We thirst for God.
Countless Old Testament stories recount the separation of humankind from
the Creator, and the many ways that human pride has stood in the way of a deep,
intimate, thirst-quenching relationship with God. Even after the earth has been restored after
the great flood, humankind manages to turn away from the life-giving love of
God, creating a monument to human pride in the form of the Tower of Babel in
Genesis. As a consequence, man will be
scattered over the earth, wandering, thirsting to reconnect.
All is not lost, however, as that thirst gives rise to
prayer. Psalm 104 calls upon the Lord to
send out [His] Spirit and renew the face
of the earth. Christians read the
Holy Spirit back into this song, though the original meaning of spirit returns in the fourth stanza of
the psalm, noting, If you take away their
breath, they perish… When you send forth your spirit, they are created, and
renew the face of the earth. At
Creation, God breathed life into man, and man remains confident that he will do
so once again.
Our text from Romans, too, is fraught with anticipation, as
Paul reassures the Roman community waiting
for adoption, for final redemption in
Christ Jesus. For new Christians, the
Spirit is a help force, coming to the aid
of our weakness, interceding for the holy ones, and offering us hope.
From that place of anticipation, we groan
within ourselves, thirsting for perfect union with God. And that union is the promise: John’s Gospel remind us that even before his
death and resurrection, Jesus tells his disciples that he is the source of living water from
which all who believe may drink, becoming in turn fonts of living water for
other.
Ultimately, the Spirit is that which quenches our thirst,
and allows us, in turn, to quench the thirst of others. As we prepare at the Vigil Mass for Pentecost Sunday, let us embrace our thirst, knowing that rivers of living
water will soon flow from us as well.
This post is based on Fr. Pat's Scripture class.
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