Water: liquid of life

Water: liquid of life
By Loretta Nemeth
As published in Horizons, May 28, 2017
 
One of the simplest gestures of hospitality is to offer someone a drink of water.
Readily available here in the United States, water is often taken for granted. Yet in other parts of the world, fresh water is a scarce commodity.
Water is the liquid of life; all living things need water to survive. The human body is approximately 70 percent water and can only survive three to five days without it.
Water also plays an important part in our spiritual lives. We are baptized with water; our caskets are sprinkled with holy water, and it is used to bless religious items, foods, flowers, herbs and us and our homes.
The New American Bible (Revised Edition) contains 664 references to water, from the Genesis creation story to the blood and water flowing from the side of Jesus to the apocalyptic references in Revelation.
A piece of wood turns bitter water into fresh (Ex 15:25; Sir 38:5), a foreshadowing of salvation through the cross. Moses strikes a rock and water flows from it for his people (Ex 17:6).
There are references to “water of bitterness” (Nm 5:18), “water of purification” (Nm 8:7) and “water of understanding” (Sir 15:3).
John baptizes Jesus in water (Mt 3:16). At the wedding feast in Cana, Jesus turns water into wine (Jn 2:7-9) and says, “no one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and Spirit” (Jn 3:5).
Jesus walks on water (Mt 14:25). He says whoever gives a cup of water to a disciple will be rewarded (Mt 10:42), and he rebukes Simon the Pharisee for not giving him water to wash his feet (Lk 7:44).
Meeting the woman at the well, Jesus refers to “living water”: “the water I shall give will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life” (Jn 4:14).
Jesus washes the feet of his apostles as an example of servant leadership (Jn 13:5). And, at his crucifixion, when his side was pierced with a lance, blood and water flowed from his side (Jn 19:34).
Finally, there are again references to “life-giving water” in the last book of the Bible (Rev 21:6 and 22:17).
Water is used at baptism, but I think it can be a metaphor for the sacrament of marriage, too. One person can be either hydrogen or oxygen, but it takes a chemical bonding of the two elements to form a new creation, water.
And, as St. Cyril of Jerusalem said, “its effects take many forms.” That water (a marriage) can go through many stages, from hot steam to refreshing liquid to cold ice. The sacrament provides the grace and patience to live through those hot or cold stages, if necessary, to return to the normal liquid state.
So, a simple cup of water?
Drink deeply to receive life-giving water and gain eternal life in the kingdom.