Third Sunday in Lent: Thirst
Look: Reclamation, Kirsten Van Mourick - Source
The artist has written a stunning reflection on this image. Read the whole reflection here.
"I am spirit and earth. Dust and God breath. And since I am inextricably both holy and dirty, I see that redemption is preferable to perfection. That reclamation is more powerful than any untouched structure. That because of the One who joins me at the well and “knows everything that I ever did,” I am not just a canvas made white again, but I am a new masterpiece. I receive a new name."
Listen*: Wash Me Clean, Page CXVI - Lyrics | Spotify | YouTube
Read**: Exodus 17:1-7; Psalm 95; Romans 5:1-11; John 4:5-42
Excerpts:
"All the congregation of the people of Israel moved on from the wilderness of Sin by stages, according to the commandment of the Lord, and camped at Rephidim, but there was no water for the people to drink. Therefore the people quarreled with Moses and said, “Give us water to drink.” And Moses said to them, “Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you test the Lord?” But the people thirsted there for water, and the people grumbled against Moses and said, “Why did you bring us up out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and our livestock with thirst?” So Moses cried to the Lord, “What shall I do with this people? They are almost ready to stone me.” And the Lord said to Moses, “Pass on before the people, taking with you some of the elders of Israel, and take in your hand the staff with which you struck the Nile, and go. Behold, I will stand before you there on the rock at Horeb, and you shall strike the rock, and water shall come out of it, and the people will drink.”
*
"Oh come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the Lord, our Maker! For he is our God, and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand. Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts, as at Meribah, as on the day at Massah in the wilderness,
when your fathers put me to the test and put me to the proof, though they had seen my work"
*
"For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die— but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation."
*
"So he came to a town of Samaria called Sychar, near the field that Jacob had given to his son Joseph. Jacob's well was there; so Jesus, wearied as he was from his journey, was sitting beside the well. It was about the sixth hour.
A woman from Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, “Give me a drink.” (For his disciples had gone away into the city to buy food.) The Samaritan woman said to him, “How is it that you, a Jew, ask for a drink from me, a woman of Samaria?” (For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.) Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink,’ you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.” The woman said to him, “Sir, you have nothing to draw water with, and the well is deep. Where do you get that living water? Are you greater than our father Jacob? He gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did his sons and his livestock.” Jesus said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water, so that I will not be thirsty or have to come here to draw water.”
Jesus said to her, “Go, call your husband, and come here.” The woman answered him, “I have no husband.” Jesus said to her, “You are right in saying, ‘I have no husband’; for you have had five husbands, and the one you now have is not your husband. What you have said is true.” The woman said to him, “Sir, I perceive that you are a prophet. Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you say that in Jerusalem is the place where people ought to worship.” Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.” The woman said to him, “I know that Messiah is coming (he who is called Christ). When he comes, he will tell us all things.” Jesus said to her, “I who speak to you am he.”
- Exodus 17:1-6 * Psalm 95:6-9 * Romans 5:6-11 * John 4:5-26 (ESV)
Pray: Book of Common Prayer, Collect for Third Sunday in Lent
Almighty God, you know that we have no power in ourselves to help ourselves: Keep us both outwardly in our bodies and inwardly in our souls, that we may be defended from all adversities which may happen to the body, and from all evil thoughts which may assault and hurt the soul; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Do: Today's a day to break your fast (at least partially). Enjoy something you've given up, giving thanks to Christ for the abundance we receive from his obedience and great love.
Spend a few moments preparing for the third week of Lent.
This week, ask the Holy Spirit to make you aware of the times throughout the day that you operate out of preconceived notions (judgments) about Him, others, and yourself. Make the time at least once a day to stop what you’re doing and practice a hospitable imagination in one of the following ways:
Make space for divergent opinions
Make space for meaning
Make space for listening
Make space for conversation
Make space for reading outside your tradition
Make space for curiosity
Make space for pausing
You can read more about these practices in a post I wrote during Lent last year: Believing the Best in Love.
Sometime this week, share with us one way you’ve practiced a hospitable imagination and what the experience was like for you. You can leave a comment on the blog, Facebook, Instagram, or reply directly to this email.
May you seek rest and find peace today, friends. I'll be back with Daybook patrons tomorrow, with Lent Daybook 5. Will you join us?
Each Sunday in Lent I’ll share a free Daybook devotional post at the Patreon page for everyone to enjoy. To receive notifications for the free public posts, click "follow" at the bottom of the profile page.
The daily devotional posts will then be available to those who subscribe at the Daybook ($5 a month) level.
* Listen to my entire playlist on Spotify - Lent: Worship & Prayer 2020. Add it to your account by clicking ‘Save to My Library.’
** Sunday Scripture readings are taken from the Revised Common Lectionary (Year A). Daily Scripture readings are taken from the Book of Common Prayer (Year 2).