Readings: Exodus 17:1-7; John 4: 5-42
Today’s readings are two of my favourites. For some of us, we will have heard them numerous times and heard many sermons preached about them. The John reading is so important to me that I chose it as one of the readings at my ordination. Today I would like to take a bit of a different approach to the readings. I would like us together to rediscover our thirst for God and to spend some time quenching that thirst.

A few moments ago we shared some of our own experiences of being thirsty. I wonder, though, do we really know what it is like to be thirsty? When we consider that over a billion people in our world do not have access to clean, safe drinking water, do we really know what it is like to be thirsty? We may have cold water stored in bottles in our fridges. Some of us may even have a bottle with us right now. In our work places we have drink fountains and water coolers. Is it possible for us to know real thirst?

I am one of those people that probably does not drink enough water in a day. I often confuse thirst with hunger and will grab something to eat instead of getting a drink. I have got better with this in recent years, but still it sometimes comes as a shock to me when I get a headache because I need water.

I remember as a child getting heat stroke on holidays and being extremely sick all night, in a tent. The day had been so packed with fun and adventure that I hadn’t even thought of making sure I had enough to drink while being out in the sun. When Harrison and Elleni were toddlers it would always amuse me to watch them play and continually say ‘I’m not thirsty’. When I eventually got them to sit down and have a drink they would gulp the whole sipper cup back and ask for more. We are often too busy in life to recognize our thirst.
Have you been too busy in your life lately to recognize your thirst for God? Sometimes it is not until we stop that we even know how thirsty we are. Even now you are possibly thinking very logically about what I am saying and taking in the words without stopping that busyness and chatter in your mind. So we are going to stop for a few moments. We are going to spend a minute or so in silence. I encourage you to experience the thirst in your own life, your own thirst for God.

(Few moments silence)

Are you thirsty? If so, we have caught up with the Israelites in the desert and the Samaritan woman. They knew their thirst, both physical and spiritual. The Israelites had turned to quarrelling and grumbling as a result of their thirst and the Samaritan woman had resigned herself to being isolated and alone. How does your thirst for God play out in your life? Like a headache with physical thirst, what is your sign that it is time to drink deeply. For me it is a feeling of hopelessness. I lose my usual positive ‘I can do it’ attitude and start to question why I do what I do. When I get to this stage I know I have let my thirst go too far.

For me it is like a paralysis that stops me in my tracks. A bit like that heat stroke did in that tent in Albany. I get to the point where I know that before anything can happen I need to stop and drink deeply of God’s living water. Just as I need to learn to drink water throughout the day, so too must I learn to drink of the living water often.

In my life, I will be honest, I have always seen this ‘spiritual drinking’ as a chore. Trying to stick to a routine of reading my Bible, spending time in prayer and doing what I thought were the right things was always hard work. I’m not the most disciplined person and so trying to stick to a Bible reading plan or a prayer journal always found me failing abysmally and ‘beating myself up’ about being such a poor Christian. I would come away from another attempt to get closer to God feeling more thirsty than when I started.

There are two experiences in my life that have freed me from this idea of trying to be the ‘good Christian’ and have shown me a different way. The first is how we respond to rain. Many of you know that Guy and I lived in Tonga for two years. Tonga is in a sub-tropical area and so when it rains it is often a relief from the heat of the day. Here in Perth, when it rains, we rush inside, run to get out of the rain and make sure we have our brollies with us wherever we go. In Tonga, when it rained, we would rush outside, wash our hair under the down pipe and put our water buckets under the deluge to collect water.

We have tried to encourage Harrison and Elleni to enjoy the rain. Get out in it and stomp in the puddles. We did not need to go looking for water in Tonga, but when it came we would immerse ourselves in it. Soak it in. Almost become one with it.
For me the discovery of contemplation or contemplative prayer has given me a similar experience. I know that many of you here are familiar with this practice and much more experienced than I. This discovery has allowed me to realize that I do not need to try so hard. All I need to do is wait for the rain, wait for the spring to bubble within me and then immerse myself, soak in it and become intimately close to my God. As Jesus told the woman at the well, there is never a drought. We will never be thirsty as there is a spring of living water that wells inside us.

I can just imagine those Israelites back in the desert dancing and singing in the rain of the spring that came from the rock. We too can stand with our arms raised enjoying the presence of the living water that quenches our thirst. So now to close I want to give you an opportunity to quench some of your thirst for God. I invite you to spend a few moments in silence, just simply being with God. Don’t try to think of the right words to say or try and understand today’s readings – just sit in quiet and immerse yourself in God’s living water. After a few moments we will play a Paul Kelly song called ‘Summer Rain’. Enjoy that life giving water falling down around you.

Cathie Lambert