MY SOUL IS THIRSTING!
MY SOUL IS THIRSTING!
MY SOUL IS THIRSTING FOR YOU, O LORD, MY GOD!

At one time there was water,
water everywhere.
Pharaoh’s army was after them.
The sea was ahead of them,
death and destruction behind them,
and there was no place to go.
They asked the same question then,
“Why, Moses?
Why did you ever make us leave Egypt?”

But that earlier time, they were saved.
Didn’t they remember that
as they grumbled in the desert?
When there was too much water,
God took care of things.
Now that there was not enough,
wouldn’t God do the same?

MY SOUL IS THIRSTING!
MY SOUL IS THIRSTING!
MY SOUL IS THIRSTING FOR YOU, O LORD, MY GOD!

She was thirsty, too.
She knew where the water was.
She just didn’t want to go there when others would be there.
She knew what they’d say.
She knew where to get water,
but she was thirsty for more than water.
She was thirsty for understanding and compassion,
and a thirsty Jewish man seated by the well
was the last person on earth
she thought would be able to quench her thirst.

MY SOUL IS THIRSTING!
MY SOUL IS THIRSTING!
MY SOUL IS THIRSTING FOR YOU, O LORD, MY GOD!

He was there when the Spirit of God hovered over the waters at creation.
He was there when Noah and his family were saved from the flood that was meant to cleanse the world of sin and hatred.
He was there when Israel marched on dry land through the sea.
He was there when Moses struck the rock
and water flowed out for the people to drink.

Yet now he was thirsty.
Seated on the edge of the well,
the water just a few feet away,
and he couldn’t get any for himself.
He didn’t have what it took.
He didn’t have a bucket.
He was thirsty,
but there was nothing he could do about it himself.

MY SOUL IS THIRSTING!
MY SOUL IS THIRSTING!
MY SOUL IS THIRSTING FOR YOU, O LORD, MY GOD!

There have been days like that in my life,
when my thirst led me to forget,
when I wanted more than I could get
and didn’t know who or where to turn,
when what I needed was close at hand,
but I couldn’t get it myself.
I suspect we’ve all had days like that.

MY SOUL IS THIRSTING!
MY SOUL IS THIRSTING!
MY SOUL IS THIRSTING FOR YOU, O LORD, MY GOD!

And then there was water:
water for Israel in the desert,
water for the Samaritan woman,
water for the thirsting Jesus,
water that quenched my thirst.

Israel had grumbled,
but God quenched their thirst.
The Samaritan women went at an off time
so as not to encounter those who thought they knew her story
and her every thirst was quench.

Jesus shared a conversation,
some questions and some answers,
and his thirst was quenched.

I’ve been thirsty,
I’ve grumbled a few times,

I’ve sought understanding and compassion,
I’ve looked for someone with whom to share a story,
and God has quenched my every thirst.

And like the people of Israel
and the woman of Samaria,
and the stranger who met her one day at Jacob’s well,
we all have stories to tell:
stories of pain and anguish,
stories of loneliness and abandonment,
stories of thirsting.

And I suspect we also have other stories to tell, too:
stories of how our thirsts have been quenched,
of how suffering gave way to rejoicing,
of how loneliness was overcome by the presence of others,
of how unexpected people and unexpected events changed everything.

MY SOUL IS THIRSTING!
MY SOUL IS THIRSTING!
MY SOUL IS THIRSTING FOR YOU, O LORD, MY GOD!

Today, as we come to the well, to the table of the Lord,
we may be thirsting for something,
and I am certain that God is thirsting for something as well.
Whatever we long for,
God long for as well
and even more.
God longs for us more than we long for God.
God’s soul is thirsting, too,
and together we come to this well
where water spring to eternal life
and blessing abound.

MY SOUL IS THIRSTING!
MY SOUL IS THIRSTING!
MY SOUL IS THIRSTING FOR YOU, O LORD, MY GOD!