From the Pastor

What Living Water Looks Like
(John 7:37-39)

You don’t have to live in Wake County these days to experience a water shortage. I recently ran across this: “100% of the Southeastern United States is experiencing either abnormally dry or exceptional drought conditions.” You might be watering your lawn less often these days. You are no doubt following the do-not-burn notices and refraining from the occasional fire pit circle at night. But there is no shortage of “living water” all around! This month at Resurrection Lutheran Church we have people who stand before us as living and walking object lessons of what living water is! Jesus once invited anyone who thirsts to come to Him and drink, for “everyone who believes in me, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water” (7:38). If you show up here in the month of May and just look around, you will see living water from the beginning of May to its end.

May begins with Confirmation weekend. Let me remind you what Confirmation does and does not do. In our church tradition, Confirmation is not a Sacrament or a Means of Grace. We don’t believe that those taking part in the Confirmation Rite this weekend will somehow be made essentially DIFFERENT people than they were before they got here. But Confirmation DOES provide an opportunity for individual Christians to make a personal, public confession of their faith and a lifelong pledge of fidelity to Christ. For our youth it follows upon a formative time of deep and intentional instruction in the essentials of the Christian faith. That’s why Confirmation Day is a very special day for RLC young people and their families. It is a special day for all of us as their brothers and sisters in Christ. It is a special day because it is a day they point back to the day of their baptism and say… ”THAT was the day living water began to flow in my heart. THAT was the day I became connected in a mysterious and powerful way with my Lord Jesus Christ. THAT was the day I was crucified with Jesus, buried with Him into his death, and raised to new life with my risen and ascended Savior!” The work of the Holy Spirit that was begun in each of them is what they say “yes” to as they, together with all of us, say, “I believe.”

May ends with a special day of recognition and commissioning for Resurrection Lutheran School Principal Robin Hester. Robin first came to RLS in 2017 as a teacher of religion and athletic director. Since then, she has served at RLS as Dean of Students, become a member of our congregation, and begun serving as RLS principal in 2023. RLC members voted to call Robin as a commissioned Minister of Religion and principal of Resurrection Lutheran School at our special voters’ meeting last month (April 19). At the end of the month (May 31) we will make it all official in a special Rite of Commissioning in all services. I can’t wait to join all of you in seeing this day for which we have been praying finally come to pass! Robin joins the ranks of all who have heard the call of the Holy Spirit and have answered “Here am I! Send me!”

Without the refreshment of living water that comes as a gift from Jesus Himself, life would be a spiritually dry and barren wasteland. But by the grace of God in Christ Jesus, we have been empowered by His Spirit. His very own living water flows from within us! And that living water is not able to just well up and stay inside each of us. It is not to be contained! It can’t help but flow out and into a dry and dusty world.

What does the living water that Christ gives look like? May is a great month to answer that question by taking a look around.

The Spirit of Christ in each of us is just what God uses to bring life to a world in need.

Peace and joy in Christ,
Pastor Jonathan