Scripture:

‘Jesus said to her, ‘Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again. The water that I will give will become in them a spring of water gushing up to eternal life.’’ (John 4.13-14)

Reflection:

It’s impossible to exaggerate how important water is for us: it’s vital. The woman Jesus was speaking with had the toil of walking to a well to draw it up. It was not the only or greatest hardship in her life – she was on her sixth ‘husband’. What Jesus said he could give her sounds weird, but he had already, just by speaking with her, broken a social taboo between religions and sexes and shown her a human (or divine) warmth, respect and acceptance that had been missing. She was overjoyed.

Everyone needs water, and everyone needs that sort of acceptance.

David Harmsworth