The water that I will give will become in them a spring of water gushing up to eternal life.” John 4:14b
Have you ever drunk from an underground spring?
Once you tap that spring and install a pump, you can drink from it anytime. Usually that water is delicious and refreshingly cold. Had not someone installed that pump or well, those walking by would never know it existed.
This week’s text for the Third Sunday in Lent comes from John 4:5-42, the story where Jesus meets the Samaritan woman at the well. It’s midday in the dry climate of ancient Palestine. He’s been traveling. John reveals that Jesus was tired. He’s physically thirsty.
Jesus goes on to tell the woman that he can offer her living water, water of which one shall drink and never be thirsty again. This thirst is different. It is about a spiritual thirst for life—life with God.
Jesus is talking about salvation, God’s abiding presence, love and mercy in all places and in all time and for all people, especially for you!
Each of us access to that “water”. It’s flowing deep within the reservoirs of our very being and all around us. God has always been with us, longing for us to reach deep within our being to be refreshed by the experience of divine communion.
Paradoxically, we might consider Jesus, who IS the living water, to also be the embodiment of God’s thirst for communion with us.
What spiritual practices might help you “prime the pump”, so-to-say, and experiencing the life-giving salvation that Christ offers to you this very day?
Here are a few examples to try if you’ve felt parched lately: prayer, helping a loved one or neighbor, worshiping, sharing in Holy Communion, remembering your Baptism, reading scripture, meditation, spending time in nature, giving time or resource to a charity, talking with a trusted friend, making a gratitude list, confession and journaling.
+Remember, these acts in and of themselves aren’t the source of our salvation. They do, however, offer helpful ways to experience and remember God’s salvation—the gift of life lived in the promises of God each and every day.