SCRIPTURE
Psalm 107:1-9
Matthew 25:35a, 40b
“ For I was thirsty, and you gave me something to drink…Truly I tell you , just as you did it for the least of those who are members of my family, you did it to me.”
REFLECTION
Isaiah 55:1 begins with “All of you who are thirsty, come to the water! Jesus was thirsty when he asked the Samaritan woman for water.” Then he offered her the living water and told her that “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but whose who drink of the water that I will give them will never be thirsty” (John 4:13-14). In Matthew 25 it says that when Jesus returns in all his glory those who gave him something to drink when he was thirsty or that gave something to drink to “one of the least of these who are members of my family are blessed by the Father.”
In this country we may believe that safe drinking water is always available. However, when I first moved to our farm in Eastern Colorado, I learned that we had to make our water safe to drink by minimizing its mineral content. And we had to fill containers with water for our needs when severe storms approached that shut down our water supply. When a new mother discovered her well needed repair, I drove to her home with enough water to ensure that her newborn could have formula mixed for his sustenance. In the small town where I now live, bottled water was trucked in after a tornado had gone through the town and disrupted the power supply. Our church has also provided bottled water to townspeople standing in the hot sun on July 4th watching our annual parade go by. How much worse is it for those who daily are challenged with unsafe water or who might need to travel miles to obtain safe water?
There are partnerships in Denver Presbytery that have gone into towns and villages outside of the USA to provide safe drinking water to those without. Zimbabwe Kidz has a commitment to have wells dug at Presbyterian schools and at churches that want to offer preschool education opportunities. The government in Zimbabwe makes the availability of safe water a requirement for a school to exist in an area. And the wells have sometimes produced sufficient water to provide not only for the educational entities but also enough to share with the villagers and to use in agricultural efforts.
CONSIDER
Who are people in our communities that in fact might not have easy access to safe water?
What conditions contribute to their inability to easily access safe water?
What actions might be taken to alleviate the difficulties? How can we participate in the effort?
Where do we have water that is not safe water?
What can be done to decontaminate water that has been polluted or made unsafe?
How can we be part of the effort?
What can we do to share the living water of Jesus with others?
PRAYER
Almighty God, creator of the world and all that is in it, you offer to us through Jesus a way to be a member of your family. We are asked to be stewards of this world and to reach out to those in need. Let us seek to provide safe water for those who thirst and to share God’s living water with others. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
Charla Musgrave, Session member at Byers Community Church and member of the Matthew 25 Workgroup.