Living in the desert, we are all aware (or should be aware) of the importance of having enough water to drink. Not only is water scarce – that’s what makes it a desert! – but the heat of the desert also increases the need for drinking plenty of water. If you are outside for any reason during the summer, and especially if you’re doing some type of work, you will get thirsty! When that happens, there’s nothing to compare with a drink of cool water.
The woman who meets our Lord Jesus at the well has come there during the heat of the day to obtain water. Our Lord asks her to draw water from the well for Him to drink; and uses this as a way to gently instruct her to her spiritual needs. He begins with her bodily thirst, to show her, from what she knows, a deeper truth she needs to know. He says of the well, “Whoever drinks of this water shall thirst again; but whosoever drinks of the water which I shall give him shall never thirst.”
“Water” here refers to the Holy Spirit, and especially to the power of the Holy Spirit to cleanse, as in washing with water; and to refresh, as in the drink of cool water when we are hot and thirsty. As water makes a garden or an orchard more lush and productive, so, too, does the Holy Spirit to the soul that is willing to be “watered.” As someone with a well that is deep never lacks water, and so is never thirsty, the soul that is watered by the Holy Spirit does not thirst: that is, such a soul is not touched by despondency, and is not touched by the plots and plans of the evil one, for the water quenches the fiery darts of the evil one.
Material thirst is quenched by material water; spiritual thirst, by spiritual water, the water of the Holy Spirit. We need both forms of water to stay alive. Material water must be replenished; we drink water every day (unless prevented). If we don’t, we will weaken, and then die. Spiritual water must also be replenished, and we need to drink of it every day. If we don’t, we will weaken, and we will die.
But wait: Doesn’t our Lord say that the water He shall give shall be a well springing up to everlasting life? Doesn’t this refer to something that is permanent?
Yes: but just as a spring of material water, which flows without ceasing, can become polluted, or even be stopped up by our actions, such as filling the spring with stones, so, too, is it possible for us to receive this life-giving spring in ourselves, only to pollute its waters with our sins, and to stop it up by the hardening of our hearts. To have this water remain in us, flowing pure and sweet, we must turn from the earthly life and be transformed by the life we learn in the Church: the life of prayer, and fasting, and alms-giving, and struggle; the life of repentance and confession; a life of loving and caring for others with the patience and love and mercy of God. When we pray and fast and repent and confess, we keep the water pure and unpolluted; and by loving and caring for others, we keep the water flowing. This is because, when all is said and done, the water of this life-giving spring in our soul is the love of God; and that water is not meant for ourselves alone, but that we might learn to increase the flow of this water, and so become a source of blessing and refreshment to everyone around us.
Brothers and sisters! God’s love for us is a ever-flowing river, great and mighty. Let us repent and confess, and fast and pray, that we might be faithful servants of God, and receive within ourselves this water of everlasting life. Let us also love and care for each other, and so be sources of comfort and refreshment to all who are made in the image of God, to the glory of His name, and the salvation of our souls.
Christ is risen!
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