5. I thirst

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We begin by letting go of all mental and bodily tension, stilling ourselves and allowing a sense of God’s presence within and around us to take hold.

Let your thoughts focus on the here and now, letting God take care of any anxieties for the future or preoccupations about the past.

Let your body relax, letting go of any tension and become still…

Breathe in all that you need to let go of…

Breathe out all but a sense of God who is here with you at this time…

From the Cross Jesus begs for a drink - ‘I thirst’. Physically, his thirst must have been desperate after the horrific hours of torture since the night before. We don’t know if anyone had bothered to give food or drink to the prisoner – perhaps it seemed pointless to do so as he was going to die anyway. In the heat of the day his thirst would have intensified as the hours went by.

Once before, Jesus had asked an enemy for water, sitting at the well in Samaria. He told the woman at the well about a God who offers us living water to quench our thirst forever. Does he remember that conversation now and her response? God’s Son places himself at our mercy for the most basic needs of life. How do you feel as you see and hear Jesus cry out his thirst?

We listen now to a reading of Psalm 63.

O God, you are my God, I seek you,

my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you,

as in a dry and weary land where there is no water.

So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary,

beholding your power and glory.

Because your steadfast love is better than life,

my lips will praise you.

So I will bless you as long as I live;

I will lift up my hands and call on your name.

My soul is satisfied as with a rich feast,

and my mouth praises you with joyful lips

when I think of you on my bed,

and meditate on you in the watches of the night;

for you have been my help,

and in the shadow of your wings I sing for joy.

My soul clings to you;

your right hand upholds me.

But those who seek to destroy my life

shall go down into the depths of the earth;

they shall be given over to the power of the sword,

they shall be prey for jackals.

But the king shall rejoice in God;

all who swear by him shall exult,

for the mouths of liars will be stopped.

The psalm speak of the soul’s deep yearning for God. But God also longs for us. Jesus weeps over Jerusalem, crying out his desire to gather his people to himself as a hen gathers her chicks. At the Last Supper he tells his disciples how much he has longed to eat the Passover with them. Perhaps his thirst on the Cross embodies his physical need but also the yearning of his heart for our response. Spend some time holding this thought in your own heart. How do you want to respond to the longing of Jesus?

Perhaps there is a thirst for God in you, an unmet longing for a deeper relationship? Take time to share your thoughts and deep desires with God.

You have given all to me

To you Lord, I return it

Everything is Yours

Do with it what you will

Give me only your love and your grace

That, is enough for me.

Amen.