Readings: Psalm 21; Isaiah 41:14-20; Romans 15:14-21
I am in a season of grief. Grieving some things that I may never have or get back. Grieving some people who have hurt me and will never say that they are sorry. Finally grieving the childhood I missed out on. Grieving the church that turns it’s back on those that Jesus would gladly receive. Grieving the nation that we all thought we were but that it turns out we just aren’t.
Grief makes people thirsty.
Thirsty as in desperate. Thirsty as in willing to do and say things that I might not do and say at other times. Thirsty as in…needy for something to quench the fire that rages just beneath the surface that tries to consume my mind, my heart, my spirit.
And I see this same thirst…for change, for meaning, for life…in so many of my friends and community members. People who want to rage against injustice…done to them, done to their neighbors, done to the weak and disenfranchised among us.
I’ve been thirsty.
We are thirsty.
For joy. For fulfillment. For forgiveness. For being seen and valued. For laughter. For holiday. For what it takes to meet our needs. For warmth. For love. For healing. For light.
Thirsty.
When the poor and needy search for water and there is none,
and their tongues are parched from thirst,
then I, the Lord, will answer them.
I, the God of Israel, will never abandon them.
I will open up rivers for them on the high plateaus.
I will give them fountains of water in the valleys.
I will fill the desert with pools of water.
Rivers fed by springs will flow across the parched ground.
I will plant trees in the barren desert—
cedar, acacia, myrtle, olive, cypress, fir, and pine.
I am doing this so all who see this miracle
will understand what it means—
that it is the Lord who has done this,
the Holy One of Israel who created it.
