We are just about halfway through Lent.  But God’s garden is just starting to bloom.  On a gray Friday, it is easy to long for Easter and resurrection.  As we mourn the deaths of those we love, our hearts turn to God’s promises of life eternal.  Baptism and water are very important to our faith—it is where we begin with God.  The birth of a baby is wet and so is our “birth” as children of God.  The Bible is full of water stories.  This Sunday we will meet the woman at the well.  John records this conversation at a community gathering place—Jacob’s well.  The Samaritan woman and Jesus experience community in spite of their differences. 

I want some of that Living Water, too.  We are invited to drink deeply and to share with others.  There is water enough for all the world. 

I offer here a portion of the Women of the ELCA “Water Prayers.”

Gracious God, you have called us into a community of faith.  We are called to life by you and to sustain life with you, the source of life and creator of every being.  We pray for those who struggle every day for their daily supply of water: in the slums of Brazilian cities, in the deserts of Africa, in the townships where clean water does not flow.  We pray for those who experience floods and for others in desperate need of water.  We pray that those who are fortunate to have an abundance of water do not take your gift for granted, or fail to heed and understand the cries of people who need water for life.  Amen.  *Especially today let us pray for those recovering from too much water in Australia and Japan.  Amen and Amen.