Water of life

-

Palestinians in the Gaza strip looking for water to drink
  

There are all in our lives basic needs that we need to live. They are food, shelter, water and security. Without these we cannot hope to live and survive. But, do these basic needs give us fulfilment in life. IT seems that the other needs we have can be based around these four basic needs.

The woman had been through a lot and seemed to be searching for something more than the basic needs. She had been through a lot in her life. The well would have been a traditional place for meeting people. And whom did she come across but Jesus. He asks her for a drink. She is surprised as Samaritans do not usually associate themselves with Jews.

Water is a very basic need it is something that sustains and helps life. Sadly many places in the world do not have clean water use. In the Gaza strip by 2016 for example they will run out of clean drinking water because of the Israeli government. It seems to me that this very basic of needs should be available to all. And in other parts of the world there has been laws passed to prevent people running out of drinking water. In this country for example it is against the law not to give someone a glass of water if they knock on your door and ask for it.
Jesus recognizes this very basic need but he turns it on its head. He describes himself as the living water and whoever drinks of this water will never be thirsty again.
The woman at the well was thirsting for something more than what her life had given to her. She was thirsting for God. And she found him and because she found him and she told others who also believed in him.
We live in a world that is constantly thirsting for something different from the cult of celebrity and from the trappings of the world. But many people have not yet found the living water they have not found Jesus and his love.

The other basic need that we can and must receive is a spiritual need. The need for God. In one of the psalms it states that we are thirsting for God the God of my life. We thirst for this spiritual dimension of our lives. We all thirst for God we all need every day to seek him and drink of this living spring of Jesus. And just like the Samaritan woman we also need to lead others to Christ so that they too can receive this joy into their hearts. Our spiritual life is vital basic need for life it helps us make sense of some of the things that happens to us. IT gives meaning to our lives and draws us closer to Jesus who wants us to drink the living water.


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

A Year of Service

-
Image
  This last weekend I was able to look back with friends at the wonderful year I had with the Vincentian Volunteers. Looking back I can see that there are many elements to this year that have remained always with me. These I can now see and after reflection have shaped my life since this most formative year. From this year I went on to train for the priesthood and became a priest. After 16 years I left ministry and now try my best to live my Christian values and life in the world. In a recent upgrade to my CV I realised that my whole adult life has been in some sort of service to others and usually to the most vulnerable and those on the fringes of society. From working in Top Shop to ministry to the Hospital to the work I now do in education. This all stems from this year I had with the community and putting Love in action. Yes I have made mistakes on the way and my human frailty has been evident but this life was never going to easy and straight forward.  When I look back on that yea
Read more

Easter

-
Image
  Over the last few years I have had major issues with the Catholic Church. I think that my issue is the authority of the Church and how many clergy, not all, use and abuse their power and class the laity as stupid idiots. I can say this as for 16 years I was a priest and caught up in the system. When you're in the middle of it you can't aways see what is going on around you. I could not see what the Church as a structure was doing to peoples lives. Until I was out I realised that the Church and Im talking about the Catholic Church here is full up of repressed men who are scared of change scared of themselves and scared of the laity. Those who speak out especially clergy who want significant change are laughed at by others and classed as trouble makers. This includes Pope Francis himself who wants change but sometimes can't get it because of what he has inherited. It is an issue that has gone on your centuries.  This does not allow for a healthy functioning Church. There ne
Read more

What have we learnt? Covid and the last year.

-
Image
Over the last year since the start of the Covid pandemic there has been much in the press about the affects on society. We have seen that there are many people who are anxious, feel alone and worried about the future. So I looked on the Internet for the Christian response to the Pandemic. I was not surprised to see that there were many articles to suggest that the Christian Church as a whole has failed in this time.  In the first Lockdown the Churches were asked to close and there was no public worship. As the infection rate went down the Churches could open for private prayer. In the recent lockdown many places of worship have remained open although the infection rate being a lot higher. I have maybe been a thorn in peoples sides by asking why. I even wrote to the Cardinal  to ask him why. I argued that they should be left shut because of the demographic that tend to go. I got a standard reply back. When I looked in newsletters I read many times about how to give your collection and t
Read more