A theme or image running through several of the Scripture readings for today is water. In the lesson from Exodus, the Israelites are complaining about a lack of water. Moses appeals to the Lord for help and, following the Lord’s command, he strikes a rock and water gushes out. That event is celebrated in Psalm 95. In the passage from the Gospel of John, we hear the story of Jesus’ encounter with a Samaritan woman at the well. She has come there to get water and Jesus tells her about a new kind of water, living water. This life-giving water is a gift that Jesus offers to those who come to him.
Why this focus on water? In our own time, in this country, we take water for granted. We turn on a faucet and clean water comes out. If we are not satisfied with tap water for drinking, we can buy bottled water. But it was different for the Israelites, the Samaritans and others whom Jesus met. They lived in desert country where water was precious, never taken for granted.
Today, in many parts of the world, clean water is scarce and, sometimes, not available at all. As we read the stories about the impact of the earthquake and tsunami on nuclear reactors in Japan with the increase in radiation and the possibility of contaminated water nuclear, we are reminded once again that clean, life-giving water is not something to be taken for granted.
One of the Millennium Development Goals addresses this issue, setting an objective of making clean water available in poor countries. Bishop Lee has challenged parishes in our diocese to raise money to provide wells in Third World countries. We will be hearing more about this initiative in coming months at St. Simon’s. It will be an opportunity for us to help those who do not have what we take for granted: safe water.
Deacon Sue Nebel+
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