The Samaritan woman came to the well for water to nourish the body. Jesus came to the well to offer her spiritual water that nourishes the soul and brings eternal life. Can there be a connection to, a bridge, to earth’s water and the spiritual water Jesus offers to us?
The pristine lake in the Chippewa National Forest in northern Minnesota on which I live may offer some insight into that connection.
As a member of the lake association, I monitor the water quality by sending samples to a lab in Detroit Lakes. I do this to fulfill one of the mandates of the association mission statement: “...To retain and preserve for future generations the existing high quality water,...” Why is this such an important mandate for those of us who live on the lake? It is to maintain water quality to allow residents and visitors to enjoy fishing, swimming, and boating. That’s obvious and important.
But why do most cabin owners, who are summer residents only, flock to the shores of Turtle Lake every year to find enjoyment, relaxation and renewal? Beyond the physical activities in which people engage, I believe there is a spiritual dimension to why so many people seek time ‘at the lake’ in northern Minnesota. For many it is a profound connection with the natural world that reminds us that we are more than physical creatures. We are also spiritual beings that find personal renewal, connection with family and friends, and time to contemplate the presence of God in whatever form that takes for people. Thus the lake on which I live is “living water” because it offers me recreation, reflection, and renewal of body and spirit. While sitting at the end of the dock, I find myself connecting with God. It s a profound, renewing experience.
In his 2009 Nobel Conference lecture, Larry Rasmussen put it this way: “And finally, there is the problem of larger frameworks of meaning: is water properly an object of merely economic calculation and manipulation? Or is it an object of awe, calling forth from us the deep respect and love that we owe to its Creator?” For people of faith, the natural world is the home or environment that allows us to live and flourish. But there is a deeper purpose for our lives than physical existence, such as relationships to one another, and to God based on love as revealed in Jesus. Water helps bridge nature and spirit. It is, as Raymond Brown suggests, simply water that bears “the Spirit communicated by Jesus” (Raymond E. Brown, The Gospel According to John I-XII, New York: Doubleday, 1996, p. 179). “After uncovering the truth about her life, Jesus disclosed the truth about himself as well: “I am he,” he says, the one about whom, as she expects, “when he comes, he will proclaim all things to us” (4:25-26). The evangelist has made his point: Not only does Jesus give water as a sign of God’s presence in the land. Jesus is himself that presence (the I AM) (4:26).”
How do we meet Jesus at the well? If water, as Rasmussen writes, is “an object of awe, calling forth from us the deep respect and love we owe to its Creator”, if, in fact, it is living, then it deserves protection. We continue to be confronted by eco-justice issues regarding water. Native Americans and their allies protested an oil pipeline (Dakota Access Pipeline) proposed to go under the Missouri River and across reservation land. Many protesters identified themselves as “water protectors” who were alarmed about the potential contamination of water and the environment around the pipeline. Communities like Flint, Michigan have to battle in court just to make water (from their “well”, so to speak) safe to drink in their communities. The oceans, making up over two thirds of the earth’s surface, are being acidified by carbon build up and polluted by tons of plastics accumulating in certain areas of the oceans. Meanwhile, the water bottle many of you are holding in your hand takes more water to manufacture than it holds. It is obvious that our human behaviors worldwide are causing the pollution globally, along with the extremes of flooding and drought. Only as we begin regarding water as the source of life, spiritually as well as physically, will we understand God’s loving purpose for the gift of Creation.
Psalm 95 reminds us of the spiritual connection to water (verse 5) “The sea is yours, for you made it, and your hands have molded the dry land.” If God is the creator of and owner of the water and the earth, and we are to be caretakers, reflecting God’s purpose for Creation and life, we are doing a poor job of showing our appreciation for such a wonderful gift.
Exodus 17:1-7 gives us another sense of God being the author of life, provider of water for life, and revealing the spiritual dimension of water. God brings Israel out of the abundance of water in Egypt to a desert lacking water. Grumbling ensues, revealing a lack of faith in God’s intentions. God does provide water, in a miraculous way, from a rock. It is an example that Israel can and must rely on God’s loving presence for life to be lived graciously and lovingly.
Romans 5:1-11 Paul reminds his readers that it is God’s grace enacted through Jesus Christ that reconciles us to God, letting us live in peace, with God, self, and all creation. Cynthia Briggs Kittridge puts it this way in her Working Preacher commentary: As the prophetic tradition affirms, the Spirit is God’s gift of the new creation making the people of God ready for the new age. The physical image of “pouring” evokes the water of prophetic cleansing and of baptism. The love of God plentifully fills us and overflows (Romans 8:31-39). As did the community of the first century, the community of Christ in the present experiences God’s love as a present reality, given by the Spirit, even in the midst of violence and terror.
Hymn suggestions:
Gathering: “Come, Thou Font of Every Blessing,” ELW #807Hymn of the Day: “As the Deer Runs to the River” ELW #331Sending: “Lord, Dismiss Us with Your Blessing,” ELW #545
also a hymn written by Norman Habel (below)
