Come and See

Thirst has a way of getting our attention. Urgency replaces perspective and nothing else matters.

Scripture understands that kind of urgency. In Exodus, the people of Israel are thirsty in the wilderness. Their journey has stretched on longer than expected. Supplies are thin. Fear begins to speak louder than memory. They test Moses and ask, “Is the Lord among us or not?” (Ex. 17:7).

It is not a polite question. It is an anxious one. Thirst does that. It presses faith into the present moment and demands proof. It tempts us to judge God by whether relief comes quickly enough, clearly enough, on our terms.

In today’s Gospel lesson, we are brought to another place of thirst—a well outside the city of Sychar in Samaria, at noon, when the sun is high, and the air is heavy. Jesus is tired from the journey and sits down. A Samaritan woman comes to draw water, alone, at an hour chosen to avoid others. Again, thirst is key…