John 4:1-30,39-42. Sermon delivered at the River of Life worship conf, Vancouver, BC, August 7, 1998

Johnson, Susan

English

Scholars Commons

Consensus
Volume 25
Issue 1 Contextual Perspectives in Pastoral Care and
Counselling
Article 10
5-1-1999
I'm Thirsty
Susan Johnson
Follow this and additional works at: http://scholars.wlu.ca/consensus
This Sermons is brought to you for free and open access by Scholars Commons @ Laurier. It has been accepted for inclusion in Consensus by an
authorized editor of Scholars Commons @ Laurier. For more information, please contact scholarscommons@wlu.ca.
Recommended Citation
Johnson, Susan (1999) "I'm Thirsty," Consensus: Vol. 25 : Iss. 1 , Article 10.
Available at: http://scholars.wlu.ca/consensus/vol25/iss1/10
I’m Thirsty'
Susan Johnson,
/issistant to the Bishop, Eastern Synod
Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada
Text: John 4:1-30, 39-42
N OW when Jesus learned that the Pharisees had heard, “Jesusis making and baptizing more disciples thanJohn”—although it was not Jesus himself but his disciples
who baptized—he leftJudea and started back to Galilee. But he had
to go through Samaria. So he came to a Samaritan city called
Sychar, near the plot of ground that Jacob had given to his son
Joseph.
Jacob’s well was there, and Jesus, tired out by his journey, was
sitting by the well. It was about noon. A Samaritan woman came to
draw water, and Jesus said to her, “Give me a drink.” (His disciples
had gone to the city to buy food.) The Samaritan woman said to
him, “How is it that you, a Jew, ask a drink of me, a woman of
Samaria?” (Jews do not share things in common 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 no bucket, and the well is
deep. Where do you get that living water? Are you greater than our
ancestor Jacob, who gave us the well, and with his sons and his
flocks drank from it?”
Jesus said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty
again, but those who drink of the water that I will give them will never
be thirsty. The water that I will give will become in them a spring of
water gushing up to eternal life.”
The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water, so that 1 may never
106 Consensus
be thirsty or have to keep coming here to draw water.”
I’ve been thinking a lot about thirst this week. One of the things
that has become clear to me is that there are different levels of thirst.
There is a very low level of thirst where you aren’t even aware of being
thirsty and either you drink something because it happens to be set
in front of you or else you seek out something to drink acting only on
automatic pilot. As you drink, you may not even be aware that your
thirst is being quenched.
At the next level, you might be aware of thirst, but it isn’t enough
to make you get out of bed or leave your armchair to go in search of
something to drink. Or there is a higher level of thirst that only in-
volves your mouth. It happens when you have a head cold and can’t
breathe out of your nose, and so your mouth dries out, and you wake
up and your mouth is so dry it hurts.
Then there is a full body thirst that you experience after you’ve
been out exercising or working in the hot sun and it no longer is just
your mouth that is dry, but indeed every single cell in your body cries
out in thirst. And the truth of the matter is, that when you experience
thirst like this, it’s already too late—^you’re dehydrated.
So there are different levels of thirst—but it has also become
clear to me that there are different kinds o\ thirst as well. There is the
normal kind of thirst that is part of the way our bodies function as we
require fluids to replenish our cells, and be used by our bodies in
countless ways.
There is the kind of thirst that is more like a craving when you
want a very specific taste in your mouth. Then there is the kind of
addiction that we still label as thirst, when what you want to drink is
coffee, but it is really the caffeine you need, or what you want to drink
is beer and it is really the alcohol that you are after.
And then there is the thirst that we experience at a very deep
level, the thirst of our souls, a thirst that cries out for connection with
God, a thirst that cries out for purpose and meaning in life, a thirst
that cries out for affirmation and approval and a sense that we are
worth something.
Another thing I’ve thought about this week is the way we get the
I'm Thirsty 107
different levels and kinds of thirst confused, and how easy it is to try
and satisfy one kind of thirst with the wrong kind of answer. So we
can end up trying to quench our thirst for meaning in life by turning
to alcohol. Or we forget about our bodies needing ordinary water,
and because it doesn’t taste good, or it’s too boring, we try to substi-
tute other beverages instead.
In the Gospel lesson today there is also a mix up between Jesus
and the Samaritan woman over what kind of thirst they were talking
about and what it would take to fill it. Although Jesus begins by
asking for ordinary drinking water, he soon is talking about some-
thing entirely different. And it takes the Samaritan woman a while to
catch on. Jesus is talking about the thirst of our souls, the thirst for
meaning and purpose in life, the thirst for connection with God, the
thirst for love and acceptance and purpose and fulfilment. And he
knows that there is only one thing that will quench this thirst, and it
isn’t going to be found in the well they are standing beside, it isn’t
going to be found in any fridge, it isn’t going to be found in any bottle
or container that you can buy anywhere in the world. It is a thirst that
can only be quenched by living water. And that living water can be
obtained only through Jesus alone.
Do you know what kind of water he is talking about? Of course
you do! The water that Jesus is talking about is the living, life-giving
water of baptism. The water that connects us with God like invisible
baptismal glue! The water that gives us purpose and meaning for
our lives. The water that lets us know of the love and acceptance of
God. The living water that transforms us and makes us new crea-
tions, children of God, members of God’s family, part of the body of
Christ.
You all know what that is all about, for you’ve all been to the
baptismal waters. Yes, we’ve all been there, but does that mean we
never thirst again? Unfortunately no, it does not. We all still go through
periods of dryness, periods of spiritual wastelands, when it seems
that the living water has all dried up and gone away. What has hap-
pened? Where has it gone? You heard what Jesus promised the
Samaritan woman: “The water I give will become in them a spring of
water gushing up to eternal life.” How many of us feel filled with a
spring of water? How many of us are gushing? What has happened?
I think that as we experience the dryness we tend to blame God.
108 Consensus
We say that God has taken the living water and gone away, abandon-
ing us to thirst. But we know that that is not the case. God is still
with us. The water is still there. But somehow we’ve squashed it all
deep down inside us so that we no longer feel its presence. We’ve
capped the spring, and hidden the water in underground storage
tanks. Perhaps we only occasionally sip from it, but never enough
really to quench our thirst. We end up being like the ancient mariner,
“water, water everywhere and not a drop to drink.” Or as a recent
song puts it “standing knee deep in a river and dying of thirst.” Our
Lord has provided us with the living water. It came to us in our bap-
tism. But the old adage is true: You can lead a horse to water but
you can’t make it drink. God provides us with living water, but God
doesn’t force feed us.
Somehow, we have become scared of the water. We are afraid of
drinking it deeply. Afraid that it might change our lives too radically.
Afraid that we might drown as it gushes up inside of us. And prob-
ably we are afraid with good reason. Because living water is power-
ful, it’s dangerous—at least it’s dangerous if you want to stay in con-
trol of your life. It’s dangerous if you want to keep things status quo.
Why is it so dangerous? Because the living water brings change—it
transforms us. Drink deeply of living water and you might find your-
self doing things you never thought you would do or even wanted to
do. Like the Samaritan woman. A sip of that living water and she
became an evangelist to her whole town. And if it happened to her,
a woman, and a Samaritan, it could happen to you or me as well.
Drink deeply of that living water and the next thing you know you
might start sharing your faith, volunteering at the food bank, tithing,
loving your neighbour, spending time daily in prayer, leave an abu-
sive relationship, go to seminary, reconcile with those you are es-
tranged from. Why you might even put frolicking back into your life.
This transformation is scary stuff. No wonder we want to use this
water so sparingly, only dabbing it on as we baptize, using it like
some kind of Spiritual towellette.
Well my friends, 1 have a confession to make to you. I’m thirsty.
1 need to drink deeply again. 1 need to open myself up to this won-
derful gift of living water. 1 need to get wet. 1 need to risk opening up
that shut-off valve deep inside me, the one 1 use to try to keep that
transforming water at a safe distance. 1 need to let the living water
I'm Thirsty 109
once again rise up inside of me, to wash over me and carry me closer
to God. I need to ride with its current and respond to others around
me in the midst of their own dryness and need.
Maybe that’s what you need too. Let’s drink. Amen.
Note
^ Preached at a morning Eucharist, 7 August 1998, The River of Life
worship conference, Vancouver, BC.


I\u27m Thirsty

Johnson, Susan C.

Wilfrid Laurier University

ConsensusVolume 25Issue 1 Contextual Perspectives in Pastoral Care andCounsellingArticle 105-1-1999I'm ThirstySusan JohnsonFollow this and additional works at: http://scholars.wlu.ca/consensusThis Sermons is brought to you for free and open access by Scholars Commons @ Laurier. It has been accepted for inclusion in Consensus by anauthorized editor of Scholars Commons @ Laurier. For more information, please contact scholarscommons@wlu.ca.Recommended CitationJohnson, Susan (1999) "I'm Thirsty," Consensus: Vol. 25 : Iss. 1 , Article 10.Available at: http://scholars.wlu.ca/consensus/vol25/iss1/10I’m Thirsty'Susan Johnson,/issistant to the Bishop, Eastern SynodEvangelical Lutheran Church in CanadaText: John 4:1-30, 39-42N OW when Jesus learned that the Pharisees had heard, “Jesusis making and baptizing more disciples thanJohn”—although it was not Jesus himself but his discipleswho baptized—he leftJudea and started back to Galilee. But he hadto go through Samaria. So he came to a Samaritan city calledSychar, near the plot of ground that Jacob had given to his sonJoseph.Jacob’s well was there, and Jesus, tired out by his journey, wassitting by the well. It was about noon. A Samaritan woman came todraw water, and Jesus said to her, “Give me a drink.” (His discipleshad gone to the city to buy food.) The Samaritan woman said tohim, “How is it that you, a Jew, ask a drink of me, a woman ofSamaria?” (Jews do not share things in common with Samaritans.)Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is thatis saying to you, ‘Give me a drink,’ you would have asked him, andhe would have given you living water.”The woman said to him, “Sir, you have no bucket, and the well isdeep. Where do you get that living water? Are you greater than ourancestor Jacob, who gave us the well, and with his sons and hisflocks drank from it?”Jesus said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirstyagain, but those who drink of the water that I will give them will neverbe thirsty. The water that I will give will become in them a spring ofwater gushing up to eternal life.”The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water, so that 1 may never106 Consensusbe thirsty or have to keep coming here to draw water.”I’ve been thinking a lot about thirst this week. One of the thingsthat has become clear to me is that there are different levels of thirst.There is a very low level of thirst where you aren’t even aware of beingthirsty and either you drink something because it happens to be setin front of you or else you seek out something to drink acting only onautomatic pilot. As you drink, you may not even be aware that yourthirst is being quenched.At the next level, you might be aware of thirst, but it isn’t enoughto make you get out of bed or leave your armchair to go in search ofsomething to drink. Or there is a higher level of thirst that only in-volves your mouth. It happens when you have a head cold and can’tbreathe out of your nose, and so your mouth dries out, and you wakeup and your mouth is so dry it hurts.Then there is a full body thirst that you experience after you’vebeen out exercising or working in the hot sun and it no longer is justyour mouth that is dry, but indeed every single cell in your body criesout in thirst. And the truth of the matter is, that when you experiencethirst like this, it’s already too late—^you’re dehydrated.So there are different levels of thirst—but it has also becomeclear to me that there are different kinds o\ thirst as well. There is thenormal kind of thirst that is part of the way our bodies function as werequire fluids to replenish our cells, and be used by our bodies incountless ways.There is the kind of thirst that is more like a craving when youwant a very specific taste in your mouth. Then there is the kind ofaddiction that we still label as thirst, when what you want to drink iscoffee, but it is really the caffeine you need, or what you want to drinkis beer and it is really the alcohol that you are after.And then there is the thirst that we experience at a very deeplevel, the thirst of our souls, a thirst that cries out for connection withGod, a thirst that cries out for purpose and meaning in life, a thirstthat cries out for affirmation and approval and a sense that we areworth something.Another thing I’ve thought about this week is the way we get theI'm Thirsty 107different levels and kinds of thirst confused, and how easy it is to tryand satisfy one kind of thirst with the wrong kind of answer. So wecan end up trying to quench our thirst for meaning in life by turningto alcohol. Or we forget about our bodies needing ordinary water,and because it doesn’t taste good, or it’s too boring, we try to substi-tute other beverages instead.In the Gospel lesson today there is also a mix up between Jesusand the Samaritan woman over what kind of thirst they were talkingabout and what it would take to fill it. Although Jesus begins byasking for ordinary drinking water, he soon is talking about some-thing entirely different. And it takes the Samaritan woman a while tocatch on. Jesus is talking about the thirst of our souls, the thirst formeaning and purpose in life, the thirst for connection with God, thethirst for love and acceptance and purpose and fulfilment. And heknows that there is only one thing that will quench this thirst, and itisn’t going to be found in the well they are standing beside, it isn’tgoing to be found in any fridge, it isn’t going to be found in any bottleor container that you can buy anywhere in the world. It is a thirst thatcan only be quenched by living water. And that living water can beobtained only through Jesus alone.Do you know what kind of water he is talking about? Of courseyou do! The water that Jesus is talking about is the living, life-givingwater of baptism. The water that connects us with God like invisiblebaptismal glue! The water that gives us purpose and meaning forour lives. The water that lets us know of the love and acceptance ofGod. The living water that transforms us and makes us new crea-tions, children of God, members of God’s family, part of the body ofChrist.You all know what that is all about, for you’ve all been to thebaptismal waters. Yes, we’ve all been there, but does that mean wenever thirst again? Unfortunately no, it does not. We all still go throughperiods of dryness, periods of spiritual wastelands, when it seemsthat the living water has all dried up and gone away. What has hap-pened? Where has it gone? You heard what Jesus promised theSamaritan woman: “The water I give will become in them a spring ofwater gushing up to eternal life.” How many of us feel filled with aspring of water? How many of us are gushing? What has happened?I think that as we experience the dryness we tend to blame God.108 ConsensusWe say that God has taken the living water and gone away, abandon-ing us to thirst. But we know that that is not the case. God is stillwith us. The water is still there. But somehow we’ve squashed it alldeep down inside us so that we no longer feel its presence. We’vecapped the spring, and hidden the water in underground storagetanks. Perhaps we only occasionally sip from it, but never enoughreally to quench our thirst. We end up being like the ancient mariner,“water, water everywhere and not a drop to drink.” Or as a recentsong puts it “standing knee deep in a river and dying of thirst.” OurLord has provided us with the living water. It came to us in our bap-tism. But the old adage is true: You can lead a horse to water butyou can’t make it drink. God provides us with living water, but Goddoesn’t force feed us.Somehow, we have become scared of the water. We are afraid ofdrinking it deeply. Afraid that it might change our lives too radically.Afraid that we might drown as it gushes up inside of us. And prob-ably we are afraid with good reason. Because living water is power-ful, it’s dangerous—at least it’s dangerous if you want to stay in con-trol of your life. It’s dangerous if you want to keep things status quo.Why is it so dangerous? Because the living water brings change—ittransforms us. Drink deeply of living water and you might find your-self doing things you never thought you would do or even wanted todo. Like the Samaritan woman. A sip of that living water and shebecame an evangelist to her whole town. And if it happened to her,a woman, and a Samaritan, it could happen to you or me as well.Drink deeply of that living water and the next thing you know youmight start sharing your faith, volunteering at the food bank, tithing,loving your neighbour, spending time daily in prayer, leave an abu-sive relationship, go to seminary, reconcile with those you are es-tranged from. Why you might even put frolicking back into your life.This transformation is scary stuff. No wonder we want to use thiswater so sparingly, only dabbing it on as we baptize, using it likesome kind of Spiritual towellette.Well my friends, 1 have a confession to make to you. I’m thirsty.1 need to drink deeply again. 1 need to open myself up to this won-derful gift of living water. 1 need to get wet. 1 need to risk opening upthat shut-off valve deep inside me, the one 1 use to try to keep thattransforming water at a safe distance. 1 need to let the living waterI'm Thirsty 109once again rise up inside of me, to wash over me and carry me closerto God. I need to ride with its current and respond to others aroundme in the midst of their own dryness and need.Maybe that’s what you need too. Let’s drink. Amen.Note^ Preached at a morning Eucharist, 7 August 1998, The River of Lifeworship conference, Vancouver, BC.

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