Thirsty anyone?

In the ruins of the ancient City of Rome a few short blocks from the Colosseum, there is a small drinking fountain that dribbles out a thin stream of water.

In Rome on a hot day in September of 2017, the street vendors brought out bottles of water to unsuspecting tourists who paid upward of 8 dollars for a bottle, which can mean a hefty profit for the vendors.  Unbeknownst to the tourists, the fountain on the Paladine Hill was a short walk away from the Colosseum and brings fresh water through a Roman aqueduct built before Christ was born.  Getting a drink of water was as simple as filling up water bottles at this ancient tap.  It was free too.  The tour guide didn't push the water at us like the street vendors loudly did, just gave a gentle invitation to fill up our water bottles and be quenched.

This month we have become very sensitive to the importance of water to our existence.  One moment we were struggling with the smoke of forest fires and praying for rain, the next we were facing flood warnings. Last week in Athabasca, the downtown gazebo had its own moat and the skate park looked like a small swimming pool.  The Athabasca River was filled with large trees speeding down to the Arctic Ocean in a great hurry.  There are still communities in the north hoping and praying for more rain to end the forest fire season for good this year.

Water is easy to take for granted in our climate where snow is plentiful, the glaciers are clean, and the rivers and lakes abundant.  For Jesus, it was another matter entirely. So much of Israel is surrounded by harsh dry land.  A group of United Church friends went on a tour of Egypt, Petra and Israel some 20 years ago, and came back with stories of small towns having their water systems bought up by large corporations.  The corporations would bottle all the water and then sell it back to the townsfolk.  They lost their access to their water supply, and not only that, watched the growth of plastic pollution accumulate in the town as there was no recycling plant for the empty bottles.  Water became a political weapon, and the Jordan River became a source of wealth that everyone wanted to control.

In our own country, clean drinking water is not a given for many Canadians. As of two weeks ago, the Government of Canada reported that 142 long term drinking water advisories had been lifted since 2015, but there are still 28 long term drinking water advisories in effect in 26 communities across Canada.  And as anyone knows who has been to Banff or Jasper lately, the great glaciers that feed the Athabasca and North Saskatchewan rivers, are receding rapidly.  We cannot presume that our water supply is secure and unchanging. Nor should we assume that our experience with water is universal.

According to the World Health Authority, in 2020, 5.8 billion people used safe drinking-water. The remaining 2 billion people had to travel at least 30 minutes or more to get water that was safe or drank untreated water, or even had deliveries of a few cups of water once or twice a week.

Jesus knew the value of water in a way that we who have taps don’t.  He knew that a gift of water was more than a nice thing to do, it could mean the difference between life and death.  Interesting that in this scripture, Jesus is giving instructions to his followers on how they will need to depend on others to survive.  This is part of his long lecture in Matthew on how to be a disciple preaching to an indifferent world.  In some ways, this is not about what we should do, ie give hospitality, although I would never suggest we shouldn’t give hospitality, but more about how we should receive hospitality when we are working on sharing God’s mission.  We like to think that we are the ones to hand out the water and give people what they are thirsty for, but do we ever think what it takes to receive the water we need so we can continue to carry out God’s mission?

In a world where someone thinks its okay to stab a professor and students in broad daylight for the ‘sin’ if I can use that word, for discussing the complexities of sexuality, in a world where we are afraid to go to a party celebrating the courage of youth asking to paint a crosswalk, in a world where for a moment it looked like Russia would have another civil war, we need to take care of ourselves and not be too proud to accept offers of hospitality.  I have seen too many people post online that they are struggling with depression and anxiety and fear.  We hear too many stories of overdoses in Alberta.  There are a lot of thirsty people looking for something they can trust, but who will they hear it from?  If we don’t take care of ourselves, how will we help others?  Being brave enough to look at our lives with the honesty that Paul demands is not easy.  Are we living in the freedom of God?  Are we able to look at what we do and whether it waters our souls or not?  A purposeful life that brings meaning and hope and healing to others.  Living a purposeful life takes time and wisdom and prayer and the humbleness to accept hospitality when it is offered.  To be both aware of our thirst and humble enough to accept help when we need it means that we are able to continue to be disciples and messengers that carry good news into the world.  We can also offer living water like the street vendors, pushing prices ever higher, yelling to all around them, or we can simply and kindly point out a free fountain of unending water to those in need.

Now more than ever, people need to know that there is a freedom from the tyranny of despair, a freedom from the tyranny of the many addictions that our consumer society offers up.  Whether we are addicted to dangerous habits like street drugs or small habits like too many computer games, we can hear the invitation to live lives of freedom.  We can accept God’s gift of whole-hearted, brave lives.  That is what Jesus showed us, and is the life we are called to.  May we know the wisdom and the humbleness to accept the living waters that keep our mission and ministry alive and thriving.