of the faucet. The only problem was that first thing in the morning, or after it had set for a while, it needed to be primed. If you had the water that was simple enough, just pour it into the top of the pump, and then start to work the handle. If you didn't have water that often meant a visit to the neighbors. Back then neighbors were neighbors, and that was no big deal. Sooner or later the neighbors would be knocking on your door asking for a bucket of water.

Holy Scripture uses the image of thirst to describe how we feel when we go through tough times. Our joy seems to evaporate, our stress levels increase, our resilience seems stretched to the breaking point, and our spiritual lives seem to dry up. In short, we thirst! In affluent suburbia we often try a time-tested method that is sure to fail. When we are faced with the necessity of reaching out to others for support we take refuge instead in the words of an old ad, "Thank you, mother. I would rather do it myself!"

An observable phenomenon among Christian suburbanites is that when things get tough, we go it alone, instead of centering our lives on the Presence of Christ in the fellowship of His Church. After all we are supposed to be self-reliant, independent people, who never run into any challenges that we can't manage, aren't we? Well, that is certainly the way of the world, but remember what Jesus said about the self-reliant Pharisees, "Let them alone; they are blind guides. And if the blind lead the blind, both will fall into a pit" (Matthew 15:14 ESV). Although in suburbia, it is more like the bland leading the bland.

Suburban America is big on images. Some think that you can't be seen in Church if you don't have a smiling face. That's not true. In Church even tears are allowed! Christians are not always joyful, but Christians should always be real, and the place for Christians to be real is in the fellowship of the Church. The biblical Greek word for acting was hupokrisis, from which we get the word hypocrisy. You don't need to be an actor, just come to Church. Come to Church just as you are, however you are. That's good enough for our Lord, and it's good enough for your brothers and sisters in the body of Christ. If you need comfort, come and be comforted. If you need encouragement, come and be encouraged. If you need to be delivered from your sins, come and be delivered. If you need hope, come and be with the Wellspring of hope in the midst of His people.

Spiritual life is like an old-fashioned kitchen pump. Things tend to go along just fine as long as you periodically work the handle. The problem is that none of us really do that consistently. We often let the pump sit too long and lose the prime. When that happens we have to go borrow water from our Christian neighbor. Don't worry! Come to Church! That's what neighbors are for! Sooner or later one of your neighbors will have to borrow water from you.

~ Father Rob +

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