“Is God among us or not?”  This provocative question weaves itself through today’s readings.  In Exodus 17:1-7 we encounter a familiar scene. The Israelites begin to quarrel and complain that Moses has led them on a death march.  They ask: “Why did you bring us out of Egypt to kill us and our children and livestock with thirst?” (verse 3).  For his part, Moses appears frustrated at their impatience.  Yet, God miraculously provides water from a rock.

More significant than the provision of water is the means by which God provides. The same staff used to strip God’s enemies in Egypt of drinking water (see Exodus 7:17), now provides water for God’s covenant people (verses 5-6). By having the elders as witnesses, the community is shamed for its forgetfulness. Just as God had the power to take away drinking water, the same God has the power to provide it.

Water and its potential to sustain or destroy life is a potent theme in Exodus. From baby Moses’ rescue from the river, to the Israelites crossing of the Red Sea, to the Israelites thirst for water in this chapter, water imagery is present throughout the narrative. How do they know that God is among them? Because God continues to use elements such as water, which can give or take life, as a tool for life-giving acts on the way to the Promised Land.

	Name some events in the life of your community that had the potential to be devastating but in the end, was helpful or even encouraging.

The LGBT community, in many respects, can relate to the question of, “Is God among us or not?”  Experiences of exile, lack of care and hopelessness are common among socially degraded people. Why is it when we take the first step toward freedom and self-actualization such as through coming out, nurturing stable family systems, and cultivating healthy relationships do we still find ourselves in peril?  Exodus 17:1 reminds us that the Israelites’ immediate context is not the Promised Land. It is merely a stage — a stop along the journey — on the way to complete fulfillment of what Psalm 78:4 calls the glorious deeds of God and God’s might and wonders. We must be especially careful, however, that we don’t mistake the journey checkpoints as the conclusion to our faithful journey and struggle.  

	What are some life-giving and life-taking aspects of your particular community’s situation?

Psalm 78:1-4; 12-16 is an instructive, historical psalm. It reminds readers that the Israelites are not God’s people by word only. They are God’s people because they can recount a story of God’s faithful care, goodness, provision and protection throughout their journey from exile to promise. Similarly, the LGBT community and other historically marginalized groups are a part of a journey — a struggle — in which, for sure, many of us did not willingly enlist. Yet, we have an opportunity to exercise both a collective, faithful memory of our past experiences with God and each other as well as expressing our future hope for God’s continued presence and activity.

	In what ways does your community share and honor its stories of struggle and hope?

Psalm 25:1-9, therefore, stands as a challenge to the Israelites’ distrust and forgetfulness in Exodus 17. Rather than praying to God for help out of distress, unbelief, and as a last-ditch effort to survive, the psalmist petitions God for help through expressions of trust in God’s goodness. “From of old” (verse 6) God has been merciful and loving. The proper response to, “Is God among us or not?” is an emphatic, “Yes,” accompanied by communal tales of God’s deliverance, provision and faithfulness. Faithful prayers for help, guidance, and endurance should not be fueled by our own consumer appetites. Rather, our prayers and petitions should be grounded in our Christian history of faith found both in stories of the Bible and the stories of our contemporary faith communities. We are a people in which God is among us. How do we know? Because our stories, our histories, our faithful ancestors tell us so.

As Jesus is teaching in Matthew 21:23-32, his authority to do so is challenged by the chief priests and elders of the people.  Since authority is the ability to influence the behavior of others, Jesus’ refusal to provide any additional proof for the legitimacy of his authority appears to be based on the fact that, like John the Baptist, he had credibility with the people.  Whenever we LGBT people of faith work within and outside the church’s established power structure, we find our authority to do so challenged.  Crafty opponents will always attempt to undermine our work, denying its validity “from heaven” and saying, “We do not know.”  Jesus reminds us in the parable that it is those who do the will of God, even reluctantly (possibly because of bad past experiences), who will enter the realm of God.