Anyone Thirsty?

At times I miss watching the snow gently fall from the sky and the trees slowly being covered with a white frosting. It is always so peaceful and beautiful.

There are many beautiful things about winter but I also remember the things that drove me crazy. The beautiful snow that turns into a dirty mess on the side of the road. The heat dries out the air. My skin begins to crack, my lips long for moisture, the static cling drives me crazy, AND I always seem to be thirsty.

Thirst is something we humans experience in all seasons. There are different types of thirst. After a long run we need a drink of water. After a salty meal or a night’s sleep we are thirsty. Our bodies are made up of 80% water so it is no wonder that we thirst for something to drink daily. Then there is the type of thirst that means we are longing for something. We thirst to see our family at Christmas time. We thirst for a closer relationship with God.

These two meanings of thirst are woven throughout the Gospel of John. The writer of John uses thirst to link both of the meanings together. Thirst referred to in the Gospel of John is much more passionate than we have been trained to imagine. It is like a fisherman standing in a river on a hot sunny day with water running everywhere but no water to drink.

We long for a close relationship with God. We thirst to see God’s presence in our lives. The Gospel of John shares with us the abundant life given to us through Christ in his life, death, and resurrection; so, that we may never be thirsty.

Jesus shares with the Samaritan woman at the well, “Everyone who drinks of this water [from the well] will be thirsty again, but those who drink of the water that I [Jesus] give them will never be thirsty.” (Jn 4: 13-14)

Jesus describes himself as the bread from heaven, “Jesus said to them, ‘I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty’” (Jn 6:35).

At the feast of Tabernacles, “On the last day of the festival, the great day, while Jesus was standing there, he cried out, ‘Let anyone who is thirsty come to me, and let the one who believes in me drink’” (John 7:37-38).

While Jesus is on the cross Jesus shares in our thirst, “After this, when Jesus knew that all was now finished, he said (in order to fulfill the Scripture), ‘I am thirsty’” (Jn 19:28).

Jesus shared in our thirst. Jesus walked with us, died for us, and rose so that we may have eternal life. Jesus overcame death. That is the news of abundant life. As the dryness of winter sets in and you continue to fill those glasses of water may you remember that God is with you. That Christ has given you new and abundant life. Let us rejoice!