For What Do We Really Thirst? – 12 March 2023

John 4:5–42

The woman at the well. . . begins with the naturalistic scene of a tired and thirsty Jesus. It ends with his declaration of his own messiahship. “I who speak to you am he.” In between, he reveals the woman's personal history, answers religious questions, and evokes images and allegories that transcend and supersede their local physical references.

At one level, it is a conversation about wells, mountains and husbands. At another, it is Jesus' (or the gospel author's) resolution to the Jewish versus Samaritan conflict. And at a third, it is a rejection of all of these terms, in favor of “spirit and truth.” “Which mountain?” is no longer an appropriate Christian question, just as “Where is a well better than Jacob's?” isn't the right question either. Jesus does not have directions to such a well, he is himself “living water” (v 11), “a spring of water gushing up to eternal life” (v 14). The allegory progresses through the woman's misunderstandings, Jesus' replies to questions she doesn't yet know how to ask, and finally to his self-revelation.

Jesus as living water, for a world parched with thirst. . . We thirst, we drink, and we thirst again. We are beings of lack and need. Jesus, who shares our human condition, also voices humanity's need: “Will you give me a drink?” Yet, paradoxically, he bears in his person the real healing and fulfillment of our thirst yearning. The solution here is not to undo thirst and lack in them. . . but to redirect thirst, to make the listener aware of what she truly thirsts for. –– Lucy Bregman

Romans 5:1–11

For Paul, justification (diakaiothentes)—a right relationship with God—was made possible through Christ's gift of his life to save sinners. Christ's blood effects the justification of those who affirm Christ's death as God's love for ungodly, sinful humanity. It exemplifies God's compassionate love for humanity.

Paul also explains that those justified by faith in Christ experience peace with God, access to God's grace, and the capacity to boast of sufferings as a resource of growth in endurance, character, and hope. –– Jennifer Copeland

Exodus 17:1–7

The people complain to Moses, who sees the complaint as a test of God. Moses appeals to God in fear of his life if water is not provided. God then instructs Moses to use his staff to strike a rock from which water would come. This reports one of the many incidents in which the people liberated from Egypt find their liberation difficult. They abandon trust in God, complain to Moses, and reconsider their departure from Egypt.

This story takes on a life beyond its immediate context. It is mentioned elsewhere in the Bible as the paradigmatic illustration of Israel's failure to appreciate God (see Numbers 14:22–23, Deuteronomy 6:16, 9:22, Psalm 95:8). . . In other places this story is an illustration of God's gracious provision to Israel when in desperate need (Psalm 78:15, 16, 20). It is also a story that is considered God's testing of Israel (Psalm 81:9, 95:8). In the context of Lent, it would be appropriate to see this story as God's provision to humanity in need of redemption. –– Jennifer Copeland

Lucy Bregman, professor of religion at Temple University, Philadelphia, PA, is the author of several books including Beyond Silence and Denial: Death and Dying Reconsidered (WJK, 1999) and Preaching Death (Baylor Univ., 2011).

Jennifer Copeland, a United Methodist ordained minister, served for 16 years as chaplain at Duke University and as director of the Duke Wesley Fellowship. She is currently executive director at North Carolina Council of Churches in Raleigh-Durham.

Homily Service 41, no. 2 (2008): 42–53.